Featured Artist – Violet Lemay
Artwork by Violet Lemay
How and when did you know that you wanted to become an illustrator?
When I was young I wanted to become a famous theatrical costume designer. As I was working toward that goal I realized that, although I was finding success, I was miserable. Thinking I might be interested in historic preservation as an alternative career (we studied lots of architectural history at the theater conservatory), a former professor suggested I look into an MFA program at the Savannah College of Art and Design. At the time SCAD had a relatively new historic preservation department. I wasn’t interested in preserving buildings for a living, but I sent for the catalog, and when I read about illustration I knew that’s what I wanted to do. Funny, because later when I told my good friend Edward this story, he reminded me that one night while we were working together at the National Theater of the Deaf, I confided in him that I’d much rather be illustrating children’s books. I had forgotten all about that.
Who was the first illustrator that you noticed and admired?
Whoever illustrated Lady and the Tramp for Disney. When I was a little girl, I used to try to draw those characters, copying poses from my Lady and the Tramp record album cover. When I was in high school though I loved Norman Rockwell… so much that I persuaded my dad to hang Norman Rockwell wallpaper in our den, which is still (horribly) there.
What is your earliest memory of creating art? (or drawing as a child).
I remember my first artistic frustration very clearly: Lying on the linoleum looking out the sliding glass door of my parent’s midwestern ranch house, I had my eye on a squirrel. And I couldn’t draw it. What came out on the paper didn’t look like the squirrel I saw with my eyes, and I couldn’t understand why. Guess I was probably five or six years old. I cried many tears that day… oh, the pathos! Now that I’m a mom, I see my eight-year-old son’s frustration with not being able to draw things exactly as he sees them, and it breaks my heart! His little-kid drawings are SO beautiful! Such great, effortless style, such amazing naivete… I’d give anything to be able to draw the world as he sees it. Which makes me realize that the squirrel I drew when I was a little girl was probably quite wonderful, just the way it was.
What type of artwork do you have hanging in your home?
We have a really nice collection of fine art, including a small pastoral landscape sketch by Gainsborough. Our friend Wyatt Graff recently gave us a gorgeous abstract, very contemporary piece which we had to redecorate to accommodate; without question, it is the nicest item in our home. I’ve also got some framed vintage Italian posters that I bought in Bologna, which I love, and of course we have our own stuff on just about every wall: illustrations and posters that we had framed for various exhibits over the years. Our son Gray’s work features prominently as well. He recently made a gigantic drawing of the Eiffel Tower which hangs in our hallway opposite a collection of European etchings that my husband bought for me on our first wedding anniversary.
What accomplishment so far stands out as most important?
My fifteen year marriage to my wonderful husband Fred, and raising our son Gray together with him, no question there.
Artistically, getting into American Illustration (20 & 21) was very cool. Right around that same time I got ten or eleven images into Applied Arts Illustration Annual, all in one issue. That particular achievement was probably the most crucial to my career, because that’s how Anna found me. She saw my stuff in the Applied Arts Illustration Annual, and sent me an e-mail inviting me to join her group. Quite an exciting moment, that!
Is there any publication that you still have aspirations to see yourself in?
Absolutely! There are tons of places where I’d still like to see my art: The New Yorker, of course (who wouldn’t). When I did more editorial work, I used to aspire to be published in The Atlantic. I’d still love that, although my work is not nearly as conceptual as it used to be (I credit motherhood for the softening of my brain).
Tied for first place with The New Yorker, however, are Target and Starbucks. I love the aesthetic of these brands. Having art featured on a gift card or in-store display, or on packaging, or print ads… any such job would be a dream come true for me. I’d also love to do children’s books. I did some years and years ago, and I’m ready to give it another go.
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News published at 1:00 am, Monday, October 18th, 2010
