Seattle might be notorious for niche coffee shops and scenic waterways, but locals know it's also home to an array of people who love to create. This city is chock-full of artists who we love to feature weekly on Seattle Refined! If you have a local artist in mind that you would like to see featured, let us know at hello@seattlerefined.com. And if you're wondering just what constitutes art, that's the beauty of it; it's up to you! See all of our past Artists of the Week in our dedicated section.
Seattle Refined: How long have you been creating? What mediums do you work with?
Candice Gartzke: I have been making art since my mom put a crayon in my hand when I was a baby. When I went to Skyline High School, there was a creative writing class that had children's storybooks as an assignment, and I got over 100 percent on it. From there, I knew children's storybook writing was for me and something I wanted to pursue in life. For my children's fairytale book illustrations, I make them in watercolor, ink, and gouache.
Can you tell us about your artistic process and how the different stages work into it?
For creating my fairy tales, I get some ideas from dreams, real-life experiences, or other inspirations. I typically create the story where I imagine my reader to be reading it, whether that is on an airplane, bus, or on my bed. I try to write the basic bone structure of the story first and then edit it into a 20-page spread. From there, I do research and sketches of the characters and environment. Then, I create a storyboard with pencil. From the storyboard, I do drawing on tracing paper and transfer it to my paintings. Then, I ink, paint, and take photos of the paintings. Finally, I make sure the paintings look good on Photoshop and lay them out on InDesign with the manuscript.