Energetic characters donning cowboy hats and boots, creative designs with vivid colours in opposition to vibrant backgrounds, and detailed scientific illustrations all the way down to the wing patterns—these are the creative types that artist Liz Clayton Fuller, often called ipaintbirbs on social media, makes use of to depict your entire favourite birds.
There’s a motive for this selection—Clayton Fuller’s scientific illustrations have been developed for instructional functions as a service to science, whereas her enjoyable and high-quality artwork designs function a spot of pleasure for each her and her viewers. Clayton Fuller drew inspiration from the latter when creating the 2024 Audubon’s Let’s Go Birding Collectively design. You can find it here on attire, tote luggage, and extra.
To study extra about Clayton Fuller’s course of—together with how they created this design for us—her inspiration, and extra, we chatted with them on Instagram. Learn on for a curated model of the dialog, which has been edited for size and readability, after which watch your complete interview on the finish.
How did you get began with illustrating and changing into enthusiastic about birds?
Ever since I can bear in mind, I used to be all the time drawing or portray. Whilst a child, my mother and father have been throwing me artwork provides, and I am very grateful to them for that. I all the time needed to be an artist. I went to artwork college twice, and I discovered my lane, began illustrating birds, and did not look again from there.
It is fascinating as a result of the fervour for artwork was all the time there. However birds got here lots later. I do know lots of people who’re into birding have been raised with birding. However I got here to birds by means of my artwork in school in my senior 12 months of artwork college. It took some time, however I am glad to be right here, and I’ve made each considered one of my household birders. So it actually labored out that method.
What does your creative course of appear like for a venture just like the Let’s Go Birding Collectively design you created for Audubon?
Each course of for each venture seems just a little bit completely different. However for this one, y’all reached out and stated, “We need to do the Let’s Go Birding Collectively marketing campaign—our focal chook is the [Painted Bunting], what do you suppose?” Additionally, y’all have been type sufficient to [say], “We all know you wish to put birds in little outfits, so be at liberty to go for it.” So I believed, “Okay, we have got a Painted Bunting and the slogan is Let’s Go Birding Collectively (LGBT).” And I needed to create a chook who [looked] like they have been inviting you to go birding with them.
So I did some sketches, despatched them to y’all, honed in on which one we appreciated, and from there, refined the sketch and went into portray. For this venture, I talked with Kristina [Deckert, senior creative director,] about doing a combo of conventional and digital—which is new for me however has been thrilling as a result of I am a painter initially, however I like so as to add some little sprinkles of digital artwork in there. So [I did this] portray initially in gouache. Then I scanned it in and added quite a lot of the small print digitally. That is the step-by-step of how this cute little man who needs you to go birding collectively got here to be.
How do you method your scientific illustrations versus your high-quality artwork designs?
I might need cut up into even threefold now. I’ve scientific illustration, high-quality artwork, after which this joyful new model of illustration that I have been doing for a few years. I method all of them in numerous methods. I began out once I turned a scientific illustrator [thinking] all of my work was going to be hyper-detailed, super-focused, and really severe. That was superior, however it was unsustainable. I wanted a flip aspect to my artwork that was just a little bit extra joyful and gave me a relaxation from the scientific illustration as a result of it’s so targeted and so demanding. I used to be feeling the necessity for a distinct kind of artwork to assist me keep targeted and enthusiastic about my work.
With scientific illustration, once I [start] a bit, my desktop is stuffed with references—I by no means have a single reference for any chook that I am illustrating. It is normally no less than six if no more than that. The scientific illustration may be very detailed. I am counting feathers—I am taking a look at all these references and taking it very significantly, as a result of normally I am collaborating with an ornithologist. For my illustrative and high-quality paintings, I get to calm down just a little bit and make artwork that comes from a spot of pleasure, pleasure, and love. For these illustrations, typically I am going to have a few references—typically I am going to begin a portray as a result of I noticed a chook, and I bought enthusiastic about it, as a substitute of it being a part of a venture. It is extra for me hoping to encourage pleasure in others. So these are the completely different ways in which I method that kind of artwork.
What evokes you to create sure collection like your ‘Yeehaw Birbs’ collection?
The ‘yeehaw birbs’ have come up within the final couple of years, and so they have been a response to needing a aid. I’m from Nashville, and we’re a really ‘yeehaw’ place. So I used to be drawing and portray birds tremendous detailed. And I [thought], “What if I simply put them in just a little cowboy hat with little cowboy boots only for enjoyable?” So I attempted it. My very first one was a Carolina Chickadee. They have some very radical cowboy hats and cowboy boots there. However I began doing it, and it introduced me a ton of pleasure. It additionally introduced different individuals quite a lot of pleasure. I believe that the ‘yeehaw birbs’ can convey individuals into the birding fold in a method that scientific illustration perhaps does not have the facility to do.
So I have been having fun with portray all of my favourite yard birds of their best yeehaw attire as a result of it makes me glad. And that is necessary if you’re attempting to maintain your artwork follow. If it is not enjoyable, you are not going to need to hold doing it. So if there are any artists on the market who want just a little unsolicited recommendation, just be sure you’re having enjoyable along with your work. Typically you want that stability of pleasure to maintain your creativity sustained.
Why do you suppose artwork is necessary?
I believe that artwork has the facility to attach us as people and as people to nature. My largest dream for my work is that it’ll spark pleasure in of us and encourage them to need to join with nature extra and need to see what birds are round them. Even when it is one thing as foolish as them seeing a cardinal in a cowboy hat and boots after which deciding that perhaps they need to get a chook feeder. Then the birds come to their feeder, and so they’re like, “That is wonderful—perhaps I need to go birding; perhaps I need to be extra invested in conservation.” I believe that artwork will be such a robust instrument to get individuals enthusiastic about one thing and seeing issues which might be lovely. It is not that each piece has to have some type of deep, complicated which means. Typically it’s merely meant to make you smile. And that’s necessary too as a result of all of us may use extra pleasure in our lives.
Need to study extra about Liz’s birbs and different work? Watch our full dialog along with her under.