Meet Suzan Colon
What's your background?
I'm from New York, and I still live in the NYC area. I started drawing as a little kid, the way most children do. But I also grew up with a father who drew Richie Rich and Casper the Friendly Ghost, and scary stories for Creepy and Eerie, and worked with DC and Marvel. I definitely had a little tiny extra bit of interest in becoming a professional artist, but I actually ended up becoming a professional writer and author who likes to draw.
What's your medium of choice when you're creating art?
I love using different tools--Tombow markers, Caran d'Ache watercolor pencils, and of course the fabulous Micron pink brush pen I use for my Sktchy Party Pages!
How did you build your creative habit?
I believe everyone's creative, and everyone can be creative in different ways. It just freaks people out a little when they stop being creative in the way they're used to; they may not realize that they're being creative in some other way, or that they can be.
When drawing feels more like work than a pleasure, I knit. Other people cook, take photos or make a different kind of art. We'll always find our way back to what we love creating.
When you find yourself in a creative rut, how do you get out of it?
I try not to stress about it. I used to think that a creative rut meant DOOM, that it was going to last forever. It never does. Actually, I've never experienced writer's block, and if I let myself do some other creative thing, the rut is over pretty quickly.
Which of your recent Sktchy artworks most expresses who you are now as an artist?
My Sktchy Party Pages! They started out as practice pages, and to an extent they still are, but they're also these fun pages where I'm not over-thinking what I'm doing. They're pure meditation; I don't plan them, they have no rhyme or reason, there's no theme. The only thought that goes into them is using one pen--the pink Micron brush pen--and including Rick N. Because it's not a party page unless Rick's there.
And by the way, I don't "own" the Party Page idea: I encourage everyone to pick one tool and do a bunch of portraits and have a party at least once a week! It's great practice and it's a fun meditation. Try it!
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