SKETCHY BEHAVIORS WITH KIM SIELBECKWith a background in fashion, textile, illustration and printmaki

SKETCHY BEHAVIORS WITH KIM SIELBECKWith a background in fashion, textile, illustration and printmaking, Honolulu based artist and designer Kim Sielbeck creates colorful, bold, and fun paintings and patterns inspired by lush landscapes in Hawaii. From murals to digital canvases, Kim recently created some our favorite customs as a Vans Custom Culture ambassador, using her signature color palette and designs! Find out more about Kim, what inspires her, and what she has coming up for the rest of the year.  Take the leap! Photography courtesy of the artist. Could you introduce yourself to everybody? Hello! My name is Kim Sielbeck. I’m an illustrator living in Honolulu, Hawaii and have been here for about two years. Before that, I was in New York City for almost twelve years. I went to school at the School of Visual Arts. I grew up in a Coast Guard family and lived in Hawai'i as a child- it’s much different being here as a grown up! Fun tidbits: I am a dog person, I was born in Alaska, I once broke my toe in mid-air taking a jumping photo.How would you describe the art you create? How would you describe your particular technique?My work is colorful, bold, and fun. Mixing colors and choosing them before I start on a piece is something I love.  I limit myself to flat colors–this evolved from focusing on printmaking in school and working as a textile designer for several years. Pattern is important in my work, which also carried over from the textile world.What are your favorite things to paint? What are your favorite things to paint on?I’m very inspired by the verdant, lush landscape in Hawai'i- the plants here are unlike any other in the world. I also love painting people relaxing and having fun. A lot of what I paint is a reaction to current events today. I paint the world I want to live in. As far as surfaces- murals are my current favorite! Painting on a giant wall, getting covered in paint, and working in a public space beats working in my usual set-up, which is an iPad or computer.What’s a typical day in the studio for you like? And what are you currently working on in the studio?Every day is different. It usually involves a couple hours of combing through emails, finding the right balance of podcasts and music (with some dance breaks), and zoning out while I’m drawing. Currently I’m working on some new personal pieces- I just painted a portrait of my friends Sarah and Danny and their puppy. I’m also working on a few editorial pieces for some magazines!My studio is very unique- it’s located in the Old Blaisdell Hotel, which was one of the first hotels built in Honolulu. There are lots of other creatives in the building, and it’s nice to take breaks and talk story with them during the day. We all support each other and it’s a great community.When you’re working developing a new painting or piece, how does it begin - take us from sketchbook, to color choices, to finished painting?  A new painting starts as a tiny thumbnail to get the composition right. Then I’ll start sketching right on the surface (normally wood panel) with a light underpainting. Picking color is something I do very early on- sometimes it informs the composition and the subject matter. I try to limit my palette to 5 or 6 colors per piece. Sometimes, I’ll be ¾ done with a piece and have another color idea- so I’ll have to go back in and repaint entire sections of the painting. It’s all trial and error, and you can always repaint something.We love the colors and compositions of your works and designs. Can you tell us how you arrived at your color palette and how composition comes into play when you’re creating a piece?Years of working in the fashion and textile industry has given me a keen sense of color and color combinations. So much of my job as a textile artist was using colors that were popular for each season- we always had trend forecasting books laying around, and would often color or recolor a piece until it was right. We also limited our palettes to what commercial printers could print- usually no more than 8-15 colors per design.Additionally, color palettes were always the first thing we came up with when starting a design. I still have that approach today and often pick my colors before anything else is completely set in stone.What tools will someone always find you using at your studio?I’ve got plenty of tubes of acrylic gouache laying around, lots of different brushes, and lately a lot of leftover house paint from murals. My go-to tools for commercial work include my iPad, desktop, and Wacom tablet. I’m able to leap from painting to digital work- most people can’t tell a difference between the two!How do you unplug yourself so to speak? What do you do to center or re-focus yourself if you find yourself stressed out about deadlines, art shows, and the sort?One of the reasons I moved to Hawai'i was to be able to unplug more. Prioritizing things like going outside and being in nature are great ways to step back and put things in perspective. I also make sure to keep a planner so deadlines don’t creep up on me, and hit the gym to work out any lingering stress.You recently worked as one of our Vans Custom ambassadors! We absolutely love the Vans you created for it. Can you tell us a little bit about the process, your concept, and the response you got?Thank you! I loved painting the Custom Vans… people always ask me where they can get a pair! My concept was to create one shoe with a tropical print and one with a desert print. They could be used to walk everywhere and anywhere across the globe. The colors I wanted to really pop- you would notice these shoes on someone’s feet!What do you enjoy about collaborations like this? If you could pick anyone in the world, who would you collaborate with?I’ve been a fan of Vans since I was a kid and tried to sneak into to the Warped Tour. I had big ambitions of skateboarding and surfing as a kid (I am finally learning how to surf!). The lifestyle, attitude, music, artistic improvisation, and boldness of skate/surf culture has always been magnetic, so working with Vans has been a dream job.I love collaborating on all sorts of projects–I don’t think I have one specific dream client. I love seeing my work adapted in new ways, like animation. I’d love to paint more murals, and also work on some big-impact projects that can reach more people and bring some color and joy into their lives.What advice would you give someone who wants to follow in your footsteps?A career is not something that happens right away- you have to constantly work for it and adapt. I was hoping right out of school I would instantly become a world-famous illustrator… not the case. It took a few years to find my style and voice, and that’s ok. More advice is to always pursue outside interests, and grow as a person. I was in a punk/pop band for several years in NYC (shout out Puppies!), learned how to sail, and traveled a lot. All these things, while not necessarily being art-related, helped influence my work and life.How did start becoming interested in art and design? When did you find yourself doing it as a career?Moving around so much as a kid, art was something that was a constant. I could express how I felt, what I was going through, and could make friends doing it. Early in high school, I realized I could maybe do it for a living. My parents sat me down and asked me to come up with a plan for college and beyond, so I had realistic expectations and saw the hard work it would take. A good work ethic, some luck, and many hours of practice helped me push through. When I graduated college in 2009, there weren’t many jobs. I lucked out and got a full-time job at the textile studio, while freelancing on the side. Eventually, 8 years later, the freelancing became stable enough to do illustration full-time.When you’re not busy creating art, how do you unwind and chill out?When I’m not in the studio I’m trying to explore new places, go on hikes, go to different beaches, or learn how to surf. At the studio, my brain is on New York speed, but walking outside I switch back to Island Time immediately.If you weren’t an artist, what do you think you’d be doing instead?  I’d be a guitarist and lead singer, traveling the world in my amazing punk rock girl group.So we gotta ask what are your FAVORITE Vans?I have some surf-green high tops I’ve worn for YEARS. I got them in Pasadena one night at an art opening when my sandals snapped in half. The Vans store was miraculously still open, and I ran in and grabbed them in the five minutes I had to spare. They saved my outfit and my night, and they’ve since traveled to London, Italy, Hawai'i, Japan, and beyond.What’s coming up next for you?I’m going to Europe in September, for some work and some fun. I’m looking forward to a few bigger projects I can’t talk about yet. I’m also working on some local Hawai'i projects, including working with the Humane Society. A beach towel collaboration with Surfer Towel’s Christie Shinn (who you just interviewed!) just came out, too.FOLLOW KIM | WEBSITE | INSTAGRAM | TWITTER | BEHANCE  -- source link

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