Anita Kunz, the Toronto based illustrator who has continuously found success upon success with her work. You’ve probably seen her illustrations on several covers of the New Yorker, Rolling Stone, Time Magazine. Sports Illustrated, The New York Times, Vanity Fair and so much more. She has also illustrated over 50 book jacket covers. She has won many prestigious awards, conducted several one woman shows, been honored with speaking at many organizations including The New Yorker magazine cover artists at the annual New Yorker Festival in New York, at ideaCity, a think tank of luminaries from the fields of medicine, politics, science and the arts in Toronto.
All images belong to Anita Kunz. Check out her website here: http://www.anitakunz.com/anita-kunz-new-yorker-covers.html
Anita is a driven, incredibly successful artist and she has a bit of advice for young artists out there who are trying to make it in this competitive world. Here are Anita Kunz’s top ten tips for finding creative success:
1. Work Hard. Put in the hours and you’ll get better It’s a process; it’s a journey, so don’t be too hard on yourself.
2. Embrace Self Doubt, it will propel you forward.
3. Remove toxic influences. Put crap in, you’ll get crap pot. Surround yourself with excellence. Remove toxic people, even if it is difficult.
4 Nurture your uniqueness. It is important to be uniquely yourself- it’s what the best artists have done.
5. Not working can be just as important to creativity as working. Completely disengage! Go for a run, watch a movie, take a nap. Neuroscience confirms that sometimes the brain has to completely disengage in order to com come up with a good idea.
6. Be Kind and stay humble. To quote Vonnegut: “ “There’s only one rule that I know of, babies—God damn it, you’ve got to be kind.”
7. Contribute where you can.
8. Take care of yourself! Try not to use materials that hrt you or the environment. Fixative, turpentine, try not to use it, or use proper ventilation if you have to.
9. Remain a student for life and stay curious and open minded. Always be learning, whatever form it takes.
And finally,
10. Stop trying to be perfect! Learn, ask tons of questions, absorb information like a sponge!