FEATURED ARTIST: Interview with Connecticut Artist, Henry Boon

How long have you been an artist? What is your specialty? Where do u find inspiration?
I feel like I have always been a creative person. My family is very arty, both parents have got careers in fine art and graphic design so it runs in the blood. I’d say I have been professionally working as an illustrator for the past 10 years. Since graduating from the Norwich school of art and design.

I take a lot of inspiration from popular culture at the moment, films, video games, currant affairs. I have also been reading a ton of Manga recently and I think that has started to sublimely creep in to my work. I’ve always found Manga and anime so fascinating, their ideas; characters and colour palette are always so incredible.

Do you have a job in the art industry? If So, what’s one thing you don’t like about it? If no, where would your dream job be?
I work a full time job in a post production and photography studio and then do my illustration work at home in my spare time and on weekends. The full time job is good but it can sometimes feel like you are a robot churning out image after image with not much creative input. However I’ve worked there for a number of years now and they are a good company with a ton of young and talented people working there too so it’s a nice place to work, it also gives me ample time to do my own work which is always a bonus.

My dream is to be able to become a full time illustrator and sustain myself off that.

Do you have a favorite Artist?
I’ve always loved Kyle Platts illustrations and characters. He’s got such a good knack of keeping his illustrations really fun but at the same time drawing dark subject matters. Also Craig Gleason is a machine, his work load and character creations always inspire me.

What is one accomplishment you’ve had in your life? Does not need to be art related.
Graduating from university was a proud moment. Also recently moving in with my girlfriend felt like a big step in life.

Where do you see yourself in 5 years? 10 years? 20 years?
I’d love to go free lance and be earning enough of my illustration that I can rely on that to pay the bills. In 20 years I’ll be 50….I don’t really want to think about that haha.

If you could meet and talk to any person in the world, dead or alive, who would it be?
Never really thought about this but of the top of my head it would be mad to meet and chill with Jimi Hendrix. Listen to him shred the guitar while you shared a joint. I reckon that would be pretty cool.

How is one way you make money with your art?
I do a lot of large spray paint murals and these have been a great source of income over the last few years. When I first started spray painting as a youth I did not think id be getting paid for it 15 years later.

If you could go anywhere in the world where would it be and why?
I’d love to visit America. It has always been on my bucket list. We see so much of it in films and on TV that its always intrigued me to see what its actually like. Id love to see the national parks, the huge sprawling deserts, taste some of the crazy huge burgers and meet some of the larger than life characters out there. I feel like I would come back full of inspiration.

What is your favorite brand of art supply? Whether it’s a brand of pencils or brand of camera or software
Well at the moment I’m using some £1 mechanical pencils from Tesco’s haha. Pack of 6, you can’t go wrong. For my spray paint jobs I’ve been really enjoying using ‘Loop paint’ The coverage is amazing and their colour range is wicked. If you do graffiti/ street art and haven’t tried these I would highly recommend. And they are cheap.

Any advice for young artists?
To keep at it. Draw as much as you can and keep all of your mistakes. They will shape you as an artist. Also it sounds cliché but don’t give up, if your truly wanting to become an artist it’s going to take a long time to get there unless you are very lucky. It’s the sort of thing you will be doing for the rest of your life so take your time and enjoy it.