Sunday, May 23, 2010

GDG Artist Spotlight: Lizzie Nichols


This week, we talk to GDG's Lizzie Nichols, another one of our Los Angeles based members!  She had some HOT pieces in our Bitter/Sweet show, and is certainly one to watch for more beautiful work! Keep an eye out for more of her amazing artwork in our upcoming shows and in one of GDG's many upcoming projects!

Welcome to the Girls Drawin Girls Spotlight, Lizzie!

1. What's your name?
Lizzie Nichols

2. Where are you originally from, and where do you live now? 
I grew up in Connecticut and lived in Massachusetts for about 7 years. Now I live in the Los Feliz neighborhood of LA.

3. What do you do for a living when you're not drawing sexy pinups? 
At the moment I'm still a student (graduating in April). Ideally after that, I'll be in Vis Dev for a feature animation studio.

4. What's your favorite medium to work in? 
For traditional media, nothing beats pencil and paper. For digital, Photoshop.

5. Why do you think the pinup girl has such a timeless, wide appeal? 
Humans have made images of sexy women for literally as long as they've been able to sculpt stone or draw with charcoal on cave walls. Everyone, no matter their sexual orientation, likes looking at beatiful women, and the pinup girl allows an artist to create what they consider to be the "perfect" woman entirely out of their heads. And, of course, humans like sex, and the pinup girl represents a kind of wholesome, clean sexiness.

6. Define what "sexy" means to you.
Everyone always says "confidence," and of course I agree, but what's even sexier to me than confidence is competence. Show me someone who is very very good at what they do, someone with effortless skill, someone who makes something hard look easy--that is a sexy person. I guess passion combined with skill is what does it for me.

7. What's your biggest goal/ambition as an artist?
Art director on an animated feature. I want to be responsible for the whole look of a movie, to design the color story, the shape language, etc. That would be incredible.

8. Why do you like drawing ladies? 
They seem to be the most natural thing for me to draw; women are my default doodle in the margins of notebooks. They're fun and easy to draw, and if you do it right they're sexy too!

9. If you could travel anywhere, where would you go?
Australia! I've never been and I've always wanted to go. Every Australian I've ever met has been a kind, warm, awesome person. Must be the water or the kangaroos or something. (Or maybe those are the people who leave and come visit LA?) Anyway, I want to go see Sydney harbor and Ayers rock and the great barrier reef and a wide variety of marsupials.

10. Name three artists who have influenced you and/or you admire.
J.C. Leyendecker, for his amazing paint handling and shape language. Bill Watterson, because Calvin and Hobbes is probably the greatest comic ever drawn, N.C. Wyeth for his color and light.

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Thanks Lizzie!

And don't forget to check out her website at
http://lizzienichols.blogspot.com/

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