Flexibility, Distillation, and Immersion: Ellen Weinstein, Catapult Artist for March 2019

Filling that blank space is a mix of excitement and agony.

As part of our Catapult Artist program, Nicole Caputo, Catapult’s art director, sits with March’s #CatapultArtist for a conversation on art, creativity, and the artist’s life.

Last year I was doing some research for She Designs Books and was so happy to come across Recipes for Good Luck written and illustrated by Ellen Weinstein. Not only did I love the cover and concept of her book (detailed below), but also her enjoyable brightly colored art grounded by smart concepts often dealing with complex subjects for publications like The Atlantic and The New York Times. I have followed her since and was elated when she agreed to be our Catapult Artist for the month of March.

Nicole Caputo: What lead or inspired you to become an illustrator and why do you do what you do?

Ellen Weinstein: As a kid growing up in New York City, I was inspired by the posters I saw around the city and on the subways. I was also enamored with the art in books that I read. I attended the High School of Art and Design, a public school for the arts in Manhattan and got a great introduction into what would become my life’s work.

I studied design and illustration at Pratt Institute, but my design portfolio consisted of illustrations with type. I love the direct communication of images and the power they have to convey mood, emotions, and messages. The art also reaches a massive audience in intimate settings, like reading a book or a magazine at home, or in a large public setting in the form of a poster or installation.

What does a typical day look like for you?

I like to sketch and write early in the morning. I find the time before the workday gets going to be a nice, quiet time to gather my thoughts and come up with ideas. Depending on what my workflow and deadlines are for any given week, I am usually working on a number of projects in different stages: sketches, finals, proposals—and I teach one day a week.

My daily schedule varies depending on how busy a week it is: Sometimes I am done by seven and will meet up with friends or go to an event. Other times I am working pretty late into the night on a deadline or if I have a good flow going and want to work uninterrupted. My husband, fellow illustrator David Flaherty, and I will take our dog out for walks. When I get to go out for a run, it helps break up even a busy day.

Please tell us about your desired medium(s) and what do you like about this medium and what can be challenging?

I paint in gouache and love the flexibility of the medium to create transparent washes or flatness while maintaining vibrant color.

Can you tell us a bit about your process from start to final execution?

I start every project with pencil and paper thumbnails, including personal projects. If I am working with text, I like to distill down to one sentence what I want to convey in an image. Once I know what I want to say and the feeling I want to create, I sketch many thumbnails. I need to see an idea on paper to know if it is going to work or not. I paint in gouache and compose the final art in Photoshop.

It is such a treat to take a peek into your process. Could you give us an example of one of the distilled sentences using one of the Catapult pieces you worked on for us?

For the story “Cactus City,” the sentence was “waiting and wading in a pool of red.”

And for “How to Move Through the Dark,” it was “mother’s arms at water’s edge.”

Can you tell us a bit about your book Recipes for Good Luck and what inspired you to write and illustrate on this topic?

I was working on an assignment a few years ago on superstitions and noticed a lot of familiar behavior in the piece, since I am superstitious myself. The subject resonated with me and I wanted to follow my curiosity on it and explore it further. I began with a few personal pieces, decided to package the idea as a book pitch, and sold it to Chronicle Books.

Working on the book gave me time to investigate and research a topic and see where I could take it. I established parameters for the subjects (diversity of people, practices, and professions—no addictive behavior or anything that spoke to mental illness or self-harming) and the art (a number of background colors, iconic images) in the beginning. Then I had complete freedom to do anything within those boundaries.

How do you refill the creative tank? What kind of practices, rituals, outings, sights, etc. do you engage with?

Physical activity is an important counterpart to a practice that requires a lot of time sitting or standing. I find it the best way to recharge and clear my head. Living in New York City, it is easy to take for granted the ability to go out and see a great museum or gallery exhibition or performance, or to attend a book reading, which I do at least a few times a month. Getting together with friends is important! I am fortunate to have opportunities to travel for speaking and teaching engagements and greatly enjoy the people I get to meet and the new experiences it brings.

For those looking to get into the field of illustration what are your recommendations based on your experience?

I encourage anyone looking to get into illustration is to fully immerse yourself in it, and develop work that you feel passionate about. Being excited about making art and learning something new will be the fuel that keeps you going for the long run. Find what can sustain you monetarily while you build up enough work to earn a living at it. Many people have day jobs or work in a couple of careers at once. I encourage students to embrace diversifying and working in multiple markets (comics, editorial, publishing, etc.). Everyone has their own path to success.

Do you have different approaches to editorial, books or personal pieces? How do you come up with ideas for each?

I have had assignments that inspired a personal or book project and work for exhibitions and in my sketchbooks feed back into my commissioned work. They all inform each other. But staring down a blank sheet of paper is always my starting point for anything. Filling that blank space is a mix of excitement and agony.