Bringing Quirky Critters to Life...

Mar 6, 2017
4 min read

Alicia Wishart has a knack for all things fluffy, scaly and everything in between. You could say she is the Newt Scamander of artists with the shear vastness of the species that she has covered, both real and fictional. Her unique styling of animals - or critters as she tends to say - have the ability to be delicately intricate while having the fun of a cartoon exploding on her canvases. After focusing on art throughout her education, she has made the rounds to art and fan festivals, steadily gaining a fan base for her gorgeous and sometimes off the wall interpretations; her portfolio is bursting with pieces that will leave you in awe. Even the much loved director Kevin Smith has an original Wishart on his wall - Alicia gifted him with a painting of his beloved Shecky. Her first book, Animal UniVerses, is a collection of her original paintings with an animal for each letter of the alphabet and a perfect example of her vast knowledge of "critters". Recently. she's ventured into the media of comics with her debut featuring her beloved - and Buzzfeed famous - tort son Waffles. 'Waffles and the Quest for Toast' takes us along with him on a carb-filled adventure any bread loving person can relate to, and it's another example of Alicia's multitude of artistic abilities.

She found time between picking up her brush and looking after her tortoises, pups, and foster critters, to answer a few questions from The Colony:

Thanks for taking the time to let us into your awesome mind!

First off I want to talk about your gorgeously unique style in your pieces. How did you decide to focus on adorable critters?

Animals have always been my favourite subjects. I preferred stuffed animals over dolls, the cartoons I loved to watch and comics I would read were always about animals. People for me seemed so boring. Too many stereotypes for males and females and how a human looked pretty much determined their personality. An animal can be anything to anyone. Their personality can be so many things. They also have so many interesting features like colour, texture and size. Humans are all pretty much the same but unfortunately for humans, the difference in features is perceived to many as something to be ashamed of and not admired like with animals.

Is there a moment that sticks out in your mind that was when you realized you were an artist?

I've been drawing for as long as I can remember. I liked to draw cartoons growing up but mainly other people's characters. I also drew realism since my parents and grandparents had a house full of wildlife art. I would try my best to be as good as the ones on the wall. I never really considered myself an artist for most of my life because I was always striving to be better. In my mind, until I was as good as my heroes or doing it as a living, I wasn't an artist. The first time I sold a painting, I couldn't believe someone was actually giving me money for my art and most importantly, it was someone I didn't know! I was shaking like a leaf trying to do the transaction.

Who are some people that inspire you when you're creating your pieces?

Inspiring people were a really big thing for me growing up. Chuck Jones, Jim Davis and John Kricfalusi were huge influences on me and my art. Some I wanted to draw as well as, some had ideas I could only dream of and others achieved things that were exactly what I wanted. I wanted it so bad that it hurt. Then it didn't happen and I was destroyed. I stopped creating all together at one point because trying meant failing and I couldn't take anymore rejection. I went back to school and took graphics which taught me many useful things that I still use today but also taught me that I hated graphics. I did that professionally for 5 years and in the meantime started to want to create for myself again. Old habits die hard and I picked up where I left off with the need to be what I always desired. I did a painting of a rooster that changed all that though. It wasn't me trying to be as good as someone else, it was as good as I always wanted to be. I tried again with other animals and it was like an awakening. I eventually moved on from emulating my favourite artists and now credit them in helping me be who I am today but as far as inspiration goes, I tend to stick closer to home. I have a couple of friends that I've met at shows that are great sounding boards. We give each other ideas, listen to what each other wants to do and then we cheer each other on. It's no longer about trying to be as good as someone else.

Do you feel pressure to create more pieces regularly?

Omg! Been there, done that. Before the economy tanked, I was painting non stop. One year I did 50! I was selling them as fast as I could make them. One Christmas I had 8 commissions to do in a month and a half. Once things started slowing down, it became frustrating to try and figure out what people wanted. I had staples like elephants and giraffes but even those stopped selling. Original paintings have been a tough sell over the past couple of years. My technique has greatly improved and they take longer to complete but I haven't raised my prices in over 5 years. Last year I scaled way back on shows and production because the frustration was getting too much. I wasn't enjoying painting much because it seemed like no matter what I made, people didn't like it enough to take it home. Don't get me wrong, I was still getting tons of admirers but none with open wallets. I decided that if people weren't going to buy, why try to please them? I started painting ideas that had been kicking around in my head that didn't match my usual continuity. Painting became fun again and people are really liking the new stuff. So forget the stress of trying to produce and please, I'm 100% in this for me now.