We were lucky to catch up with Edward Platt recently and have shared our conversation below.

Edward, appreciate you joining us today. When did you first know you wanted to pursue a creative/artistic path professionally?

From the moment I set foot in highschool, I knew that I wanted to earn my money as a career artist. I just didn’t know what that was going to look like. I spent most of my extra curricular credits in highschool studying fine art. At the time, digital art was not easily accessible to me to study, but I was able to take plenty of classes studying painting techniques, drawing techniques, and clay working.

I denied myself a lot of other opportunities to pursue my career as an artist. In highschool, I joined the JROTC which opened the door to a lot of opportunities in the military and there were always eager recruiters prowling my school to get me to join. I’ve also had some opportunities in sales, but I was certain that walking that career path wouldn’t have led me to the results I desired, which was to be an artist.

I was never opposed to the idea of working in an office. I imagined myself working for a comic company such as Marvel or DC, or any of the smaller companies at the time. If not comics then certainly Animation or a Children’s Book Illustrator. All of these jobs were jobs that I imagined may draw me into an office space, so I was never opposed to working for Corporate. As I proceeded to College, my options were opened to the Gaming Industry which made my choices much more difficult.

Edward, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

I call myself an Illustrator but my main focus and craft at the moment is Caricatures. Interestingly enough, it was never my intention to become a Caricature Artist in my pursuit for an art career. I was not appealed to the idea of working in a theme park and the style never spoke out to me. Now that I’m building a business around Caricatures, I wish that I would have taken an interest in the craft much sooner.

I got into Caricatures through a Job Opportunity to become an Airbrush T-Shirt Artist. I knew nothing at the time about Airbrushing T-Shirts and, to be honest, I wasn’t very interested in the job. But, I was motivated by my desire to surround myself in a work environment that would constantly expose me to a creative space. It was 3 years after I graduated the Art Institute of Atlanta that I became a Caricature Artist. In between that time, and for much of my working life, I worked in the restaurant industry desperate to break away and make a change. Chasing my job leads after graduating made me feel like I was running through a maze that only led to dead ends. I had lots of interviews but no success in earning a job in my field. My work suffered a lot during that time too. I felt like I was burned out from grinding through college to graduate. So when this job came along, I seized the opportunity and it led me to traveling, learning how to airbrush, and eventually learning the skill of Caricatures.

After about 3 months into learning how to draw Caricatures, I got the grand idea that one day I’d start my own business doing this. That was in the spring of 2018. I followed through with that idea in 2019, left the company I worked for, and started my own business. My very first show was the Pancakes and Booze show in Atlanta, where I signed up as a vendor to draw caricatures. From there, I began sending out emails and looking for gig work where I’d be able to get an hourly rate for my services. Over time, I saw more opportunities to grow, earn money, and make this a full time investment.

What I enjoy the most about being a Caricature Artist and what I focus my business on is introducing Caricatures to new people who have never had a Caricature before. I’ve never had a Caricature until I started working in the industry. It was never something that appealed to me. I enjoy the experience of both drawing someone and learning about them in the process. I speak to people from all different walks, who have different backgrounds and experiences, who work in different fields and believe in different ideologies. I try to capture the story that people have lived in my work. My challenge with my art is to capture the pure essence of a person’s personality in their facial expressions.

I also enjoy the community that I feel in working live events and festivals. Working festivals in Atlanta and throughout the country is like going to a day party. There’s always amazing food from local food trucks and fascinating hand-crafted products from creative vendors who are all out in the elements to do the same thing I’m doing. Festivals are a great way for me to buy products and gifts that are locally made and sometimes are more authentic than anything I could buy from a grocery store or a mall. I also enjoy the crowds of people who all come out to have a great time with their friends, families, and loved ones. All of that energy is data that I desire to capture in my work.

Do you think there is something that non-creatives might struggle to understand about your journey as a creative? Maybe you can shed some light?

So I have a pet-peeve that I try not to really speak about too often. My perspective often puts off people who view themselves as non-artists or non-creatives, but it’s something true to me and many artists I speak to often feel the same way.

I am not able to do what I do because I’m TALENTED. I acknowledge what people think about the word “Talent” and why it’s so commonly associated with artists, but it’s not the truth as to why I’m able to create the art that I do. Don’t get me wrong. I acknowledge that talent exists. I acknowledge that there are people out there who are naturally adept to having good ideas, or having a strong sense of execution in their actions that make them exceptional to the rest. I believe that we all are talented in our own way, in anything that we do in life. But when people tell me I’m “Talented” because I am able to draw the way that I do, I am happy (though hesitant) to share the story of how I started as a Caricature Artist.

My first live drawings were horrible. It’s not just a personal criticism, it’s the nature of the industry. There’s not a single caricature artist I know who draws in front of a live audience who was a master of the craft when they first started. Learning how to draw caricatures live is like learning how to write all over again. None of the skills I’ve developed in drawing prepared me to draw live in front of people. I’ve also mentioned that I airbrushed T-Shirts. I Airbrush my caricatures as well. Airbrushing is the primary medium I use to color my work when I’m at a festival or fair. Before becoming a Caricature artist, I’ve never touched an airbrush. If you would have placed an airbrush in my hand in 2017, I wouldn’t have had a clue on how to even use the tool.

My entire caricature process was learned from scratch. It was like learning a new language. There’s no talent involved in that. People would always counter my story by saying, “Yeah, but you knew how to draw before, right?” Yes, I did. And I can certainly say that knowing how to draw before becoming a caricature artist is certainly necessary to becoming a professional in the craft. But, it was not enough to get me started. I’ve been practicing Caricatures every day since I first started. That’s now well over 5 years of drawing, every – single – day to get here. I’ve also had a lot of rejections in the beginning of learning how to do this, as in people did not accept or pay for the drawing if they didn’t like it.

This is the story that plays on repeat in my mind when I hear the word “talent”.

What can society do to ensure an environment that’s helpful to artists and creatives?

I encourage everyone to visit local art markets in your area. Visit galleries. Go to live shows and performances. Eat at local restaurants and buy from local vendors instead of shopping at giant corporate retailers and restaurants. Most of the vendors who set up at these markets and festivals are people who are exercising their creative expressions. Many of them make their products from scratch and spend thousands of hours of their day to do so. Many of them invest all of their money and their lives into their businesses. Many vendors travel across several state lines to set up shop at your local festivals and art markets.

One of my favorite things to do now is to buy clothes from a creative that I’ll meet at these events instead of shopping at a big retail store. I buy foods for my house such as honey and jams that people make and bottle themselves. I buy gifts for my loved ones for special occasions as well. I would rather put my money into the hands of a real person who will use it to support themselves, their families, their business, and their local community than put my money into a corporation who will throw it into the stock market where it doesn’t circulate back.

If money is an issue, support by telling your friends and family. Post your favorite creatives on social media. Share their work and their whereabouts. I am thrilled when people who see my work on social media come out just to say hi. Even if they don’t buy anything, it means the world to me that they thought of me enough to come out and see me work.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.eddieplatt.com
• Instagram: @EddiePlattArt
• Facebook: Eddie Platt Art