We were lucky to catch up with Hayden Young recently and have shared our conversation below.

Hayden , appreciate you joining us today. Do you wish you had waited to pursue your creative career or do you wish you had started sooner?

My career as an artist has been a road full of unexpected battles; many would expect that the outside world or making a name for themselves would be one of the largest. For me, it was myself. Filling my mind with the systematic rule of having a set career, you know, doctors-lawyers-that type of thing.

In 2007, I was at my mother’s work drafting ‘books’ on yellow legal pads, held together and created with the various pens, staples, and tape I could find. At the bottom of each page, twirls, loops, and scribbles are the story’s lines. As a six-year-old, penmanship is as expected; I wish I knew what they said now. My mom still has many of these ‘books,’ and I can only imagine what they say or what the pictures were supposed to be. I assume this led me to the illustration degree with a children’s book focus that I am pursuing today.

In my mom’s words, I have always been crafty with a vivid imagination. Still, it wasn’t until high school that I began focusing on art, filling every free period or elective with as many art classes as possible. My technique began to emerge, but I still needed to discover my identifying characteristics. I never allowed myself to view artistry as a direction for my career, so after many years of painfully studying biochemistry, using my only free time to draw.

I transferred to Rocky Mountain College of Art and Design, where my abilities within a short period grew tenfold, and my identity as an artist began to emerge. Seeing colors and shapes in new ways, as well as their impact and social importance, and memorializing history and voices made visual effects on our understanding of self and each other. Whenever I compose a piece, I discover something new, make a mistake, or mess- but each fuels my eagerness to continue. Each path I have taken has led me to be the artist I am today; in theory, I would’ve loved to latch onto my passion and ride it like a horse chasing the sunset. However, in reality, every experience I have had led me to where I am today, and I am grateful for that. I’m in a place of adulthood, eager to learn, practice, and fail. If I had taken this direction before, who knows who or where I would be artistic?

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I have always been creative, though I only took it as a serious career path in the past few years. Weeks before graduation, I transferred from a pre-med biochemistry focus to an art college. It is one of the hardest and craziest things I have ever done, but it is worth it! I began branching out, learning new things, and nurturing the side of myself I had used primarily in my free time before. I love charcoal drawing and realism, though I have also grown to adore painting and penwork. As an illustrator, I find it essential to experiment; in doing so, I began painting nature portraits on animals’ bones, and it has become one of the most rewarding project directions I have ever gone.
I utilize the structure of what is already there and incorporate it into the finished composition. My clients will bring me their bones from hunting or foraging, and we work together, creating digital mock-ups until it is the perfect fit. Communication is critical, so I do 3 to 4 check-ins throughout the composting process to ensure my creativity leads to their vision in an exciting manner for us both. That can be said for any commission I work on, not just the animal canvas works, whether a painting, book cover, portrait, etc. The client has a vision, and you have the skill to bring it to life. What sets me apart from many artists is not just what I use or how I use it; it’s the fact that I want to learn and try anything to build the knowledge I want to learn from my clients. Why is this so special? What was it, or what did they like? It allows you to develop a personal connection to what you are creating. I am proud of all my work, primarily my bone paintings. I have rarely seen the adaptation of something two-dimensional made on something physical through a complex natural canvas.

We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?

Unlearning comparison was difficult for me, in school I was always doing everything I could for math and science. Achieving the best grades and memorize the material at had. There were only specific ways to go about a problem. Art is completely different, you can achieve such different interpretations when looking at a composition. Failure becomes something you search for to help you learn new ways to approach things. I sometimes hold my art work in a mirror to trick my brain to find the faults, with calculus language arts or science you can’t do that. I for a long time compared how I approached art in the way I approached school, though it was only bringing confusion and frustration. Realizing, taking a step back and reconfiguring your approach was extremely difficult but like any muscle it takes time before it becomes natural.

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

When I left school initially to pursue art, and art school you can only imagine the mental battle I was facing. Weeks before graduation and after facing one of the most difficult years in therapy I felt like if I didn’t walk away that second I would be trapped behind a desk and give up on my passion. And while I commend those who are able to do that, it was not for me. I had to face my entire world doing a 180 and for the first few months I was questions myself the voice in my head second guessing every decision I had made. When I was selected for an art show at school something clicked, not for the recognition of my good work but it was the validation I needed to realize I was on the right path. From there I have been exploring so eager and happy doing what I am now, the work load is heavy and many nights I’m in bed by one and up by 6:30am but it’s worth it. It may sound like a cliche but Pouring yourself into something you have great passion for never feels like work.

Contact Info:

• Website: Gracefuldoodles.net
• Instagram: Gd.illustrativedesign
• Facebook: Hayden Young
• Linkedin: Hayden Young
• Other: Tik tok: @haydengracie

Image Credits
The fox image and bison are paintings based on a wildlife photographer based of of Jackson Wyoming, Issac Spotts