In January we wrapped up the 2022 Art Crawl and announced the winners as decided by our judges. A few weeks ago we had the chance to sit down and ask them each a few questions about their artistic inspirations and backgrounds. Today, we’re going to put our adjudicators of art under the spotlight, and share some of their answers with you. At over 4,000 submissions, they each undertook the seemingly insurmountable task of selecting just 3 winners. Check out the winner’s announcement here.
You don’t need to be a chef to know if your food tastes good, but it certainly does help you form an opinion on what you ate. The same can be said for art! Our judges appreciate art, but they also create it.
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Now that you’ve seen a sampling of their art, let’s start the spotlight!
Imgurian tallandartsy primarily works on sculpture, but she’s got her hands in all areas of art. A visit to her profile will greet you with a vast array of creations. From her favorite sculptures to pencil drawings, paintings, and everything in between; if you’re an art fan, you’re all but guaranteed to like what you see.
*So you’re clearly very artsy. But how tall are we talkin?*
6’ 1” which only has bragging rights because I’m a girl.
*How long have you been creating art? What inspired you to start?*
My mom has always been my brightest encouragement; she swears the finger painting she has from my preschool years was her first sign I was going to be an artist because I painted my name into the colors before I even knew how to write or spell. That being said, as a kid I was obsessed with animals, specifically, dragons, reptiles, and fish. So I’d convince my parents to buy me nature photography books and then I’d just draw what I’d see.
*If you didn’t sculpt or paint, what would you do for art?*
Monster masks and practical effects for costuming and film. There’s something special about bringing monsters to life, and it would be a ton of fun to be involved in that process.
*Who would you collaborate with if given the chance? One celebrity and one Imgurian.*
I’d love to work with Adam Savage. He’s worked on so many incredible practical effects and has such an incredible range of skills! I’d love to be able to make functional art pieces, animatronics, and such. Even a day with him I’d be soaking up any and all advice and technical knowledge I could. Yeah I know I could say Adam Savage for my Imgurian too, but I started to feel like a real member of this community thanks to MartynMage. So I think I’d like most to collaborate with them!
Imgurian Nohalfmeasures21 specializes in painting on very small surfaces. With that said, she branches out to bigger canvases on occasion. If you’re a fan of space and the night sky, stop by her profile. Her paintings of our galaxy are out of this world!
*What’s the story behind your username?*
The story behind my username is from season 3 of one of my favorite shows. One of the characters, Mike, tells a powerful story of him trying to do the right thing, but not fully committing to finishing the job. It’s a somber moment in the show, and a turning point for the main character, Walt. It was one of my favorite moments, so it seemed like a fitting username. The number 21 was my age when I made the account.
*Other than your own, what is your favorite style of art?*
I enjoy a lot of styles of artwork, and I think my favorite would have to be Studio Ghibli films. The artwork in them is so colorful and the landscapes look magical. Watching them growing up inspired me to want to be able to create beautiful works of art like that.
Happy Halloween everyone! Here’s a skull I painted in a galaxy theme!
*Has the Imgur community had any effect on your artistic process?*
It has! Before Imgur, I wouldn’t have thought about using a banana to show the tiny scale of my paintings lol. Beyond that, I find the community to be very helpful with their suggestions and ideas on what to paint next. Just recently someone mentioned to me to look up the Seven Sisters Constellation, and now I’m planning on painting that beautiful starscape into one of my pocket compasses. I’ve also made some good friends from Imgur and I’m grateful for that.
*If you could create your own event, what would it be?*
I love themes that celebrate and showcase other artists’ work. Like Art Crawl and Hobby Day. I think a fun new addition would be an event called “Teach Us Your Craft.” Artists or hobbyists can teach others who are interested in learning their crafts. For instance, knitting, embroidery, stained glass, and pottery. There are so many new things I want to try and I think a great way to do so would be to learn from talented Imgurians!
Imgurian PauldeGraaf or “Paper Paul” makes incredibly creative works of art using just paper. Paul has challenged our thinking on what paper is capable of with his many functional pop-up creations.
*I’m sure you’re asked this all the time. What made you decide to take the path of the popup?*
Me and my girlfriend have a pop-up book collection. We started collecting and bought our first book in late 2014. From that point on, my interest in pop-ups started. About three years later I started to make my own pop-ups. I was just trying some stuff and techniques that I saw in a tutorial and it really sparked my interest when I discovered that the possibilities are endless when you combine techniques and experiment with mechanisms.
*What will you be looking for when judging?*
Something that invokes emotion. Art is a spectrum, and it’s hard to say I’ll be looking for any one thing. My heart will guide me just as much as my eyes.
*How would you describe Imgur to someone who’s never used it?*
A Pandora’s box you actually want to open. Imgur is a fun place to share your creations that encourages creativity.
*Is Paul even your real name? Is impostor Paul among us?*
I know it’s very sus, but no, I’m not using my real name. My name is Jean-Paul, but I thought it would be much easier to remember just Paul. “De Graaf” is not my real last name. PauldeGraaf was actually my Facebook name that I used when I first logged into Imgur. It’s embarrassing I know. You can find me elsewhere by looking for “PaperPaul.” That’s the name I use for my pop-up projects.
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And that’s all, folks. From everyone on the Imgur team, we wanted to say thank you to our judges for their selfless service. As a reward for absorbing all of that art, each judge will receive an item from the Imgur store. Congratulations!
Benjamin Baskett
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