I'm honored to share a personal achievement that, when it landed in my mailbox, my jaw hit the floor. I had been interviewed about my AI art for Midjourney magazine in the beginning of the year, and had no idea if they liked the interview or were going to include my work in the publication or not.
So when I got the 13th edition of Midjourney magazine, and I started flipping through the pages, I was so surprised and happy to find that my work was on a spread and my interview was featured as a community highlight!
The Interview
For those who don't get Midjourney magazine, this was in the May 2024 issue. Issue number 13. My lucky number! I'd like to give you the opportunity to see what I had to say and hear first-hand more about my artistic journey with AI.
How do you find inspiration for your artwork, and what techniques or strategies do you use to stay creatively motivated?
I follow the journey of so many artists that inspire me on social media. I honestly find new artists almost every day to add to my following list. I love surrounding myself with good talent and seeing what other creatives are doing only pushes me to do my best too. I also really enjoy looking through all the MidJourney channels in discord to try and learn and understand the best way to prompt and craft communications with Midjourney. Learning a new tool is a careful act, and seeing first hand the results of other experiments that may not even be my own is a quick way to help me figure out the right language to use. Lastly, I love immersing myself in platforms like the HUG that give artists a place to share their work. Their Open Calls have helped me find so many good artists just by reviewing the submissions. The more art that surrounds me, the more creative I am inspired to be!
What advice would you give to emerging artists who are just starting their artistic journey?
Don’t be afraid to put yourself out there. It sounds cliche but the more you get into the routine of sharing and talking about your work, the easier it will be to find your community of both supporters and collectors. Also, don't be afraid to ask questions. When you're learning or just starting you aren't going to know everything. I don't consider myself to know everything ever, honestly. It's okay to not know, it's okay to try and fail, it's okay to iterate, change your mind, and experiment. Just make sure whatever you're doing makes you happy, and the rest will fall into place.
How do you think Midjourney has impacted your creative process? Have you developed any specific techniques?
Midjourney has certainly allowed me to experiment more rapidly. I love that I can think of an idea and see what that may look like in a matter of moments. Before it would take hours or days to test and experiment on things that I don’t end up loving the final result of, so to be able to iterate and shift so quickly has been exponentially useful.
The Artwork
Art has always been my primary motivator in life. How can I stay creative? How can I experiment with things I've never done before? AI art has been the culmination of that curiosity, and to be recognized for using this new technology is such an honor.
The two pieces of art were both crafted entirely within Midjourney, in an attempt to see how my physical paint world could translate when applied to different mediums or showcase different textures. I'm still experimenting in this space, and it feels like just the beginning, but to see it "in physical form" makes me want to keep pushing myself even more.
"Checkered Past" by Sour Power
Description of Artwork:
A metaphor for life’s turbulent journey over the structure imposed by society, nature, or personal experiences. The checkers are both a foundation and a contrast to the organic swirl of life that erodes with time. A representation of our memories overlapping, being reforged, and sometimes being forgotten.
"Resilience" by Sour Power
Description of Artwork:
Forged in the depths of apocalyptic memory, a mass of resilience emerges through the darkness, fueled by the scars of its history and transformed into marks of beauty. From its wounded core, tendrils of gold weep into the void, not in sorrow, but as an elixir of life, weaving through the air like whispers of hope.
This spectacle is not merely an echo of creation but a deeper, more personal genesis—a rebirth after endless hurdles and mountains to climb. The golden streams signify wisdom distilled from failure, each droplet a lesson learned, a memory cherished, and a sorrow turned into strength.
These golden tears born from the nature of being seed the soul with the promise of new beginnings, of dreams reimagined and futures reclaimed.
Thank You Midjourney!
I adore this publication more than you know because it lets the art speak for itself with special spotlights for creators. To imagine that I'd be chosen to be interviewed was not even in my dreams. Now that it happened and I was featured for my creativity, I can't stop smiling about it. Thank you Midjourney for spotlighting my art, and letting me be a voice to help empower and drive other AI creators.