Her style is vivid and dream-like, mixing traditional illustration with digital techniques. She creates unique images defined by intermingling textures, vibrant colors laid over grays and blacks, and prominent negative space. There is an inherent duality in her work, between the real and the surreal, emptiness and defined form, color and the lack thereof. Her name is Sara Blake, known also as ZSO, and in addition to being a Richmond-born artist schooled at NYU (as opposed to VCU--an oddity, I know), she is an exceptionally talented artist with a knack for marrying elements of differing schools of art (graphic design, photorealism, watercolor, comic art) into signature accidental masterpieces.
Based out of New York, Sara has spent the last several years as an art director, graphic designer, and freelance illustrator, keeping a tight work schedule and barely any sleep schedule at all. Having recently returned from her first ever solo show at the Friends of Leon Gallery in Sydney, Australia, she is currently making the transition to full-time illustrator.
Despite her very busy schedule, Sara made time for an email interview, which gave me a chance to find out a little bit more about her life, her art, and the new directions her career is taking her.
PRINTED IN THE NEWEST RVA MAGAZINE. CLICK HERE FOR THE FULL ISSUE.
JONNY: Tell us a little bit about yourself, who you are, where you’re from, what you do now, and how you got there.
SARA: Hello hello! I’m Sara Blake. I also go by ZSO—I’m originally from Richmond, VA, but I’ve been living and working in New York City for the past 7 years. I moved here for school and studied a variety of things including some graphic design and fine art. It wasn’t until I taught myself Photoshop, Illustrator, Flash, and even learned to code a little that I really found my voice working digitally. That turned into a job working as an interactive designer and digital art director in a bunch of agencies over the past few years. I guess I sensed early on in my career that something was missing from my life creatively, so in 2007 I started drawing more and experimenting with coloring my hand drawn stuff digitally. Over the past few years I’ve just been working as hard as I can, and finally, as of this month, I’m able to illustrate full time!
JONNY: So am I correct in saying that ZSO is your pseudonym of sorts? Can you tell us where that comes from or would you have to kill us?
SARA: Correct! It is my pseudonym, but I can’t tell you what it means. I can, however tell you that it’s shape is significant. When kerned tightly, the shape between the Z and the S makes an upside-down heart shape. All you really need to know about ZSO is that it’s all about love. I truly believe that love for our craft or for a person or for whatever it may be makes the world go ‘round. I guess it was a really fitting fluke that my name’s negative space is an upside-down heart. The love in my life is always slightly weird and on its head. But it still governs my life and my work.
JONNY: I know you’ve got a couple of different mediums you like to work in--illustration, graphic design, photography, or a little of all three--but is there anything you’d consider your main focus?
SARA: I think I definitely relate to illustration the most. I take pictures but I really don’t consider myself much of a photographer. I carry around my camera quite a bit because I shoot all my own textures to use in my digital pieces, so try to develop my camera skills when I can. But without a doubt, illustration is the focus and the passion. My process always starts on paper. I love graphic design and respect and enjoy it immensely, but I don’t think it’s my strong point. I really look up to artists who can marry graphic design and fine art in smart ways. Think James Jean or Krzysztof Domaradzki.
JONNY: Your illustrations show a remarkable and unique style. You seem to mix aspects of photo-realism, comic-art, and graphic design to create these really crisp, rich, digital images. How would you describe your style and how you developed it?
SARA: Wow, well thank you! I love comic art, but I never imagined I could come close to anything that resembles it. I think my style is pretty accidental. I struggled a lot to find “a style” when I first started. It was really tough and everything felt forced. I went through those stages that every young illustrator goes through where they try to emulate others, and I was hyper-conscious of that. And it just wasn’t working. I think one day I was like, “OK, I’m gonna stop trying so hard and just draw whatever.” I had to sort of take the pressure off and erase my mind. And it worked. I guess my style found me. I also like to just experiment and mess up. I never really know what a personal piece is going to look like until it’s done. While I love client work because it pushes you to new ground, I’m much more of a “Hey, let’s see what happens” kind of artist. I think the digital part came in because I could never get my traditional pieces to a place that felt finished or interesting. I dream in Photoshop, so I guess it just felt like a natural way to expand on it.
JONNY: What kind of gear do you use (software, hardware, etc.)?
