00:02 - Dr. Diane (Host)
So welcome to the Adventures in Learning podcast. As you know, I am obsessed with all things children's literature and I love to be able to feature artists who are at the start of their careers, who are getting ready to take the world by storm. And I met this young woman at a SCBWI conference in New York and was so impressed with her body of work, so I am thrilled to introduce you all to Janae Matthews today. Janae, welcome to the show.
00:31 - Janae Matthews (Guest)
Hi, thank you. Thank you for having me, Diane.
00:34 - Dr. Diane (Host)
So let's start with a question I like to ask everybody. Tell us a little bit about you. Tell us about your adventures in learning. How did you get to be where you are? Did you wake up saying I want to be an artist?
00:47 - Janae Matthews (Guest)
You know it's so funny, it's kind of something that wasn't a decision, it just always was. I can't remember not being an artist, not drawing, not coloring. Yeah, my earliest memory is like when I'm four years old and I'm coloring and I'm just in my own world and I just that's, that's how I always escaped. So, yeah, it was just always something that was just ingrained in me.
01:14 - Dr. Diane (Host)
So you've been drawing since you were little. Do you remember some of your earliest art? What were some of the things you made?
01:22 - Janae Matthews (Guest)
Oh, I remember this one drawing that was in my, my photo album and it was. The question was what did I want to be when I grow up? Funny enough, it was a nurse, and I don't even remember wanting to be a nurse, but I remember the drawing of the nurse and I was like, oh, drawing has always just been a thing, it's always been there and it's something that I love to do and to this day, I never get tired of it.
01:52 - Dr. Diane (Host)
And so did you go to school for drawing. Did you take it in high school, did you go to college for drawing? How did you continue the love of drawing?
02:00 - Janae Matthews (Guest)
Yeah, so in high school it was just more so. Art class, like that, was just my favorite thing and we would have exhibitions and all that stuff in the school In terms of like a traditional schooling in college or university, I actually pursued my degree in graphic design, not art. No-transcript, I don't have any traditional schooling in illustration whatsoever. It's just, you know, looking at my, looking at people that inspire me, looking at their work, what I love about it, seeing if I can incorporate that into my own work, and yeah, that's just kind of how things came about, just completely self-taught.
03:09 - Dr. Diane (Host)
You remind me so much of Vanessa Brantley Newton, who worked a career in medicine for like 30 years and did all these other odd jobs but taught herself to draw and is now a New York Times bestselling illustrator. Wow, so maybe we'll see you as the next bestselling illustrator.
03:30 - Janae Matthews (Guest)
I receive that yes.
03:33 - Dr. Diane (Host)
So let's think about graphic design though, because you know there's a certain amount of STEM and STEAM involved in that. You're using the computer to create art. What goes into making a good graphic design?
03:48 - Janae Matthews (Guest)
Oh, you know, it's interesting how different art and graphic design is, because their objectives are completely different. With graphic design it's more so about communicating, and you know, there's kind of like a success and a fail. If something doesn't successfully communicate, then it's not well designed, versus in art it's more so completely subjective and up to interpretation and all that good stuff. Um, so it's kind of like I get the best of both worlds. I love how different they are and I kind of can't imagine my life without either one of them. Graphic design is a passion of mine too and I actually kind of stumbled into it. It just kind of happened when I was in high school and there was a university visiting my school and know giving their program and design and everything like that. I was like, oh, that's pretty cool, I could use my creativity in that way, and from there it's just kind of history.
04:53 - Dr. Diane (Host)
And so what are some of the things that you've designed so far?
04:56 - Janae Matthews (Guest)
Oh, my goodness, I have designed so many things, so I would say, like my focus is mostly in print design, like my focus is mostly in print design, so I mean anywhere from banners to flyers, to T-shirts, merch, so many different things. I'm a part of a. Currently I work at my church, so it's a very large church, multi-campus, and so I'm the only designer there, so I'm the senior designer.
05:47 - Dr. Diane (Host)
So we're going to get back to illustration in just a moment, but just to stay focused on design for a minute. If a child wanted to pursue that as a career, wanted to follow in what you're doing. What would you recommend to them in terms of things to learn while they're still in school?
06:04 - Janae Matthews (Guest)
Yeah, I would say, yeah, the building, one of the building blocks of design is typography, and typography is so fun because you can, you can create custom typography. You can. That literally just requires a sketchbook and your pencil. You know, I would say diving into that like understanding type, because it's all around us, you're always going to apply it, and so I just think that's a really great place to start, and I would even look into like programs, because I know colleges do have programs, summer programs, where kids can kind of learn those skills on the computer, and so I just encourage you to seek that out because that's definitely a huge resource. That would be very helpful.
