RenithZen

Renzenith's art reminds me of the soft dreams and gentle fantasy. Her clean shapes almost lend a musical tone to her art. I hope you are inspired by her work and more importantly support this amazing artist

 
1. Who are you and what artforms do you use?  My name is Jamie, however you’re most likely to see me under the name of RenithZen on all my socials! I would consider myself a jack-of-all trades when it comes to artforms for I view art as an expression of oneself and thus limitless, but for now I range from wood burning/carving to more traditional watercolor, acrylics or alcohol markers and currently and mostly now digital illustrations.      

    2. What are your 5 favorite movies?  I just had this conversation with my best friend the other night, so this question is perfect timing! I've always had a deep love and fascination for anything Studio Ghibli. Their movies were a statement in my early consumption of Japanese Animation and really made me fall in love with beloved and heartfelt story telling in combination with inspiring and just ridiculously gorgeous art. So my top 3 has to go to my most nostalgic: “Howl's Moving Castle”, “Spirited Away” and “Princess Mononoke”. With that being said, although I love the emotional pull of the Studio Ghibli films, and could watch them endlessly, I do find myself often seeking more light hearted and “dumb” humored media to give my ever creative brain a break. Last year I was introduced to the movie “What We Do in the Shadows'' and completely fell in love! Its intentionally bad and dry humor is really up my alley with my own comedic breaks. Lastly, after much debate, my 5th favorite movie isn't really a movie but I love it so much I couldn't place any other media above it. It's Hamilton. I've listened to the soundtrack, since it came out, on repeat for years before the musical was released on film and now I can subject my friends to it and spread the love lol! Its brilliance really helped me stay motivated and to keep pushing through many art block periods.    

3. How has your craft developed?  I would say my craft started developing when I was very young. As a child I adored watching my sister draw, from endless sketches of the Orca, Keiko, from “Free Willy” to fairies and dragons and pages filled with hands. I lived through my sister's art and was eager to be and create like her. By not so smartly drawing over her art frequently and trying to, not so secretly, complete her unfinished illustrations with my very much lesser developed skills at the time. But this really established a solid foundation of clean lines and a more advanced understanding of human anatomy. Because of her, I was able to develop much faster in my skills than if I had done it on my own. I picked up where she left off in skill and have only advanced from there. Through the years, I frequently went on long hiatuses from not creating anything due to life becoming busy or my desires shifting as I discovered myself. But in the end, I found my darkest periods in my life to be the times I wasn’t creating or expressing myself. The correlation was uncanny and since then I used my many sketchbooks to be my dairies. A way for me to escape and put out into my own little world what I was feeling and going through. With that discovery I promised myself to try to be more consistent and that certainly has paid off.  In 2015, I transferred to a new highschool, met my best friend, Danielle, and took my first art class until I graduated. I loved my art class and every day, it was the only class I longed for. My art teacher at the time, Justus, taught me more life lessons and philosophy then he will ever know and aside from Danielle, has and continues to make the greatest impact in my life. I can now say proudly that as of late 2021, I took the leap to quit my conventional job and join my best friend in making her art company, “Passion Drawn in Ink” come to life. She encourages and deeply inspires me daily and I could never thank her enough for pushing me to my fullest potential in everything I do.    

  4. What are your artistic inspirations?  As mentioned above, my best friend and my former art teacher, now a dear friend, are my biggest artistic inspirations. But aside from those two beautiful people, I take most of my artistic inspirations from everything around me. I am a keen person of observation and everything inspires me. Subtle gradients of the gray mountainous trees on a gloomy day or the way someone’s body moves beneath their skin, to the latest show iv consumed. Everything is a constant intake to be filed away and used later in the pieces I create. I am constantly observing and learning and I don't wish for that to ever stop!     

5. What is an artist or art form that is catching your attention?  At this moment artists with similar style to Sakimichan have always caught my eye! Their ability to capture the human form or scene with such softness and vibrancy has always been pleasing to me and greatly inspires me to push myself to explore new styles and put my all into a piece. Of course this leaves my perfectionism forcing a piece to take longer than needed, but in the end I am happy and am proud to put my name on it, so it's worth every hour <3.    

6. What is the best piece of advice a fellow artist gave you?  The most recent best piece of advice I picked up was from a random artist online through a comment in a forum. They had said: “It doesn't matter where you start, but what you do with it.” This advice speaks to me a lot because I often find myself overwhelmed with making decisions or just starting something. Frequently procrastinating due to the fear of failing or not being good enough. But having never done anything at all is the biggest failure to myself. Although, honestly, a lot easier said than done as I try to implement this advice into my life more. Overall the reminder that even if I start off bad, it's okay, because we all start somewhere and to keep pushing because it's that drive to keep going and growing that sets artists apart.       

7. How do you seek opportunities to share your art?  I seek to share my art mostly online, such as Facebook through commissions, Instagram, TikTok, Artfol, Twitter and ArtStation. Although I'm trying to get better at posting so it's been a bit of a struggle on my end. Otherwise I am sharing my art in person by being accepted, along with my business partner, to have a booth to sell our stickers, prints and bookmarks at our local art festivals, craft fairs and general local events or having our product in our local stores!     

 8. Where would you like your art to go? Thematically and style?  Excellent question! At this moment I am working towards my art being more “industry standard” while still very much being me. I don't necessarily want to create what everyone else is doing, while still taking inspiration from those who are successful in this competitive profession. I think by the time I consider myself to their level, there will be someone else doing something to take inspiration from. Ever a work in progress! My weakness is certainly backgrounds at the moment though, so day to day goals in improving that.       

 9. What do you think is your best quality as an artist?  I think my best quality as an artist is my desire to grow and learn. I'm constantly analyzing my own work and self, as well as others to pick up on techniques or seeking feedback to improve my process and skills. Being open to constructive criticism can really push someone to sky rocket in growth. But I have discovered that some “critics” can confuse “just being honest” with criticism that is actually helpful for one's success in their journey of growth in any element. Certainly reflecting if what you're saying is truly helpful and gives the recipient a proper direction of what steps to take next can really make a huge difference in encouragement vs discouragement. As someone who gives and often receives criticism in my art, ask “What is the true purpose of my criticism?”   

My Website: www.passiondrawninink.com  and Artstation: https://passiondrawninink.artstation.com/  Tiktok, Facebook, and Instagram: @passiondrawninink