Illustration Moment

As you all may know, I'm a visionary, a creative and conceptual individual. With that being said, I obviously have peers and others that I look up to and draw inspiration from. I wanted to take a moment out of the fashion field and introduce you all to my good friend Darren Toliver. He is an artistic genius with many huge projects to show the world. He's a young illustrator, alumni from attended University of the Arts. Like many other creative individuals, after college he packed up and moved to the big city, NYC. But because of hardships and realizing that Philadelphia is actually a booming and bustling city full of potential he came back to the city of brotherly love. 

Here is my Q + A with him.....

Discuss some of the influences, inspirations and ritual habits that are incorporated

into your work?

All I've ever wanted to do was be an artist, I'm a daydreamer so growing up I always was fascinated by 'make-believe' things. I loved anything that would take me away to far away place, I was really into movies like Wizard of Oz, Aladdin, Jurassic Park, the Star Wars trilogy, and anything by Disney. I grew up in the 90's so I also had the best of the best with cartoons like Rugrats, Dexter's Lab, Dragonball Z, Batman and Scooby-Doo just to name a few. I think being exposed to all of that you can't not have any of that rub off on you in some way. So I would say those are my influences, as far as inspirations go I don't really aspire to be like any other visual artist that's out there. I love film directors, poets, musicians, and writers. My work incorporates my culture, which is Black culture, but it also is a combination of everything I experience. 

What are some of your recent accomplishments?

I'm working on a children's book with a first-time writer and me being a first-time illustrator I think the combination is a great one. Hopefully the book gets published [crosses fingers].

How do you find time in between your deadlines to work on personal projects and

paint for the sake of art?

I think if you really love something you will make time for it no matter what, I couldn't imagine living without doing artwork for myself at some point during the week. Whether it's for a couple hours or a couple minutes of  drawing at a computer desk, I always make time for me.

When did you understand the power of visual language and that you had the ability

to speak it?

When I first got to artschool I really wanted to be an illustration major, now that I look back on it I really had no idea what illustration was. I quickly discovered that pictures spoke volumes without being literal like the comic books of my childhood. After spending four years in school I understood more that every piece of work should have a story even if its a simple one. Once I realized that I had a story to tell I began to really enjoy making artwork that told little pieces of my story, so I guess now I'm exploring visual language, slowly but surely.

Is it easier for you to connect with people through art or through real conversation?

I think I do a good job at both, I like to talk in person but sometimes speaking through your artwork does more for a person than just having a conversation.

Choose one of the following: lose your eyesight, use of your hands or you lose one

leg? Which will it be?

Leg! LOL 

Where do you see things evolving in the next 10 and 20 years? What are you excited

about witnessing and being apart of?

I think there will be way more opportunities for creative people, you can already sort of see it now, just check out sites like Indeed and Craigslist they are full of titles that didn't even exist years ago. Creative platforms are popping up everywhere, I see myself getting paid, hopefully. 

What is your life philosophy? Is it developed yet?

I don't know if I have a philosophy just yet, but I do know that I wil always go after the things I want. Life is short, I want no regrets.

What is one thing that art school didn’t teach you?

Patience. It all takes time, but waiting can be unbearable sometimes, I just keep pushing through though. 

All images by Darren Toliver

Also, I forgot to mention that he is a watercolor genius! Watercolor is one of the harder mediums to control, trust me, I know! It's just so fascinating to see all the depth he can achieve with watercolor. I'm looking forward to seeing more from him in the future! And if you take a look at his blog, you'll see some wonderful fashion related illustrations! 

                                                                                                                     Xoxo,

                                                                                                                        Jacqui