Colin Russell: Meet the Artist
The name "Ghost Town" comes from a time in my life when I was living outside of Detroit and spending a lot of time, both solo and with friends, exploring the many abandoned factories and buildings of the city. I've always been fascinated with empty spaces and those that have been forgotten. To be able to enter a place like that, to learn its history, and to try to put together some of the pieces of a place's past will always be something that I love very much. "Ghost Town" is a combination of my past experiences with my current life in an illustrated form.
Q: How did you get involved with Lions and Rabbits?
A: It was originally because of my time working at Madcap when I used to live in Grand Rapids. I got to know a lot of folks who are now, or were, involved with LRCFA just by serving them coffee. And once I went full time into the freelance world, those connections I had made through coffee just got stronger as time went on. And now living down in Atlanta, being able to stay involved in the creative world of where I used to live is such an honor. I love that I have been given the opportunity to come back to my old hometown to add some of my artwork onto familiar walls and buildings.
Q: Run us through your creative process: Medium? How do you start, flow and finish?
A: 99% of the time it will be only black and white. How those are applied can vary. From paint markers on a canvas, brushes, or spray cans if I am working on larger exterior pieces. My process of actually completing a piece will depend a lot on the client or the project. Sometimes it is super meticulous linework with lots of edits, and sometimes I just walk up to a wall and get to fully freestyle something, slowly filling up the space as I go with what I think will make the most sense.
Q: What themes/ideas are highlighted in your work? Intentions?
A: I have worked to develop a style that is pretty straightforward. I think that art with very deep meanings has a place, and is very important, but I personally like being able to create things that are just fun to look at. And for me, it kind of stops there. I love being able to create scenes and characters, but I don't always feel that they need a complex story or meaning. There is plenty of good art that does that already, and I like for my work to function as more of a break from that artistic approach.
After Dark 2022 located near Bridge Street Market. Grand Rapids, MI
Q: Can you share more about how your career as an artist began?
A: It honestly started on accident. I had been working in coffee for just shy of eight years when COVID happened. As a coffee trainer at the time, it was pretty hard to train a non existent staff. So because of that, I was laid off. I have been a creative person my whole life, whether it be drawing, photography, ceramics, you name it. I have probably tried to do it at least once. So with that in mind, I needed to do something to fill my time of not working, on top of the early stay-at-home orders. From there, I had folks start contacting me asking if I could do a random one off project or design. And it just started to snowball from there. Freelance wasn't exactly my intention, but I am very happy and always grateful that enough folks trusted me early on to cultivate what I have become now.
Q: What mistakes have you made? What obstacles have you encountered throughout your career as an artist?
A: Oh there's too many to count haha. A career in the arts is constant "try something new and see how it goes" energy. Mistakes aren't inherently a bad thing though. Sometimes you just have to put yourself out there and see how it goes. As far as obstacles, I truly didn't expect for so much of my time in freelance to be spend not actually creating things. Emails, meetings, phone calls, websites, and social media. That eats up so much of my day. It was hard to get used to at first, but I think I have found a good balance of everything now.
Q: Who/what are your biggest inspirations that play a key role in your work?
A: Early Disney cartoons (Disney's Nine Old Men), Max Fleischer, traditional tattoos, and just all of my friends that are alongside in the freelance journey. They may not all stylistically inspire things that I create, but they inspire me to keep after it and to keep growing.
Mural located at Condado Tacos. Grand Rapids, MI
Q: Do you feel supported by your community as an artist? In what ways could you feel more supported?
A: Yes and no. I feel supported from friends, family, colleagues, as well as my clients that keep wanting to work with me past that first project. However, I think that cities and the larger groups that can help invest in creative ventures on a larger scale need to step up a bit, or in some cases step down. There is a painful amount of red tape when it comes to trying to get anything made on a public facing wall, or when working directly with cities. Being able to make more of an effort to work with/alongside artists instead of trying to get an artist to fit a mold of what you think should be made is really holding back a lot of progress when it comes to creative aspects of cities.
Q: What is the function of artists in society? What does being an artist mean to you?
A: An artist to me is someone who is able to express a feeling or idea through a creative means. It is an extension of their own internal process.
Q: Describe a moment when you felt most proud of yourself
A: It is less of a moment, but more of a collection of moments. These last few years have been full of challenges for everyone for a handful of different reasons. Being able to look back even a few years ago to see where I am at now is something that I am very proud of.
Q: What are you currently working on or looking forward to?
A: I have a handful of collaborations in the works that I am not allowed to talk about quite yet, but I am thrilled to be able to release them later on in the year/early 2024. Other than that, just working on a few new mural designs as well as locking in a few more walls down the road!
Q: BONUS: If you could chose any superpower, what would it be?🦸🏻♀️⚡️🌀
A: Teleportation for sure.
Follow more of Colin’s work on www.eerieandcheery.com and on instagram.com/GhostTown.ATL
Thank you for checking out this week’s Meet the Artist, be sure to checkout more artist stories dropping weekly on our blog!
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