Artist of the Week: Jana Kinsman

One of the aspects of the local venue/bar The Whistler (home of the Orange Alert Reading Series) is their appreciation of local art. Every season the allow a local artist take over their front window and thus creating an ever-changing aesthetic for the venue. Over the winter they featured Jana Kinsman, and in my opinion she created their best display to date. Jana is a hybrid illustrated/designer and love capture everyday scenes and characters. For me there is something warm and friendly about her illustrations, and I had to reach out and ask her a few questions.

Orange Alert (OA): I love the display you did for The Whistler. How did that come about and how did you decide what you would do?
Jana Kinsman (JK): Thanks! I had a blast doing it. It came about when I saw a call for proposals for the window gallery. I had been going to the Whistler for some time by then and had drawn each bartender/door guy on napkins, guest checks, whatever scraps I could find... They started hanging them up in the entryway, which was funny and very flattering. So by then they knew my style and seemed to like it. When I saw the call for proposals, I wanted to create a warm, inviting winter scene using life-size characters and calling it Winter at the Whistler. I drew inspiration from people who frequent the bar and hang out in the neighborhood and put the people in a line, as if waiting to get in to the bar. I added snowflakes and panels of white board to give the display dimension and detail, and printed the characters on a vellum, which really looked warm and cozy when the light shined through. I went with something that would hopefully make people smile that could start a conversation, not too much depth, just simple and sweet!

OA: Are your sketches of actual people or are these your own characters?
JK: Most characters I draw are just amalgamations of all the people I see around me. I take favorite attributes, simplify them and combine them into people of my liking. Some drawings I've done are of guys I've dated or friends, but usually they're made up.

OA: How did you get involved with j+j+j and their new usb album? Do you feel the music influenced your illustrations?
JK: I've been friends with Johnny and Joanna for years. I met them through a tangle of local bands when I was in high school and putting on shows in the burbs. They really liked my drawings, and I fell in love with their music. So I've been doing T-shirts, show posters, stickers and such for them for years. This time around they asked me to do their album (on a credit card-sized USB drive!) and I totally said yes because its a pleasure collaborating with them. I'd say their music has definitely influenced my drawings over the years. They're fun, cute, hilarious synth pop, and the relationship I have with the J's gives me an outlet for some sickeningly cute drawings. It seems they know me well enough to give me a project and basically let me do whatever I want, which is absolutely awesome.

OA: Have you thought about doing a book or comic strip?
JK: I think about it all the time! Honestly, I am just waiting to find a collaborator who is good with words and stories and wants to team up and create. I'm a motivated person, but for something like a book or strip I need someone who is as passionate about their story as I am about my illustrations. I would love to get involved in doing childrens' books!

OA: How did you like being an "Artist in the Window" a little while back?
JK: I thought it was hella fun ! Instead of sitting there and creating one single project I decided to sell little custom doodles of customers for $5. It was really fun and I made a lot of people smile, which is my favorite! But, It was challenging to sit in the window for 8+ hours, and at the end of the day I was indeed exhausted from doodling.

OA: What's next for Jana Kinsman?
JK: Working as a graphic designer at Crate and Barrel and CB2 during the day keeps me pretty busy. I do illustrations for CB2, which you can find on their Oliver appetizer plates. There are more in that series coming up, which is exciting! I've been doing some speaking gigs talking about my career as a combo designer/illustrator, which have been really amazing opportunities that I hope to get more of. I am also currently working on Quite Strong, a collaborative studio space with four other fantastic female Chicago designers/web developers/illustrators. We've got a studio set up in Logan Square that serves as a workspace for us, which is where I do all of my freelance design and illustration projects. So, building up that space and creating an identity/web presence is an ongoing effort for all of us. Other than that, I've also got little illustration projects to work on. The more people I meet the more opportunities I find to create and collaborate. Things are good right now. Plus, now that its warmer, I've got some fun bicycle tours planned!

Bonus Questions:

OA: If you could sit down to coffee with anyone (alive or dead) who would it be?
JK: Anyone who loves what they do and has success doing it, really. They're inspiring people and keep me going. I'd like them to be someone I could relate to and be friends with. Also, can it be beer and not coffee?

OA: What type of music do you listen to and who are a few of your favorites?
JK: Mostly happy, sunny indie-pop. Catchy tunes that I can sing along to or ride bikes to. Stuff that is okay with being silly or unique. Music with colors and yelling and weird textures and descriptive lyrics inspire my creativity. Some all-time faves would be Belle and Sebastian, Fleet Foxes, Wilco, Animal Collective... and then new faves like Icy Demons, Caribou, Forest World, Neon Indian, and Delorean are keeping me high as of late.

Oh and I never miss Breakfast with the Beatles on WXRT.

For more information on Jana Kinsman please visit her website.

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