Today we’d like to introduce you to Avery Orendorf.
Avery, please kick things off for us by telling us about yourself and your journey so far.
Throughout my life I’ve enjoyed making art, but never thought of it as a possible career path. I didn’t trust in my own abilities and also, I fully bought in to that silly concept of the starving artist. I didn’t want to starve, so I pursued other things. My current career path has been mostly accidental, as I’ve since learned to trust what the world is telling me. I started painting nurseries and kids’ rooms for friends and acquaintances during a short period as a stay-at-home mom. It was an excuse to get out of the house for stretches of time and make a little extra money. I realized how much I loved it and soon afterwards opened my business, Avery O Design. I worked as a painter for a number of years before I was actually able to call myself an artist and trust that what I was making was good. I’ve learned to listen to my audience when developing my artistic style and new bodies of work and walk through the doors that open for me.
I have a fairly clean, modern illustrative style based on line work and patterns. All of the places I’ve lived have subconsciously influenced this style. I grew up overseas, in Singapore and Dubai, then moved to Louisiana and Texas for my middle and high school years. I claim New Orleans as home, as that’s where my family roots are. The patterns of Arabic art, line work of batik fabrics, and vibrancy and joy of New Orleans as a whole have inspired the style and feeling of my work. I’ve been in Austin for thirteen years and have a pretty fantastic South Austin life with my husband and our two somewhat feral and hilarious sons.
Can you give our readers some background on your art?
I utilize a lot of line work and repetitive patterns in my art. My lines weave through the various mediums and are fully represented in my murals, illustration and now, fine art pieces. The majority of my work is commercial murals. I love working with clients to figure out how to use my line work and pops of color to tell their personal or company’s stories. My current and first fine art series, Forever and a Day Away, uses repeating lines and patterns with color blocking to create simple landscapes. I fell upon this series accidentally, and am now in love with the Zen-like monotony of creating these pieces.
There is something really calming about the slow layering and building of each piece. It’s basically art therapy. Forever and a Day Away started as a simple illustration in an adventure story. The title spoke to the long journey through the mountains, but has come to represent much more as the fine art series took form. Forever and a day away is how long it feels to complete each intricate piece. On a much deeper level, forever and a day is how long it takes for an artist to find that elusive feeling of artistic success through endless discovery and experimentation while constantly battling the inner critic.
In your view, what is the biggest issue artists have to deal with?
Social media has made this one of the best and easiest times to be an artist, but is also one of the greatest challenges. Instagram and Facebook allow us to instantly get our work out there in front of large crowds of people and provide us new and innovative ways to sell and promote our work and our stories. But with that comes a heavy dose of imposter syndrome through constant comparison to other artists. Since I started my creative career path by accident, I am constantly questioning myself and my artistic journey. Do I really belong here? Do I deserve to be here? Look at all these other amazing artists! How can I ever compare? It has been a continuous struggle for me to accept that I AM an artist and that I AM successful at what I do. Constant comparison can lead quickly to overwhelming self-doubt if we allow it. I am so grateful for the community of fellow artists and art fans that help me through my doubts and fears.
What’s the best way for someone to check out your work and provide support?
You can find my work at my website www.averyodesign.com or on Instagram @averyodesign.
My first illustrated children’s book, Skydancer, is available for purchase at www.skydancerbook.com or on Amazon.
I exhibit my work annually at the West Austin and East Austin Studio Tours as well as other gallery shows throughout the year. Follow me on Instagram to keep up. My mural work can be found on walls of homes and businesses throughout Austin as well as Tru by Hilton hotels, nationwide.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.averyodesign.com
- Email: averyodesign@gmail.com
- Instagram: @averyodesign
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/averyodesign
Image Credit:
Avery Orendorf
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