Today we’d like to introduce you to Ian Bristow
Hi Ian, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers?
My journey with art began at age 5. I loved to color and would spend a lot of time with markers and pencils. My fascination with drawing developed through my childhood and teen years, but it was never something I saw myself doing for a living. It was a passion. Fast-forward to the early 2010’s, when I was in my mid-late twenties. It was around this time that I began receiving interest from potential clients, and the idea I could actually get somewhere as a freelance artist was born. Since then I have worked tirelessly to improve and refine my work and my process, as well as broaden the range of work I’m capable of producing. In short, passion and hard work are the ingredients which have lead me to where I am in life.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
While I’ve had the support of loved ones throughout my journey, it has been full of challenges and setbacks. Early in life the main setback was myself. I wanted a social life. I wanted to do this, that and the other thing, and as a result, my growth was slow. Later in life, as I gained focus, the challenges shifted to finance. As a freelancer, one can never tell when they might encounter a dry spell. There are good times when it’s difficult to keep up with the demands, but there are other times I don’t have client work for weeks. I have learned to use those dry periods to continue developing my work. To do the things I’ve always done and never forget to adhere to the words I live by: Never stop learning.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
As a freelancer artist, I work mostly with authors and publishers to create book cover design/illustration, as well is interior illustrations and character/creature portraits. I specialize in sci-fi, fantasy and historical fic but enjoy working in other genres as well. A real point of pride in my recent work has been a push to create digital works which carry the look and feel of more classical master works. Particularly works produced by the Dutch Masters. These are not master studies, rather original works based on studying the work of masters.
Can you tell us more about what you were like growing up?
Growing up, I was endlessly fascinated by the world. Color, light, shape, form. I would stare a lot, which earned me a fair amount of ridicule, I’m sorry to say. But I was studying, not that I knew it then. Taking in the natural world is of the utmost importance for anyone who aspires to become an artist. I’m thankful that I was so keen on it. I was also dogged in my effort to do well. And it didn’t matter what I was doing. Building the coolest Lego spaceship, drawing the best superhero, playing piano better than my peers, learning to ride a bike faster than my brother. My interests have always been firmly rooted in the arts, and my personality has always been rooted firmly in perfectionistic behavior, for better or worse.
Contact Info:
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/bristowdesign/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCFCuKj0oVoo9hIsSrZlv_fg