SARA: A nice piece of bristol vellum, some pencils, some blending sticks, watercolors, a regular old flatbed scanner, Photoshop, a Wacom tablet, and my newly pimped out Mac with tons of memory (my files are pretty monstrous, usually breaching PSD-land and ending up in Photoshop-large land). That and a lot of coffee.
JONNY: If you’re working on an illustration, what is your typical workflow like?
SARA: If it’s for fun, I’ll usually sort of just choose a subject matter and go at it. No sketches or anything. I like the mess ups (usually). However, as I’m starting to get more assignments, clients must see early sketches to show proof of concept, so I’m just starting to get better at sketching. I’m making it a goal to sketch one hour a day, even if it’s all throwaway crap, just to get in the habit of drawing, and to train my hand. Sometimes I’ll comp sketches right in photoshop too. Once I’m done with my drawing, I’ll scan, usually in several small pieces because my scanner is small. I scan very hi-res, piece them together and clean in Photoshop, and then add color and texture digitally.
JONNY: Do you have any tips for other artists out there trying to bridge the gap between organic media and digital?
SARA: Well, I guess first of all you gotta establish if it’s essential to your process that you bridge that gap. I’m often very jealous of masters like Alex Trochut who manage to work purely digitally, or vice versa, those like Sam Weber who can work all traditionally. I think digital has it’s advantage, especially in a global industry where we rely so much on the internet, but I think first things first... you have to see if your style needs to be hybrid. I think once you’ve established that, there’s no other advice other than work, work, work! I’ve only been doing this a handful of years and I’m still constantly learning. Everything comes with practice.
JONNY: What kind of inspirations do you use in your work, i.e. other artists, music, etc.? I mentioned a perceived comic art influence earlier, would you consider that a correct assumption, and can you elaborate on that influence at all?
SARA: I’m not sure the comic influence is intentional, although I’m sure it’s there as I studied graphic novels in school and grew up the past 4 years following James Jean’s Fables cover releases. I think overall I really dig heavy linework, so that is sort of comic-y. I think my influences are mainly things like music, fashion, New York City, textures, and just life. I’m greatly inspired by so many artists, many colleagues from Depthcore and the KDU, but when I’m in the middle of working, I try to stay away from looking at other people’s art. It messes me up. I sort of compare that to running... I’ve been a runner all my life, but when I ran in groups, or on teams, or in races, I was unhappy or injured. But now I run alone, go at my own pace, and to the beat of my own drum, and I’ve been doing just fine.
JONNY: I’ve re-written this question a million times to avoid sounding like an idiot, but basically, what’s it like being a woman in your industry?
SARA: Totally valid question! It’s without a doubt an industry run and dominated by dudes. (I mean what industry isn’t, right?) I think part of the thinking behind my pseudonym in the very beginning was to hide my sex, but I think I’m finding my stride and identity, and it’s better to just be me. I still get mistaken for a guy sometimes on things where I am just listed as ZSO, and I take it as a compliment. I’ve always wanted to be able to hang with the dudes, in sports, in grades, in holding my whiskey, and in talent. I am a little self conscious sometimes about being a girl, but in the end, I have to remind myself, it comes down to the work. Keep your head down, and focus.
JONNY: So, you’re from Richmond, you live in New York--how can you describe that transition? Can we expect to see you back around here anytime soon, and will you be bringing your work with you?
SARA: Richmond is home-base, but New York is home. When I moved here when I was 18, I knew this was it for me. NYC is a lot more intense than Richmond. There is always energy, and I don’t think I’d be where I am now without it—I think lots of artists move here for the same reason, to sort of get immersed and up their game. It’s just harder faster better stronger 24/7. It can be unbelievably exhausting, lots of 100-hour weeks, and lots of headaches. I do fantasize about moving back to Richmond sometimes where the pace is a little slower, but I think I’d miss the masochism. Unfortunately I don’t make it back to RVA much these days, but I do actually have a pipe dream of having a show in my hometown one day. Hey, know any cool galleries?
JONNY: What’s next for you? What’s big that’s going on for you right now, and where can we expect to see you next?
SARA: This month is my first month as a full time freelance illustrator, so right now the plan is sort of to decompress and take the next month and just draw, draw, draw. There will be some new pieces done for an online shop this winter, a solo gallery show in Perth next year, some collaborations with the Keystone Design Union in Brooklyn, and some top secret projects that I can’t talk about yet, but you can check my blog in the coming months to learn more!
You can see more of Sara’s work, as well as reading some of the interviews she’s collected in the past year, on her blog at www.hellozso.com.