Andrea Young - Pt.2

What makes a woman the most mysterious?

- I think someone's eyes can make them very mysterious.

What do you find most attractive in a person?

- Willingness to grow.

You are a true veteran with 20-plus years of delighting and drawing, how has your style changed over the years? 👩‍🎨

- I started out with pencil and paper then in college I learned photoshop and illustrator and now this last year I learned how to use procreate. I think learning new tools has shaped my style. I like to incorporate what comes natural but also push myself with either simple details or many details. I feel like I'm always evolving and changing my style. My favorite subject has always been the female form.

Who is your biggest fan?

- My daughter is definitely a fan. She always wants copies of my prints and displays them on her desk.

Who is your personal special pin-up?

- Bettie Page has got that classic look that I love.

Your Instagram following has bloomed - big hats off to you - how do you manage it all… social media and commissions plus being a goddess, and most important of all, Mum, ALL at the same time?

- It's crazy! I get overwhelmed very easily so I make many many lists and try very hard to remember everything. 

Do you play card games? Do you have an all-time favourite game? 🃏

- I do! Solitaire is always a fun one ;) I love playing Go Fish with my kids.

How important is it to use art to show representation, love, and diversity? 👩‍🎤

I think those are huge. I recently found a way to add diversity and representation into my art that I felt I couldn't do before. My drawings have always been an outlet for my emotions so the subject usually had my characteristics ( light skin, brown hair, green eyes). I knew diversity was important and that my art was lacking in it, but I had no idea how to implement it in my work without feeling like I was exploiting or broaching a subject I knew nothing about. Once I learned to Procreate I realized I could easily create my illustration how I felt it came out and easily offer custom skin and hair color to anyone wanting to customise it. I can even change my body size. I'm so happy to be able to share my art this way and make these custom offerings so that more can identify and use my art to feel joy and also be able to see themselves in the art.

What life hacks did you have in your tool bag as a working Mum?

- I have an amazing therapist to help me sort my chaotic brain. Meditation and many lists help me too.

How do you chill out? 📚

- It's very hard for me to stop, but if I learned anything from 2018 it's that I can't do it all and all the time. I love watching movies and reading when I have downtime or just laying in the sun under a tree.

What is your advice to aspiring artists awaiting their first commission?

- Have a passion for your art and for self-care. If you love it, keep doing it no matter what.

What is next for Andrea Young Art? 🌟

- What's next?! I'm going to continue to grow and heal and work on balance and I hope one day I'll really feel some peace and relief. Until then I'm going to take it one day at a time trying to be the best Mom I can be and the best me I can be. I’m looking into becoming an in-house designer for beauty brands instead of a freelancer so we shall see what happens with that.