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About me!
Hi there! I'm Ava Mancino, a freelance illustrator/designer, and secretly two dozen doves in a trench coat. I am a third-year Illustration major at School of Visual Arts in New York City. My work usually pairs pastel color palettes with endearing characters and scenes, but I have a pretty diverse art portfolio. In my free time, I like to relax with my puppy and parrot, watch cooking videos, and eat the breadcrumbs people throw at me in the park.
I'm originally from New Jersey, but you can often find me browsing in the watercolor paint section of your local art supply store. When I was younger, I spent a lot of time drawing in my room (not much has changed). I've always made art out of an appreciation for the world and its natural beauty. Also, I really liked Sailor Moon as a kid.
I love the smell of freshly brewed tea, and the taste of every kind of berry. I am inspired by a wide range of artists, including Claude Monet, Henri Matisse, and Alphonse Mucha. Beyond renowned fine artists, I draw inspiration from contemporary artists on Instagram like Meyoco, Heikala, and Kel Lauren. I love iced oat milk lattes and bubble tea.
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Artist Statement (revised)
My approach to art is soft-toned, ornamental, and colorful. I gravitate towards whimsical subject matter such as animals, nature, and characters. My color palettes often consist of pastels and vivid jewel tones. I value instilling a sense of comfort in the viewer more than I value conveying a deeper message. Pearlescent colors and detailed brushstrokes help cultivate a simple, peaceful beauty in my illustrations. I’ve been told that my work emits a calm kind of vibe to it, and looks right out of a storybook. (That's the dream!)
I often find it difficult to stray from the soft aesthetic I am drawn to. Dark, dramatic, or epic-oriented pieces are well outside of my comfort zone. Just as I want my viewer to feel a sense of comfort, I too look for that in my own art.
Ultimately, I create because I feel like I have to (I don’t mean literally have to, as in someone is holding a gun to my head). It’s an essence that's sat beside me since I was very young. Although that drive that burns inside of me is ever-vibrant, it diminishes at times, for certain. It never fully goes out, however, and I'm forever grateful for that.
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Artist Statement
How would I describe the aesthetic of my work?
“Soft-toned, ornamental, and pretty-to-look-at.”
It’s a little bit hard to define the exact look that I try to go for. Right off the bat, I have always enjoyed using pretty colors and whimsical subject matter in my art, whether that be with animals and nature or characters in scenes. The colors I gravitate towards are often pastels and jewel tones. I try to create art that causes a positive response in the viewer, even if it doesn't include a deeper message. With my use of pearlescent colors and detailed brushstrokes, I try to inspire an intimate moment of peace and simple beauty. I’ve been told that my work emits a calm kind of vibe to it, and looks right out of a storybook. (That's the dream!)
I find it difficult sometimes to deter away from the soft aesthetic that my art portrays. Creating dramatic, epic-oriented pieces, or anything outside of my comfort zone are definitely not my strong points.
What drives me to create?
I feel like I create because I have to.
And I don’t mean literally have to, like as if someone is holding me at gunpoint,
But it’s a decently indescribable feeling.
An essence that’s sat beside me since I was very young.
Although the drive that burns inside of me is ever-vibrant.
It diminished at times, for sure,
But it never fully goes out, and I'm really grateful for that.
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My Proust Interview was with the lovely Rachel Lee. Rachel is bubbly and insightful, and we conducted our interview together over email. We discussed topics regarding the day to day, and how the current state of the world has affected each of our lives. Despite not conducting a formal interview in person, or over a video chat rather, I was still able to get a good glimpse of how things are going for her in the present moment.
1. What is your current state of mind?
Things are chill, bit tired and about to go to sleep.
2. Which talent would you most like to have?
The ability to keep a steady daily routine.
3. What do you consider your greatest achievement?
Being able to say I’m doing alright despite all that is happening.
4. If you could live anywhere in the world, where would it be?
In Manhattan or Toronto!