06:55 - Dr. Diane (Host)
Very cool. So then I'm going to shift away from design for a moment, because I'm really intrigued by what you said about teaching yourself illustration skills. How do you do that?
07:07 - Janae Matthews (Guest)
Oh, man, I would say it's really just between you, your sketchbook and your pencil. Look at things that you loved growing up, so like, for example, I loved books that were illustrated by like Lane Smith, very different from my style, so it's kind of like the if you know the books like the Stinky Cheese man. Oh, yeah.
07:33
Yes, so he illustrated that book, the, the books like the stinky cheese man. Oh yeah, yes, so he illustrated that book and um other books like that. So, even though it's so different from my style, I just like. I just love taking in all the different styles and as you go along, that actually helps you build your own style in some ways, shape or form, whether you're aware of it or not. So, honestly, I would say just get, get your sketchbook, get your pencil and just go for it. Let your mind go and see what happens.
08:03 - Dr. Diane (Host)
inspires your illustrations.
08:06 - Janae Matthews (Guest)
I would say I'm so huge on just just whimsy, just you know, world building. I love pieces and illustrations where I feel like I've been transported there, you know, and it's kind of like an escape kind of. And I love color, I love love color. So if you look at my work, it's just bursting with color. If you look at my work, it's just bursting with color, um, and so those are kind of like the, the components that drive my illustrations. And I I love innocence. So I just feel like innocence is one of those things that I feel like is kind of not protected in children these days, and so I just want to make sure, like my illustrations kind of maintain that innocence and just kind of bring the children into my world a little bit and see things differently.
09:04 - Dr. Diane (Host)
Do you have any examples of some of your art with you?
09:10 - Janae Matthews (Guest)
So I have. I did a book called Safety Seal about two years ago. I didn't write it, I illustrated it, but this is the book, so it's called Safety Seal. There you go, and it's about a seal named safety, and the book is teaching kids how to be safe on a field trip and how to deal with bullies and all that good stuff. These are things that they can apply in their own lives, and so I did that with Samuel L Griffin he's the writer. I did that about two years ago and I'm really proud of it, and that was actually my first ever project. So I was just so humbled and honored to do it because it's something that I've always wanted to do and I want to continue doing. So I'm hoping in the future, very near future, there will be more projects like that.
10:02 - Dr. Diane (Host)
So for people who couldn't see the cover, can you describe a little bit about what's on the front and sort of your style of art as you're looking at it?
10:10 - Janae Matthews (Guest)
Sure, yeah. So the front cover has three characters on it. It's Safety Seal, his friend Alex, and then we have the teacher. That's in the book. So Safety Seal is obviously a seal, and then Alex is a polar bear and then the teacher is a penguin. So they're kind of just on the cover, just like waving high and it's like really colorful, with a lot of purples and blues and all that good stuff. So again, color.
10:42 - Dr. Diane (Host)
Do you have favorite colors that inspire sort of your color palette? I know that different illustrators kind of settle into different colors that they use depending on the project. I was wondering if there's sort of favorites for you.
10:54 - Janae Matthews (Guest)
Ah yeah, I find myself using a lot of cyan and magenta those colors, I don't know what it is, but I just love those colors and love mixing those colors and incorporating it into my work. It's just so full of life. I just love it.
11:10 - Dr. Diane (Host)
And what medium do you use to create your art?
11:17 - Janae Matthews (Guest)
I, mostly I do it on my tablet.
11:25 - Dr. Diane (Host)
That's really cool, you know. I think sometimes when people think about digital painting they think AI and sort of you just type something into a computer and you get that. And I know that couldn't be further from the truth, Can you sort of describe how one goes about digitally painting.
11:41 - Janae Matthews (Guest)
Oh man, it's so interesting because there's components that are just like being on a pen and paper and they're things that are very different and it takes some getting used to. At first. When I started, I didn't really know what I was doing. You're kind of stumbling through it a little bit, but that's okay, that's how I learn and I honestly think it's the best way to learn. It's just playing around in it, playing with the different brushes. You know all the different textures. You can get pretty close to and like a regular pen or a pencil and paper, and so it gives you just a huge library of options in an instant, and so it's just a wonderful resource and I love doing it that way?
12:30 - Dr. Diane (Host)
And if you make a mistake digitally, how do you go about undoing it? I know if you're working on a canvas you kind of have to paint over and redo. How does that work with digital?
12:41 - Janae Matthews (Guest)
Oh, so easy, as simple as command Z.
12:48 - Dr. Diane (Host)
So what are you working on now? What kind of projects are you working on or what are you hoping comes into your world?
12:56 - Janae Matthews (Guest)
I am hoping, actually I'm hoping this year I'll be accepted into an agency and so that's kind of I'm kind of building my portfolio right now, so to a point where it's strong enough, where I feel like I can start submitting to agencies and hopefully this year, believing I will have a new book project to work on as well as developing my own original characters and stories.
