eliza childress featured

By: AddiSon Herron-WHeeler

In many cases, artists draw inspiration from the communities they live in, crafting show fliers, album covers, and murals to reflect the type of music or culture that the scene they come from is known for. In the case of Eliza Childress, however, the musicians she designs fliers, T-shirts and album covers for seek her out because they are inspired by her psychedelic, Art Nouveau style, recognize her work, and hope that they can evoke the same kind of passion and excitement in their

Artist

music. As influential and distinctive as her style is, Childress has little formal training and is extremely down-toearth, always ready to take on new projects and work with new types of people. Recently, I sat down with her to find out how she does what she does and what inspires her groundbreaking art.

What got you into drawing, and how did you find your style?

My interest in art began at an early age. I was fortunate to have a wonderfully inspiring art teacher in elementary school. When I was in the first or second grade, I quit the after-school gymnastics class that I was taking to pursue after-school art classes. I haven’t stopped drawing since.

How has having no collegiate “training” affected your perception of your work? Do you feel freer, or are there techniques you wish you could hone in a classroom setting?

I did attend classes at VCU from 2006-2008, and I had wonderfully inspiring teachers and talented classmates to learn from. I wasn’t focused, and needed to work to save my money for supplies, books, etc. so I ended up taking time off, which led to me essentially dropping out of school. Leaving art school didn’t keep me from drawing, it actually inspired me to create even more, and I can now see that my passion for art has furthered my skills in an incredible way. I’ve had three years of nonstop practice to enhance my skills, and I feel very lucky that I’ve had the time and freedom to explore and create my style.

I do want to take some printmaking courses and a perspective class. It would be very lucrative for my career to learn how to screen print, but I suppose I could always learn how to do that with a friend. Outside of school, I never stopped learning. I continued my studies with daily practice, engaging with other modern artists, collaborating, networking, doing shows. What seems to be the most important to furthering your career is your passion and your ability to network. So...I think I’m doing just fine without having a degree. Don’t jinx me.

What kind of art do you do primarily, and do you work more for self-gratification or some kind of payment/compensation?

I used to spend most of my time creating show fliers, which led to commissions for album art, t-shirt designs, etc. I do still create just to appease my brain, but I spend most of my time on paid commissions. Creating work for another person based on their specifications can be tricky at times, but incredibly satisfying when you hear that they enjoyed your work.

You do a lot of fliers for shows around here. How did you get into designing show fliers?

One of my great friends, Mark Osborne, is a local show promoter. He asked me to draw a show flier about three or four years ago. It was of some cartoon man made out of fingers standing in space. It got a good response, so I started drawing as many fliers as I could. It felt so wonderful to hand the bands prints of a flier that I’d invested anywhere between ten to fifty hours on. Knowing someone took the time to hand-illustrate the poster for your show makes you feel very special. I loved showing people that we were grateful for their talents.

What are your favorite types if music, and how do your tastes effect your art and which projects you choose to take on?

This sounds contrived, but I like literally every single genre of music. I suppose that as of late I’ve been listening to a lot of international music (very broad, can range from Peruvian field recordings to African psych), jazz, soul, psych, gospel, funk, classical, the list goes on. When I’m trying to get excited or into a certain frame of mind for a project, I’ll try to listen to records that lend themselves to the style of the piece that I’m creating. When I made the Absu flier, I listened to metal...when I created the Eccentric Breaks and Beats cover for Numero Group, I listened to nothing but their recordings for 18 hours straight. Sometimes, the music doesn’t have much to do with my train of thought, instead it serves as something for my brain to focus on so that it doesn’t explode.

You have a huge ‘cult’ following online and in the Richmond metal and indie scenes, how has this helped you get your art out there, and have you been approached about doing any album art? I know you recently designed a shirt for The Catalyst.

A large portion of my commissions have come from creating show fliers in the past. Bands will go back home with copies of my artwork and some will consider me for projects such as LP covers, t-shirt designs, or tour posters. I also happened to get the Warner Bros. Rock of Ages commission simply because I was remembered for doing show posters. It’s pretty magical how a labor of love can turn into your career.

What inspires your art? Who are some of your favorite visual artists or biggest influences?

I live with very intelligent, creative, talented individuals. I feel like in my present life they are the ones that inspire me, alongside music and my dreams. I’ve always loved the work of Harry Clarke, who was an incredible illustrator in the 1900’s. I feel very inspired by 1920’s-1960’s photographs, psychedelic patterns, watching strange films, anything relating to religion, mystical themes, the occult, or sci- ence. I’d say the concepts behind the imagery in my pieces inspire me more than looking at other artists. When I see an amazing artists work, I end up feeling more motivated to try to make my own incredible masterpiece.

How long does the average show flier or typical assignment take you to complete, and what is your workflow process like?

Show fliers take me about the same time as a regular commission. If I’m going into great detail, working on a 22x30 sheet of paper, it’ll take me anywhere between 40-80 hours. If I’m doing an 11x14 or 11x17 it’ll probably take me 20 hours or so. It all depends on if I’m doing color or black and white. I just finished the Graveyard poster, which took me about 70 hours to complete. When I work, I like to take breaks to clear my mind. If I’m forcing myself to create when my mind is wandering, I tend to make mistakes. I don’t have a set schedule at home, I generally wake up, relax for a little while, start painting, take a break, continue painting, and wrap up whenever the mistakes start happening. I’ll probably work about 10 or 11 hours a day, spaced out throughout the day so it’s not too mentally or physically exhausting. I get migraines, terrible back/ neck/shoulder pains, I have a giant callous on my finger from drawing my entire life. It’s an exhausting job!

How do you feel about the music scenes in Richmond today? What is good or bad, what could be better, and what local stuff are you really into these days?

I honestly haven’t been going out very much these days so any answer that I give will not be a good representation of what the music scene is actually like. It seems to me, as a distant outsider, that it’s about the same as it was when I used to be at shows every night. It does seem like there are a lot more noise shows, which is awesome. I’m not heavily into noise, but the sounds and visuals make me feel like I’m in a strange scene in a David Lynch or John Waters movie, where it’s sort of confrontational, it makes you uneasy, and you can’t tell if you’re experiencing reality or if you’re in a dream. I feel really lucky to know so many talented, creative, driven individuals, so it’s difficult to choose my favorites. I like Bermuda Triangles, Caves Caverns, Frankzig, Inter Arma, Windhand, Bastard Sapling, the list goes on and on. I feel bad giving such a short list because I really do love all of my friends’ bands for all of their unique talents. Every musician that I know has an amazing gift, the ability to create sounds and stories.