Hello! Welcome to part II of our interview with illustrator and surface designer Abigail Halpin.

Last week you had a chance to meet Abigail and learn about all of her creative endeavors. This week Elena M. Sarni continues her interview with Abigail by asking her about her work habits and life as a busy freelancer. Abigail shares her goals for the future and offers advice for artists looking to enter the fields of illustration and surface design.

Enjoy!

Hi Abigail! Do you refer to yourself as an illustrator and mixed-media artist? How do you describe yourself?

Because the bulk of what I do for work is picture book art, I primarily refer to myself as an illustrator. I'll even sometimes refer to myself as a commercial artist if someone isn't familiar with what illustration entails. It helps to make the distinction between commercial art and fine art. I'd say 75% of my work is in publishing and everything else fits in after that.

Have you always worked as a freelance artist or did you work other jobs when you were first starting out?

I had a range of jobs as an adult (barista, retail salesperson, piano teacher) before eventually going into graphic design. Then I worked at a boutique design agency for several years while moonlighting as an illustrator. My focus was identity development, publication design, and creating marketing materials. Eventually I made the decision to go down to part-time at my design job before eventually making the leap to pursue illustration full-time.

I am appreciative of the experience I gained from all of the jobs that I held before this one. As a barista, I worked for an amazing bakery that had a heart for community and a love for the earth -- that kind of business mentality influenced me tremendously. And working as a designer gave me a solid foundation in how to run a business: interacting with clients, pricing, time management, etc.

As a freelancer do you keep set hours? How do you plan your work days?

I tend to keep pretty regular hours, mostly to stay on a similar schedule as my clients. Book illustration is the bulk of my professional work so personal art and textiles are typically things I work on in my free time or during weekends.

I love your studio. Do you tend to do most of your work there?

Thank you. Yes, I work in the Salmon Falls Mills in Rollinsford, NH and have been here for seven years. I love it! I'm hugely grateful for the community in Rollinsford. It has shaped me so much. Keeping my work and home lives separate has been a huge benefit to me and has helped me create a much healthier mindset. I do all of my work there. I'm so thankful for this space, but when I close the door at the end of the day it always feels good to walk away and get some distance from whatever project I'm working on.

Do you sketch daily? What is your design process?

I do sketch daily and it's the number one way I generate new ideas and work through creative roadblocks. I like that sketchbooks are so tactile. They are places to experiment and make a mess. I do color correction and edit elements of my illustrations digitally, but about 80% of my process is pencil, paint and paper. And to be honest, I'd love to move to a point where I'm working wholly traditionally.

Any advice for young artists starting out? You have accomplished so much at such a young age!

Take your time; Rome wasn't built in a day and it's good to enjoy the journey.Also, day jobs get a bad rap. I'm so glad I held onto mine until I felt secure enough to go out on my own. It took a tremendous pressure off of me creatively knowing that I had a regular paycheck coming in.

What are some career goals that you have yet to tackle?

I'd love to do an artist residency, to explore embroidery in a more intense way. I'm also intrigued by the idea of doing an art installation. And one of these days, I'd like to write and illustrate my own book.

What is something that people would be surprised to learn about you?

I was homeschooled! I left public school after eighth grade and finished my education at home. I think learning is very much a personal choice and what works for one person might not work for another. But for me, homeschooling was the perfect fit and gave me time to pursue art. I honestly don't think I'd be working as an illustrator today without the foundation I built for myself in high school.

Want to see more of Abigail’s work? You can visit her website

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About the author: Elena M. Sarni

Elena M. Sarni has a BA in English and an MA in History and Museum Studies from the University of New Hampshire. She worked as a curator at art museums and held fellowships to study folk art collections early in her career. Upon moving to Maine she worked as a freelance art reviewer for several years, managed a local arts association, and took positions at a few small museums.

She organized her first fine art and craft pop-up shop in 2015 and is currently planning her sixth show, which will open this November. She branded the business as Pine Tree Pop-Up in 2016, naming it for Maine's state tree.

She takes pride in supporting local artists and promoting the creative economy.

Want to know more about Elena? Read this post she wrote

'Behind the Scenes of a Pop-up shop with Elena M. Sarni'.

Life as a Freelance Illustrator with Abigail Halpin