This week's interview is with artist/illustrator Nate Williams, sometimes known as Alexander Blue, and the creator of the wonderful illustration mundo. Nate is an incredibly prolific artist, and I am always amazed by the continual flow of new work and projects featured on his blog. You can find limited edition screen prints of his work in his shop, and read more about his very unique and interesting life story here. Hint - he is also an American ex-pat like me, and has been living in Buenos Aires for the last 5 years. Last but not least, he has an adorable 2 year old son, Milo, who you can see here in action.
from August 30th, 2008:
Why did you decide to start a blog?
It was the easiest way to keep people interested in my work informed.
How has blogging affected your work as an artist/designer?
It's allowed me to make friends all over the world that provide a constant stream of inspiration.
What are your favorite artist/design blogs? Why?
fecalface- They really go indepth on their posts. I like how they will hang out with an artist for an entire day and take pictures of their daily life.
processrecess - James Jean is an amazing artist and is very generous with how he produces his work.
slackart - Michael Slack is just so damn creative.
3ttman - 3ttman is probably my favorite street artist .. I just love seeing what he does next.
Why do you think blogs have now become so popular with artists/designers?
* Usability - Because it's a very simple format where the content is more important then site. This really benefits the end user because most blogs have a similar navigation system so this facilitates the discovery of deep content.
* Search Engines - It's optimized for search engines so it indexes well and it's easy to find blog content.
* Publishing - Publishing is very easy so there is no technical bottleneck for the person publishing the content..
Do you have any advice for artists/designers who are starting a blog?
Have a very precise topic your blog addresses and post regularly.
What has been the most positive and inspirational aspect of having a blog for you?
Communicating with young/new illustrators .. helping them get excited about the world, encourage curiosity and confidence so they become more adventurous. This goes both ways .. I get inspired by them as well.
Thanks so much for the interview!
Thank you Nate!
