We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Emily St. Marie. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Emily below.

Emily, appreciate you joining us today. What’s been the most meaningful project you’ve worked on?

My Moon Goddess series of art has been the most meaningful project I’ve worked on to date, and that is saying a lot because I have taken on some very wonderful causes since beginning my art journey.

In 2016 I experienced an unspeakable family tragedy. After a series of difficult events I had to leave my nicely ordered art studio and pack up my smaller art materials I could take with me– in this case it was watercolors and gouache. I worked out of a small carry bag for some time after that, and it took me time to get used to the limitations of my new traveling studio. The watercolors and 8.5 x 11″ size of my watercolor paper were hard to get used to, at first. And I’d never even opened the gouache tubes. I was used to working on large canvases in acrylic paints that were so accommodating if I didn’t like how my painting looked– no problem, just paint over it! If you make a mistake with ink and watercolors, you might as well start over.

But the urge to make art from the heart and cope with the deep well of grief I was enduring made me forge onwards. I was inspired by art nouveau books I’d been reading, and chose a limited blue-grey-black-white color palette. The figure of a goddess with a swooping white gown appeared on the page, and she was accompanied by a black raven. I kept the lines simple, and enjoyed the calm feeling of the cool colors and an empty skyscape.

I played around with this theme, and added a moon, a tree, and some grass. Who is this character? I wondered. I decided to call her the “Moon Goddess.” I posted the art on my Facebook page, and immediately people began to resonate with it. I sold the first 4 pieces I made! That’s how my Moon Goddess series began.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

I am a traditional artist who makes original art for for books and online publications. I do children’s books, middle grade illustrations, and work with authors in a variety of genres, including historical non-fiction. I also work on my own projects, which include children’s books, short stories, comics and graphic novels.

I use a dip pen and ink to create bold lines in the style of the Golden Age of Illustration (a style of art that was the standard in book publishing from the 1880s-the 1930s). I add color by brush using watercolors and gouache. I start out with pencil sketches and bring my designs from idea to completion in whatever media is best suited for the project. Sometimes that means converting to vectored artwork using Adobe Illustrator.

I would describe my style as comic realism. I use bright colors and draw the viewer’s attention to the important parts of the image using strategic form and placement. I simplify shapes that are awkward or distracting. I enjoy making art that makes the viewer feel something pleasant.

Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?

When I left my nicely appointed art studio in 2016 I wasn’t expecting things to unfold the way they did in my life. They say expect the unexpected, but despite being the one to pack it all up, I wasn’t prepared for the shift from big to small and to change my medium from acrylic to watercolors. The transition was fraught with difficulty: watercolors are less forgiving, I was worried the colors would look weak and unsaturated, and I had a harder time getting my thoughts on paper in a smaller space than the large canvases.

All of these factors could have stopped me, but instead I found myself pushing my limits, finding new subject matter to express, and channeling my frustration in real life into emotions on paper. Using the flow of the water to cover the paper, using ink to push the blackness of the sky and the Moon Goddess’s hair, and using ink wash to push light and dark shading onto the paper, were all ways I found to address the initial weaknesses of my new medium.

Using my art to channel my real life frustrations did double duty to process the grief I was feeling and find my way forward in a previously under-appreciated medium. The Moon Goddess series was a visual representation of part of the cycle of emotions I was experiencing in real time– loss, despair, intuition, and peace. I kept drawing the character in different poses and with various moods and color palettes.

Finally, the unexpected challenges I overcame paid off in inspiration. After years of painting these little scenes with the Moon Goddess, her raven, the twisted tree, the cliff, and the full moon, a story emerged in my mind. I am now writing the story that goes along with the art I painted. It is a myth about the Moon Goddess for young adults. I plan to turn the story and the art into a graphic novel.

How did you build your audience on social media?

Ever since I decided to put my art out there, and create book covers for people, I have had a Facebook page. I have been posting there and on Instagram for years. Each piece painstakingly made, progress pics posted, and final versions uploaded has allowed my audience to enjoy my work and grow with me.

I get a lot more likes and shares now than when I started, and I think that’s because I experimented over time to find out what worked for me. I found people enjoyed my art more when I gave it a title and described it with words. They like to see before and after pics where I’ve added color to my ink lines. And people have been very accommodating enjoying a wide variety of subject matter than I draw– unlike some artists I don’t have a singular focus. When I post, I focus on producing original content, and having fun. Art is all about visual fun!

My new social media goal is to build a brand around the Moon Goddess herself, and have some social media channels devoted to her alone. I will use everything I’ve learned building up my Emily St. Marie Art profile and apply it to my new Moon Goddess art and book series so the audience she garners can follow my progress towards finishing the graphic novel.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://emilystmarieart.weebly.com/
• Instagram: https://instagram.com/moongoddess_tales/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MoonGoddessTales

Image Credits

All images are by Emily St. Marie,