ARTIST SPOTLIGHT – Andrei Ausch

This week, we welcome Andrei Ausch to the CBFC Artist Spotlight!

Q. Where did you grow up at?

A. Mostly in Toronto, Canada.

Q. How long have you been drawing?

A. Since I was very young, stopped for about 15 years when I got older, started again about 8 years ago.

Q. When growing up what artist did you idolize?

A. Jusko, Boris, Julie, Silvestri, Bisley, McFarlane and Jae Lee from the more mainstream lineup but always had a soft spot for Mucha and Drew Struzan (before really knowing who he was).

Q. What character is your favorite to draw and why?

A. It changes, it used to be Spawn, Venom, Apocalypse more recently it’s Ghost Rider. I’m definitely drawn to the more organic creature types, where the anatomy can be exaggerated and manipulated.

Q. A character that is on your “To Draw” list?

A. When in doubt, Venom if life.

Q. Could you please provide some tips on how to overcome artist’s block?

A. I can’t say I get blocked often but sometimes it’s hard to be motivated to get going, so the challenge is getting warmed up. I find that once I get going on something it helps warm me up and land in the creative zone, then it’s just a matter of blocking out the world (distractions) and immerse myself in the creative process.

But it also helps to try something different – out of the usual norm. Whether it’s a different medium or technique or even subject matter. Drawing the tv remote or a bowl of cereal can go a long way, for me at least.

Q. What artist would you love or would have loved to collaborate with?

A. Any of the modern “pop culture” painters – Palumbo, Bianchi, Patelis, Greg Hildebrandt, Jusko, David Finch, Riccardo Federici, Alex Ross … list goes on an on. I just think I could learn so much from any  of them.

Q. What advice do you have for new artists or people who want to become artists?

A. Like any skill, you need to put in the time to develop it. For anyone who wants to become better, you have to constantly push yourself. You have to draw/paint/create every day – it has to become part of your routine. And if it’s important to you, then make it a priority. If you don’t have the time then you aren’t prioritizing it, look at your day to day life and i’m sure you can easily swap out some screen time for some art time.

And don’t stop learning – look at the artists that inspire you and try to break apart their process, but don’t focus on the materials, try to identify why they do things the way they do it. You should pick up tid bits of insight from various sources and apply them to your own workflow. Some will work and some won’t but you should build the experience to help you understand why. 

Thank Andrei Ausch for taking the time to answer a few of our questions! Be sure to give him follow!

Don’t forget to check back next week for our next Artist Spotlight! If you’re an artist and are looking to be featured on our page, please hit me up here. I’d love to hear from you.

-Chris