5. If you were to die and come back as a person or a thing, what would it be?
I would like to be a sentient and attractive robot.
6. What do you most value in your friends?
I value friends who have a strong sense of self and who are straightforward.
7. Which living person do you most despise?
The ignorant and needlessly stubborn.
8. If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be?
Nothing, whatever happens, happens. I accept everything.
9. What is your favorite thing to do?
Creating art by drawing, painting, in 3D, and animation/motion graphics.
10. Do you have any hobbies outside of art?
Binge watching cartoons and anime.
11. What would you consider your dream job?
I would love to be a character/prop/environment modeler, occasionally being asked to help with concept art.
12. Besides schoolwork, how did you keep busy during the pandemic?
Played games, watched shows, video chatted with friends.
13. Do you have any pets?
No, I wish I had a cat though.
14. What’s your favorite food?
Bubble tea, then ice cream, then riceballs and sushi.
15. Will you be returning to SVA in-person this fall?
Hell yea I am!
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They tell me I'm bad luck. An omen of misfortune. That I can only bring disaster. How they shudder in disgust at the sight of me. How I'm just an evil sorcerer's messenger. My heart breaks at every scowl, at every gasp in dismay, at my mere unsightly existence for conjuring fear and up-turned noses. I'm just trying my best. I really hope I don't actually bring bad luck. It's not like anyone or anything perishes three seconds after seeing me. I wish they could realize that.
They thought I was revolting. But they never noticed how my coat glitters in the sun, how my eyes reflect like facets of emerald in the moon, how I'll always be by your side and love you more than anything. You're not the only one looking for a companion, you know.
But they couldn't see past their superstitions. And they won't. They've kicked me out for good. That's okay, really. It's not the first time. I know when I shouldn't stick around anymore. Perhaps a woodland dweller is looking for a new friend.
✧・ﾟ: *✧・ﾟ
It's getting starting to get dark. The leaves are rustling and crunching under my feet. I begin to hear the wind pick up. It whistles and rolls above through the branches. I watch as squirrels and rabbits scamper back to their hollow tree. A gust nearly knocks me off my feet, taunting and teasing along my trail. Finding a new place to call home is going to be more challenging than I thought. Raindrops start trickling down from a stormy sky, stinging my eyes. I might have to find shelter for the night, at least. Around an hour after the rain falls, I notice a warm light in the distance. An oasis in the forest, a small wooden cottage, and smoke billowing from a chimney. I make haste up ahead. Scratching at the door and dripping from the downpour, a lilac-cloaked figure comes to greet me. "Oh, my stars! Hello my dear, let's get you dried off, hmm?"
✧・ﾟ: *✧・ﾟ
I was sitting at her fireplace, curled up and resting on a sage-perfumed blanket. My heart and belly were full for the first time in forever and a day. I finally learned what genuine compassion was like. I had my own domain now; I helped her fend off mice and had an herb garden to protect. I was the ruler of the rosebuds, the elderberries, and all of the toadstools. I helped keep track of yarn for knitting blankets and mittens. I was nobody's messenger or spy or courier of negative energy. I was a friend, a compliment in our house, and a space heater at the foot of her bed. I had found my home and companion and innermost peace.
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1. What makes a photograph good?
In my opinion, a good photograph should be aesthetically pleasing and emotion/thought-provoking. A good picture should involve the viewer in a way that invokes either a recollection of memory, a sense of admiration, or just a strong emotion, whether positive or negative. As long as a photo makes you feel something, and the same can be said about drawing/painting, it's a good photograph.
2. Why do you take pictures? Why should others take pictures? What is the fundamental urge that makes photographers want to take pictures in the first place?
