Artist Spotlight: Jeremy Fenske
February 27, 2020
Everyone’s work is deeply idiosyncratic: in our regular Spotlight segment we explore artists’ experiences and inspiration to understand what defines and inspires their unique styles.
Can you give us a brief background on yourself?
I'm originally from Cleveland Ohio and for as long as I can remember I've always been drawing, painting, and creating art. In 2009, I graduated from Columbus College of Art and Design as a Fine Arts major. It was during my senior year in college when I started to create my concept art portfolio and landed my first job with Zenimax/Bethesda a month after graduation. There I worked on the 'Elder Scrolls Online' for 6 years throughout its production. In 2015, I left Zenimax to go work with High Moon Studios in San Diego on 'Destiny' and that is where I am today.
What kind of influence does your location have on your career?
As a professional working in the gaming industry a lot of industry gatherings and studios are located in Southern California. Being closer to these events and studios brings me closer to my industry, and keeps me involved in it, while also opening up new opportunities that distance has kept me from. But, with the way the internet has changed things it is less important to live in the bigger cities to gain clients and work. Now you don't have to leave home to make people aware of who you are.
What is your greatest source of inspiration?
For me the real world is far more inspirational than anything else. There is nothing more beautiful, more strange, and more well designed than what occurs in nature. Every great visual design, original creature, and invented world ever created was in some way inspired by our own world.
Could you pick one piece of art that has made a lasting influence on you, and if so why?
There is a piece by Peder Mønsted called "Sleigh ride on a sunny winter day" that has been a great source of inspiration. Nothing sentimental, but rather an embodiment of what it means to be a great landscape painter. The understanding of how light reflects off the snow and trees shows a perfect balance of how physical light behaves and can convey an emotional image.
What skills or techniques do you find most useful in your line of work? Do you use primarily traditional or digital methods to create your artwork?
For me the most important skills to understand are the basic fundamentals such as; light, color, design, composition, anatomy, etc. As a concept artist it is important to be able to make an image that shows what the final product should look like and help sell interesting new ideas in a fully realized manner. I need to be able to make something imaginary look and feel real to people who don't understand the process or to inspire a development team to make something amazing. I mainly use digital media for creating work especially for my day job. At home I use both digital and traditional, I enjoy working with oil, gouache, and watercolor for painting plain air outside. Digital media cannot replace the feeling of a brush on canvas and its a feeling I need to have from time to time.
How can people who are interested in discovering more of your work find it?
I'm on all the social medias!
Blog: jairworks.blogspot.com
instagram, twitter and tumblr
email: jeremyfenskeart@gmail.com
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