Interview: Natalie Blake, Freelance Digital Creator

Natalie Blake is a 26-year-old female digital creator of Jamaican and Bajan descent based in Brampton, Ontario. She predominantly works with Adobe Illustrator, but is also familiar with Photoshop, Lightroom and Premiere Pro/Rush. Natalie has had work showcased at Pan Am Path, Freedom Fridayz, YD (Youth day) Toronto, The University of Toronto Mississauga Art Showcase and many more. Aside from creating, she loves to travel, take photos and watch documentaries.

How has the pandemic been for you personally? 

The pandemic has personally been great for me. I am not really a social person so it helped create an easy excuse of not seeing people. I don’t say this to come off sleazy at all, I just love spending my time alone. Also, this time has given me the opportunity to focus on my finances and of course, center my attention to my designs. Sometimes on social media I seem as though I’m not active, but if I’m not posting new work on instagram, I’m brainstorming new ideas to put on my Society6 or Redbubble. To add, I spend a huge amount of my time working on commissions or video editing.

You mostly specialize in portrait digital art, what made you stick to this particular style? 

I was first introduced to Illustrator when I was 13-years-old in an Introduction to Information and Technology class. From there, I took Media Arts every year in high school, and my love for the arts grew more and more. For most artists, I think creating is a way for them to express themselves or heal, but for me what matters most is what I produce in the end. It’s incredibly satisfying to design something visually appealing and/or to solve a creative issue. Coming out of high school, I never had a computer nor access to Illustrator; so I promised myself that the day I do get Illustrator, I will master it. I wouldn’t claim to be a master now, but I’m pretty sagacious. To add, during my studies, I noticed that in art, portraits were always only of white people. This pushed me to focus my art in representing black people and people of colour, especially races with darker skin tones. 

Have you tried working in other mediums of art? If so, what ones are your favourite?

I’ve worked with lots of mediums like graphite, conté, markers, pencil crayons, paint, wood, cardboard, and so on. I really enjoy drawing and colouring; however, since becoming more of a digital creator, I don’t do it as much. I find that I’m not as emotional when it comes to my work but to the average person, when it comes to creating art, designers, artists, content creators, tend to be mashed all into one category, which is that they are an artist. I don’t feel like I am an artist, I see myself more as a digital creator because my mind focuses more on the design aspect of everything as opposed to the feeling and emotion behind work. Also, I dibble and dabble in a lot of different work like video editing, photoshop, photography, logo design, vector art and I’m open to learning more.

My goal is to get back to the basics such as in drawing and colouring. I’m also very keen on working with wood and building things. In high school and in post secondary school, I had the opportunity to work in wood shop classes. From there, I’ve created a small box and a stylized cutting board. If I was to get into woodwork, I’d either like to create furniture or renovate houses. 

Let’s dive a little deeper — what do you think is integral to the work of an artist?

I think every artist is different and deals with what is happening in their version of the world. Personally, I tend to shift my focus on the good and in the light of things, in the beauty and what I like to call “visually tasty” images. I believe that art and design co-exists to temporarily take someone’s mind away from the trials and tribulations of their world.

What’s the best piece of advice you’ve been given? 

If the door is closed, open your own door. So, create your own lane and eventually opportunities will come to you.

Bonus Question: What is your dream project?

To be honest I don’t really think I have a specific dream project, maybe collaborate with Nike, Adidas or even Puma. I have a lot of self projects I aspire to do that is outside of the type of design I create. I guess, I could say that my dream project is to not be limited in what I do.

Bonus Question: What can our readers expect from you in the future?

Readers can expect new designs! I am constantly uploading new artwork onto my Instagram, Society6 and Redbubble.

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You can find Natalie on Instagram @bynatalieblake, or shop her designs at Redbubble and Society6.