I take pictures whenever I want to capture a moment. The concept of catching a snippet of time to reflect on is just really amazing to me, as corny as that may sound. The same can be said about video. I have more than 10,000 photos in my phone's camera roll (which is kind of absurd actually, oops), and the majority of them are pictures of my friends, my S.O., my dog, and my artwork for keeping progress of my growth. I'm an extremely sentimental person, and I like to hold on to every special piece of life than I can, and that's why taking pictures is so important. I think many others feel the same about photography and have a similar drive to do so. It's essential to capture events in our lives through pictures to relive a wonderful memory in the future.
3. What images, stories, explanations, and questions can you write about in order to answer this?
This image makes me think of the future of an office workspace. If we were to look at this photograph as it was taken this year, and not in the 50s(?), I would assume that completely isolated workspace domes would reduce the likelihood of anyone catching or spreading COVID, but it's as if cubicle living wasn't isolating enough. With this (hypothetical) setup, everyone gets to attend to their administrative duties from the solitude of their own little glass egg dome. I don't know if that's better or worse than working from home via Zoom or whatever. The only benefit I can make of this would be returning to a physical workplace setting and seeing a few familiar faces. Actually, I think it's still definitely worse. And, if this would mean anything for our future - egg domes - I really don't want anything to do with it.
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Dear Dream Diary,
It's been a pretty strange last couple of nights.
I was on a quest with my best friend, and I think we were knights of some sort. We wore orange and purple cloaks and shining silver armor. We had received an order from the Queen of the Land Kingdom to deliver a message of an alliance to our farthest neighboring nation, the Cloud kingdom. The only problem was that no one was even completely sure where it was. In the Land Kingdom at least, no one had any contact with the Cloud Kingdom in centuries, at least as far as we knew. It used to be a close neighbor to us, but maybe it's possible it drifted far away, with it being in the sky and everything? Who really knows, I was just along for the ride in this dream.
Anyway, so myself and my best friend, we were on a search for this place for several weeks. We had journeyed through forests and mountains and other villages and were soon starting to doubt this kingdom was still in existence. As far as we know, it could've literally fallen to the ground or crumbled in a civil war and no one would've ever known. We both were getting frustrated, to say the least.
After losing count of how many days we'd been away from home, we decided to set up camp for the night near a lonesome river. It was when the sun started to set, that the Cloud Kingdom was finally revealed before our eyes. It was so rewarding to discover our long journey finally paying off. It was beautiful, too. The kingdom sat upon a large, floating island of a rock, and built towering upwards. The castle was sitting centerfold and the tallest of any other buildings. The only problem we now faced was getting to it. I had no idea how we were supposed to manage that.
To work so hard towards an end only to find it farther than you could ever reach is one of life's greatest pains. At this moment, all we could do was gaze with solemnity upon the ethereal landmass. Perhaps that's okay, maybe we were never meant to see beyond the Cloud Kingdom's walls. It was going to be hard to tell the Queen that, though.
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Yamamura Toyonari, artist of "Parakeet on Table" was a personable woodblock printmaker, noble birdwatcher, and nature enthusiast. This painting is of his beloved Red-Breasted Parakeet, Sora, who he has had since the age of ten. Toyonari admires pastel and jewel-tone colors and floral pattern arrangements. As a young child, his family often encouraged him to explore the world of visual arts. His mother, also a noteworthy woodblock printmaker, taught him how to carve his drawings into the scrap pieces of her spare woodblocks. He immediately fell in love with the carving and inking process and picked up the skill very quickly. Later on, he grew interested in wildlife and nature and developed a love for birds. He liked to sit by the pond near his childhood home in the outskirts of Tokyo, and paint pictures of cranes and swans that came by to visit. He would always have breadcrumbs and small berries to feed them. Toyonari also learned the art of the portrait and became one of the best young woodblock printers of his age group. As an adult, he was invited to make woodblock prints for the Emperor and the Court. He commonly printed portraits of the geishas and entertainers, as well.
