In this episode, I interview Rachel Caldwell, an illustrator and graphic designer who regularly finds her art tattooed on people around the world (or at least on people’s T-shirts).
As the child of painter Edward Gordon, Rachel explored her artistic talents early on. Today she works professionally as a graphic designer but moonlights as a working artist, doing everything from commission work for heavy metal bands, to illustrating pop-up books on anatomy for children, to achieving income from multiple outlets such as Society6, Threadless, and others. If you’re an illustrator or visual artist, this is a must-listen episode!
And yes, people everywhere email her and ask for permission to get her art tattooed on her body.
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During our chat, we discuss;
- What’s it’s like coming from an artistic family and being influenced by her father at a young age.
- How her creativity is being passed on to her son.
- Why it’s important to encourage artistic endeavors in children.
- Her decision to pursue graphic design in college and how she found her voice as an artist.
- How Rachel first got noticed on Threadless ten years ago, and how that’s led to her success on Society6 and other online outlets.
- What’s it’s like having people all over the world get tattoos of her art.
- Why Rachel needed to hire intellectual property attorneys because her art was being stolen.
- Why cell phone cases turned out to be a lucrative source of income.
- How a random drawing of a guitar turned out to be a T-shirt for Fender and the House of Blues.
- Why she does commission work.
- Her recent work on a medical pop-up book for children.
- Her advice for other artists and creatives.
In addition to her website, you can find Rachel’s art on Society6, as well as Threadless and other sites.