5 Questions with Creatives: Hucklebeary Art

by Nicole Willis

Daisy is a digital illustrator and the owner of Hucklebeary Art, through which they sell their colorful and whimsical illustrations in various formats. From cozy cottagecore-inspired designs featuring mushrooms, fairies and frogs, to bright and playful characters like lovable animals, Daisy’s designs are cute and quirky.

Daisy regularly attends local markets, which are announced throughout the month on their Instagram and Facebook pages. They recently debuted a soft-launch of their website, hucklebearyart.com, and are planning for an official website launch in the coming months. To view more of their work and keep up with Hucklebeary Art, follow @HucklebearyArt on Instagram or @HucklebearyArtist on Facebook.

Let’s start with you telling me a little bit about yourself and your professional and artistic background.

I’ve lived in Pensacola since I was about 3 years old, but I was born in Virginia since my dad was in the Navy at the time. I attended a whopping one course at Pensacola State College, but quickly decided that college just wasn’t for me and went for various job experiences instead. Ironically, most of my previous work is in the restaurant industry, but I’d say that my time being a baker ended up being a huge inspiration for my artwork in the end. I would consider myself a digital illustrator. While I use digital media to create, I really do like trying to recreate traditional aesthetics and techniques when I draw. The sketchiness of pencils and the brush strokes of oil and gouache paint is especially appealing to me.

How did you get interested in creating? Have you always been interested in art?

My grandparents on both sides were creatives, in different ways. My Grandaddy (dad’s dad) was an architect and woodworker, so he had a very methodical and mathematical mind (which I did not inherit!), but he also had a deep love for nature that I do very much share. My Grandma (mom’s mom) was a painter, sculptor, seamstress and musician, just about everything creative.

She made stunning watercolor pieces and was my first introduction to painting when I was very young. I credit a lot of my inspiration and talent to the both of them.

Can you tell more more about the inspiration or influence behind your work?

A huge inspiration for me is definitely nature, in both its beauty and sometimes the less attractive parts. I’ve focused a lot on the beautiful parts in the past, but don’t be surprised if some slightly macabre pieces pop up now and then!

Filmmaker Hayao Miyazaki is a great influence of mine as well, and a great example of blending the beautiful, cute and creepy together. Other inspirations are Alphonse Mucha, Cicely Mary Barker, Glen and Claire Keane, as well as the wonderful collection of video games I’ve played over the years.

Can you take me through your creative process and describe what all goes into creating one of your pieces?

It usually starts with me seeing a single object, and piece by piece the rest of the image will start to come together in my mind. Sometimes this is sparked by actually seeing a physical subject in real life, and other times it’s just a random thought that triggers the rest. The sketching is always the hardest part; translating the idea to the canvas. If I showed the world what the sketch layers of my pieces were, I think some people would not believe they were made by the same artist! Playing with color is my favorite part of any piece, and very often works will go through whole rainbows of color palettes before I settle on one.

What are some of your most popular items, and is there currently a specific piece or design that you are receiving a lot of requests for?

My main product right now is art prints, in various sizes. I, like many other artists, don’t want people to feel like having art straight from the artist is inaccessible—it really isn’t! And it really adds a special touch to your space. However, I often get the comment from many that they just simply do not have any more room for artwork on their walls (which really makes my heart happy!), so I also offer things like stickers, keychains and bookmarks. I’m working very hard to bring a line of stationery for school, office and letter writing needs. Currently my most popular items are my stickers. I mean, who doesn’t love stickers? It helps that they’re durable vinyl, so they can take a beating. The most requested sticker would either be my cat croissant, or the hamster Bob Ross. A fun fact I like to share about the Bob Ross one is the little canvas he’s working on is an actual Joy of Painting episode I followed along with (to the best of my ability).