Meet Blake Kathryn, one of our Objects of Desire artists. Blake is a 3D artist playing with surreal futurism and dabbling with the most vibrant palettes. Read on to find out why we’re so obsessed with them and take a peek behind their creative process.
What first got you into the world of art and design?
Every part of my upbringing. I wasn’t necessarily extra creative but I was able to slowly fall into it along the way through my love of video games, animated features, cinematography, and movies. I fell into digital art with this desire to experiment and break things and keep going. That slowly led to this path where I feel very in touch with my creative conscious side and I really enjoy continuing pushing forward.
You’re LA-based. Have you always lived there? Does your environment play a role in your inspiration?
I’ve been in LA for 6 years now and before that in New York for 2 and half years and then a Floridian for pretty much the rest of my life, through school and upbringing. LA does feel like a sister home and I absolutely adore it and it’s inspired my work so much. I feel very lucky to have found this city.
Your art feels like it came straight out of a dream. What led you to 3D art? And how did you cultivate this personal style?
I felt really creatively stuck in my profession. I was only 2 years out of school and I realized I needed to do something out of my comfort zone. I became so obsessed and never looked back. So, thanks, Internet.
I think with anyone discovering their personal style it has to be introspective if it’s going to be true to you. When I first started with this medium it was so technical there was no need for creativity, I was just learning how to make shapes fit to each other. But once I got those basics down, I started looking back to things that always inspired me. Especially being in LA, cinematography and film were a huge part of that. I always had a crush on interior design and so I started looking at architecture books and tried to fuse that into my work. I think being really conscientious of my interests and my passions that could be fit into this neat toolbox helped my style evolve naturally.
If you could do ANYTHING, like your dream project, what would it be?
It’s super tech-dependent, so this is probably a TBD. But with having such a passion with environment-focused works, and interior-focused works, I would love to create something very immersive that mixes the physical with digital. A halfway point between an installation, but also something that uses project mapping while using mixed media experiences, definitely a dream project of mine.
Last year, we were all stuck inside, staring at our walls. You must tell us, what was the weirdest quarantine purchase you made?
Ok, so not the weirdest but the best quarantine purchase I made was because of the toilet paper crisis I got a bidet. And I stand by that. Bidets for life. How did I live my whole life without this?
And the weirdest one was probably this abstract shaped humidifier. I needed something other than apartment air, I needed to feel like there was something living in my apartment. And I love it.
You gravitate towards this soft, ethereal pastel palette. Did you start with this palette in mind, or did you figure out your style as you grew?
At the beginning I was learning lighting a lot because I realized that was an interest I had passion for in that giant sandbox. And in playing with lighting I realized that I absolutely loved how metallics and complex glass-like materials looked. Overtime that evolved into this pastel route over this material texture-based route.
We fashionistas are dying to know, what are your favorite brands to shop right now?
Outside of whacky furniture purchases, I’ve definitely been enjoying getting into street wear because of LA and so much more form-flattering or just comfortable fitness and activewear that can easily be something you can go out in with nice shoes. One brand I was shopping Vuori, they have these amazing utilitarian looks. At the end of the day, I love Everlane and Reformation. I’m a sucker for anything off the shoulder, and breezy, light materials.
We noticed you stream on Twitch! Is that something you’ve always done or more like a quarantine hobby that took off? We watched a few. It’s like visual candy… you’re a wizard.
100% sponsored by COVID-19. I think I started August last year? I was locked up and feeling a bit stir crazy and I feel blessed that I was able to keep my mind largely social but creatively there were no meet ups, no way to do the watercooler talk and those Twitch streams became that outlet and turned out to be a lovely community, which peer pressured me to continue my personal studies. I’m really thankful for those streams, and it’s been great to keep up with them. I’ll keep up with them regularly this summer.
Last question: If you could pass any advice to yourself when you started, what would it be?
I feel like I’ve taken a lot of twists and turns, but one thing, and I still have to remind myself about it regularly, is everyone’s journey is different. Don’t compare ages, don’t compare expertise or skill sets. It distracts you from focusing on your own path and building out that self-reward that is guaranteed if you stick with it. Bite the envious hand and put down the work and know that it takes commitment and that the satisfaction will come.