About Whoa Newt Illustration

Labels suck. I was an award-winning graphic designer for well over a decade, but I would always say things like, "Oh, I can't DRAW. I'm not an illustrator." And I believed it, even though I made art digitally every day at work. Even when I did draw something for work (or for fun), I was always quick to correct anyone who might call it an illustration, or me an artist. "Oh, thanks, but this is just a doodle, it's nothing." I mean, part of this was being around some really talented digital and traditional illustrators who (keywords here!) drew ALL THE TIME. Every day. All that practice made their natural talents shine, and I'm the kind of person where if I try it a couple times and I'm not awesome at it, I don't really want to do it anymore. (Ask me about pottery class sometime.) My dad used to say "Whoa, Newt!" all the time when I was a kid, to settle down me and my siblings when we were going bananas. And getting tangled up in the idea that I couldn't draw or make Art (with a capital A) because of how amazing the other artists were around me was B-A-N-A-N-A-S. (Hello, Imposter Syndrome). So Whoa Newt Illustration started, basically, as a way of shaking myself free of that nonsense. Because labels suck, and I love to make art and draw silly things. If you enjoy lame dad jokes, millennial nostalgia, mental health, body positivity and inclusivity vibes illustrated by an elder millennial burnt out gifted kid, you’re in the right place! Read their story