An Angry Hum

It’s been awhile, I know. But I’ve been busy. Seriously.

I’ve decided I’m going to try to create a new version of my old career.

I’ll explain in the only way I know how: Long-winded, self-serving, and annoyingly verbose…

Some of you know, some may not, that I’ve spent more than half my life, and earned nearly every cent I’ve ever made, as an artist. For most of that time my title was graphic designer or animator. And I loved it, until I didn’t. Then I quit. That was a few years ago.

But I never stopped doing the work. I can’t. I love it. I need it. Making things is what I do. And now I’d like to see if I can make a few bucks doing it differently. I want to make things that I’m inspired to make. I’d like to create them in a way I’ve not done before, to learn, to feed my curiosity.

A quick(ish) digression: I think we’re all creative, artistic. We all bring some level of individuality, style, or creativity to our lives. It’s not creativity that drives an artist, it’s need. Like every endeavor, greatness is merely passion and practice. I’ve long believed that the cliché of the tortured artist is a real thing, born from the fact that every artist feels a little or a lot inadequate, their hands being unable to exactly and faithfully recreate what their heads and hearts want the rest of us to see and understand.

Anyway, for some time now, my only title has been Shabby Old Trophy Husband Who Cooks. I figure it’s time to give myself a promotion to Shabby Old Trophy Husband Who Cooks and Draws Stuff For Beer Money. I’d also been wondering how I could show some of my work to see if others might like it, might connect to it in some way.

For a long, long time, I’ve drawn tattoos for people in my life who know I’m able to do such things. A few years ago, I drew one for a dear friend. I started sketching the standard Young Dude stuff (you know; skulls and fire and boobs and superheroes), but none of it seemed like him. Besides, he’d said he wanted his tattoo to mean something, to say something. It gave me an idea. I drew him an abstract, geometric tattoo that also told his story, in Morse Code. It worked perfectly.

It also inspired me to try making art that could be personalized, that said something about the people that inspired it. And maybe said it in a hidden, or obscured way. Something that required time, interest and curiosity to discover. I’ve yet to perfect it, but isn’t that the point? If it was easy, it’d be boring, or clip-art.

So with all that in mind I started drawing. As usual, about 72% of what I made was unapologetically, unequivocally shitty. Sometimes even embarrassing. But the other 28% was good to really, really good. So I’ll keep going, adding stuff I think is worthwhile, stuff I’d like everyone to see. And we’ll see what happens. Worst case is nothing happens.

So here we go.

I’ve started an Etsy shop with the intention of getting stuff out there that people may like. There’s not much there yet, and I’m sure there will be hiccups, but I’m always working on it, trying to learn and make it better. I’m hopeful, and anxious, that it works smoothly and easily. Here’s a link to the shop. https://www.etsy.com/shop/TroyAndersonDesigns

Some of the stuff I’m working on will go on a variety of products. Clothes, bags, glassware… I thought it’d be fun to do a bunch of his/hers stuff. I’m also hoping to build a decent catalog of prints and canvases. But what’s most important to me is that it’s all part of my best work, the best I can do in the moment I do it. Here’s a few samples of what I’ve been working on.

My friend got me thinking about all the boss-ladies I know, that not only take care of their shit, but everyone else’s too. I put this design on a canvas tote bag for her.

I wanted to make something that had a simple message, but looked complex and maybe kinda tough. So, using Morse Code, I designed this to just say “Dad”.

I’m drawn to, inspired by, graffiti, street art, and great abstract art. This was my first attempt at mashing them together. Then I added my last name in Morse Code. Like I said, the idea of obscuring a message or story in something beautiful intrigues me.

These five prints are me working out a particular style. I really like it, and have many ideas for more. I hope you like them too.

Well there you go, a sample of what I’ve been doing. I’ll keep going until I’ve run out of ideas, good or bad. If I’m a particularly lucky man, that’ll be never. Thanks for your patience, and I’d love to hear what everyone thinks of all this.