Today we’d like to introduce you to Wendy Rager.
Wendy, we’d love to hear your story and how you got to where you are today both personally and as an artist.
My love for art has always been fueled by the strange and unusual. It definitely started with Jim Henson’s “The Labyrinth.” I remember after watching it as a little girl, I got a journal and started drawing little goblins in it. I would even bet that that was the first time that I ever created any kind of art intentionally. That movie also sparked a huge love of film making within me. When I was in middle school, I thought for sure I would be an actress, but once I got into theater, I found that I would much rather be behind the scenes. It was behind the curtain that I fell head over heels in love with makeup. I have never attended school for makeup, but I would not call myself “self-taught” either because I have had knowledge passed down to me from so many inspirational artists, whether it be through a video online or an in-person interaction. SFX makeup will always be my first and strongest love, but sadly the jobs are not very abundant while the pool of artist is extremely vast! I learned quickly that I NEED to create. Constantly. I am sure that most artists feel that feeling, the sense of longing, and emptiness if you are not creating. Since it could not always be through makeup, I turned to painting, sculpting, drawing, writing, anything. And I have loved every single medium that I have worked in. Watercolor and colored pencil have been my biggest obsessions as of late, but I am trying to step into the world of digital art as well! There are SO many tools for artists out there that it is almost hard to take a break from it all! No matter how many different mediums of art I flow through, the one thing that never changes is the genre I love. Fantasy and horror will forever have my heart!
We’d love to hear more about your art. What do you do and why and what do you hope others will take away from your work?
I strive to create anything and everything that flows through my brain! However, my favorite thing to take inspiration from seems to be anatomy. I think that definitely comes directly from my love of horror and sfx makeup. Lately, I have been practicing blending anatomy references such as brains, hearts, and skulls (things people normally find grotesque) with beautiful images of nature and flowers. I really enjoy seeing a good juxtaposition!
For a while, I never put meaning into my art. It was just me recreating reference material that I found inspiring. But now, if I have a strong feeling one day, I will try to dive deep into it, and pull up inspiration from the depths of that feeling. And then I will blend those inspirations from within with what I am inspired by on the outside. It creates much more personal art for you and the viewer!
However, I don’t do that for everything that I create! Sometimes it is nice to paint something just because you think it would look pretty. One of my favorite things to study is color theory, so painting just to paint, with no big world-changing emotion is just as fun to me as painting something with a massive message.
Artists face many challenges, but what do you feel is the most pressing among them?
Oh my goodness so many things! I think that the biggest one is probably not feeling good enough or having a giant sense of self-doubt, but I think that most artists deal with that and I think that it is a good feeling to have because it means that you are humble. We can always be better, and there will always be someone better than you that you look up to, but there is always someone looking up to you as well.
Something that I have faced a lot recently is simply trying to sell my art. I don’t think that people value handmade things very much because it can always be mass produced and cheapened by big companies. So why pay a local artist for their artwork when you can get something like it at a fraction of the cost shipped to you from a giant factory?
I think that as humans, we should all support each other’s art and small businesses more! Getting an original piece that someone poured their heart into will forever be more touching, in my opinion.
Do you have any events or exhibitions coming up? Where would one go to see more of your work? How can people support you and your artwork?
I try and make it out to local art fairs, the Deep Ellum Outdoor Market being the main one for now. Other than that I do have an Etsy shop called DarkNDaintyDelights that you can check out!
Instagram has been an amazing tool for me as far as advertising my art goes, and I always post what I am working on! My Instagram name is Wendylynn1, and if you want to see all of my work (makeup, sculpture, painting…all of it) you can go take a look there! Sometimes you can also catch adorable pictures of my sweet dogs on there as well, but I try to contain myself.
Contact Info:
- Address: 1902 Bentwood ct. Grapevine TX 76051
- Website: https://www.etsy.com/shop/DarkNDaintyDelights
- Email: ragerwendy@rocketmail.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/wendylynn1/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/wendy.rager
Image Credit:
Wendy Rager
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