13:23 - Dr. Diane (Host)
That's very cool. So I want to ask just a couple of questions for those who maybe don't know sort of the process as you're putting together a portfolio. What does a portfolio look like?
13:36 - Janae Matthews (Guest)
Oh, a portfolio is just your body of work and you know your strongest pieces. So for me it's usually about 10 pieces or so that I feel like really represent me, really represent my work and things you actually want to do. So if, let's say, for example, you hate drawing cars and you're not good at it, don't include something with cars in your portfolio. So like things like that. It just kind of takes some curating but it has to represent you.
14:11 - Dr. Diane (Host)
Well, that makes sense and just kind of thinking about. I work a lot with teachers and one of the things that we do when we're assessing children is we create portfolios of their work. And one of the things that we do when we're assessing children is we create portfolios of their work and the idea is kind of the same thing that you're trying to curate a body of work that shows the whole child and shows sort of what they're capable of doing. So it's nice to know that that carries into the real world and is useful to you as an adult as well, absolutely so. You mentioned Lane Smith as being one of your influences. I'm wondering are there other artists or other books, either from when you were a child, or authors and illustrators that influence you now?
14:52 - Janae Matthews (Guest)
Oh man, yes, I remember one of the most beloved books that I had was the Winnie the Pooh books. Like the style of the original illustrations, oh my gosh. I loved it so much. And I remember having this pop-up book of like the forest of Winnie the Pooh and it was in the illustrations and I loved it and I'm so sad I lost it. I don't know what happened to it, but um, those illustrations, just again it's very different from my own style but still I think it played a part in um who I am and who I am as an artist, and so it's just um again, it's just that innocence. I just loved it so much. But definitely the Winnie the Pooh books, like huge.
15:48 - Dr. Diane (Host)
And are there illustrators that you follow today, that you're fascinated by their work, or things like that?
15:54 - Janae Matthews (Guest)
You know what? Yeah, I actually met a couple at the conference Very new, but their work was just so inspiring and so cool and I wish I remembered an exact name, but there's a person that I'm thinking of.
16:18 - Dr. Diane (Host)
Yep, why don't you take a moment? We'll just redo that one. I'll give you a sec to look them up.
16:45 - Janae Matthews (Guest)
So there is a person that I met at the SCBWI conference, um, her name is Michelle McGaughy, um, and her work is just so, so adorable, so cute it's. Um, it involves a lot of nature and just using a lot of texture and composition, and I'm like I look to her work a lot these days, just in how to improve my own work. So I just I love her work, so shout out to her.
17:12 - Dr. Diane (Host)
Well, and I love the idea that you look at somebody else's work as a way not to take from it and imitate it, but to motivate yourself to adapt and change and build on what you're doing. I think that that's a really cool thing you're doing.
17:31 - Janae Matthews (Guest)
Absolutely. You learn from everything and everyone. You never stopped learning ever.
17:36 - Dr. Diane (Host)
favorite thing to draw?
17:40 - Janae Matthews (Guest)
What's your very favorite thing to draw? Oh, my favorite thing to draw, I would say I love drawing kids and I love drawing like foliage, like trees and everything like that. You get pretty fun outcomes when you have all those textures and all that good stuff. It's like you get to play with personality and give things you know their own personality. So I love doing that.
18:06 - Dr. Diane (Host)
That is awesome. I'm looking forward to seeing more of your work. And if people want to follow you, how can they track your career, see what you do? That kind of stuff.
18:17 - Janae Matthews (Guest)
Absolutely, so they can go to my website, which is lostgemcom gem with a J, so J-E-M spice initials. They can also follow me on Instagram at J-E-M dot illustration and a U in the illustration is a V, so you can follow me there. Keep up with me as I go through this journey and, yeah, I look forward to seeing all the different illustrators and writers that have come my way.
18:46 - Dr. Diane (Host)
That's awesome. And then the last question I want to ask you, because I love to end with this question what brings you hope?
18:54 - Janae Matthews (Guest)
What brings me hope? I would say honestly, my faith. To be personal, it's just something that you know gives me a firm foundation and gives me something to stand on every day, when things are hard and just, you know, not giving up, not giving up on myself and knowing that I'm not alone.
19:15 - Dr. Diane (Host)
Well, thank you so much for joining us on the Adventures in Learning podcast, Janae. It has been a true delight to have you Folks, I am telling you you really want to follow her, because I have confidence this young woman is going places and you're going to want to see her art. So thank you for joining us today.
19:33 - Janae Matthews (Guest)
Thank you so much, Diane. I appreciate it. Thank you for having me.