Toyonari, now retired, lives with his wife and parakeet in the remote mountainside. He keeps company with a small flock of rescued birds both him and his partner nurse back to health, before releasing them back to the wild. He spends his early mornings with a warm cup of freshly brewed tea, made from herbs and flowers grown in his garden. Toyonari enjoys spending his time outside and admires the morning calls of the local songbirds. Oftentimes, while reclining in the relaxing sun, he paints the birds observed or the scenery around him. His love for nature has always stayed with him.
#yamamura toyonari#toyonari yamamura#japanese art#japanese woodblock#writers community#writers on tumblr
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twenty things to do when you're bored
(cute concepts inspired by nature)
1. pick wild raspberries in an open field
2. forage for mushrooms like a goblin in the woods
3. have a picnic in the morning with rose tea and honey
4. ask a deer about the meaning of a sunset
5. sing a song with the birds and the squirrels
6. say hello to a toad on a lily pad
7. dance with a rat in an autumn forest
8. paint with all the stars in the sky
9. celebrate a bunny's first birthday
10. sleep under a leaf in the afternoon rain
11. take a walk with a wise owl on your shoulder
12. give a bear a big hug in the sunlight
13. take a trip to the moon with your favorite friend
14. dance in the grass with a happy dog
15. share a piece of cake on a prairie dog's birthday
16. teach a mouse how to read a book
17. look at the clouds with a dove on your shoulder
18. have a cup of coffee when the sun rises
19. paint a picture of the wind in her hair
20. share a story with a friend you've never met
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Illustration for Goodnight Moon, Clement Hurd / Class of 2013, Mitski
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a (slightly) bitter illustrator’s manifesto
i believe that illustration should be more appreciated as a formal job.
(( get ready, this might start to sound pretentious at some points but please bear with me,, ))
it baffles my mind when i read about artists who are working for wayyy less than what their skillset should be valued at.
don't even get me started on working "for exposure"
when people with large followings or some startup company ask artists for design work or full-on illustrated album art, merchandise, etc etc and then have no intention to pay them with anything other than "exposure"
same applies for those "art contests" that social media influencers start just to get free work from a loyal fanbase
like,
are you kidding me ???
why is art not taken as seriously from a business standpoint? it's not like everyone can produce it, not everyone has creativity in visual art making.
making good art requires a specific kind of knowledge of color and form that, simply, most people don't have!
you hear this phrase a lot when people are talking about someone's art, "wow! that's so good! i can't even draw a stick figure LOL"
shouldn't that amount to something? shouldn't that skillset automatically be considered as a specialty? something that deserves to be PROPERLY PAID FOR?
it also upsets me when I see artists posting options for commission work that are vastly underpriced.
the other day i was browsing through my Instagram feed and i came across someone's post that was listing commissions for digital art. they were pricing their work for a sketch, lineart, flat color illustrations, and full detailed illustrations, ranging from as low as $4 to $25. :(
and their account had several thousand followers. they could've charged Much more, their work was great and showed a lot of talent !! it made me really sad to see social media artists underselling themselves so much.
something that i learned from my professors by being in a formal art school is how to correctly price your work. i would also likely be underselling myself if i didn't have this knowledge.
going to art school is a priveldge not everyone can afford, and i'm immensely grateful for the hand i was dealt everyday.
but seriously, and this goes to all artists:
chances are, your work is great! you shouldn't have to be afraid to be paid properly for your time and talent!!!
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a writing studio for hemingway
there are very few things in this world foretold,
and beauty in the way the story is reported.
how close the world really is to catastrophe --
being done by a leaderless and yet nonetheless coherent crowd,
in rugged sandstone canyons and a ghost town,
the dark sea below with a ribbon of green light
i feel lost, like a poor snowbird blown off its course
for a warmer future.
~ https://q961.com/poor-tropical-bird-blown-off-course-and-in-southern-maine/
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A fresh moth painting today to remind yall that its the day of my live painting demo with Etchr! If you want to see how i go about painting a moth like this with acryla gouache then come join me at 4pm PST today Jan 15th! https://youtu.be/gxBGnQLjbSM
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