Spring Art Fair preview: Illustrations and prints by Logan Schmitt
Get to know some of the talented Columbus College of Art & Design students and alumni whose work will be available for purchase at the CCAD 2018 Spring Art Fair on Saturday, April 7. Find other entries in the series here, here, and here.
Illustrator Logan Schmitt (Illustration, 2016) draws inspiration from a lot of places: Medieval European art, Art Nouveau, Northern Renaissance art, Japanese woodblock printmakers, graphic novels, fantasy artists, and his fellow poster artists.
But there’s one place he always goes first when he needs to get inspired: Outside.
“I typically look to nature first for my subject matter, finding different plants and animals that fit the project or help set the mood that I want in a new print,” Schmitt says. “I use lots of lines and flat colors to present animals and different natural elements in an otherworldly light.”
His interest in nature began as a kid growing up in Wheeling, West Virginia, where he’d regularly explore the forest by his house and read wildlife encyclopedias. After graduating from CCAD, he explored the country with his wife Rachael in a 1994 Ford Econoline E150.
Schmitt now divides his time between those lush West Virginia hills and Columbus, illustrating and screen printing T-shirts and posters for bands.
Read more about Schmitt below, and follow him on Instagram.
Can you describe some pieces you’ll be selling at the Spring Art Fair?
I primarily make screenprinted gig posters and art prints. Screenprints are special because each layer of color has to be lined up correctly and printed on to the paper separately, one at a time, either by hand with a squeegee or using a press. So the final artwork always ends up being a handmade creation that takes a lot of time and patience to get right. There's always little imperfections and variations that pop up that make each print unique, which is why they're typically limited editions, signed, and numbered. I tend to create imagery based in nature so you'll see prints of owls, elk, deer, and frogs if you stop by my booth.
Do you have a favorite item you'll be bringing to sell?
The last big screenprint I made is of a pheasant surrounded by arrows. It's called Resilient and it's probably the screenprint that I'm most proud of to date.
Why do you participate in the CCAD Art Fair?
I think this will be my seventh time participating in this show and it's one of my favorites every time. It's always nice to come back to campus and see friends and former teachers that I may not see very often. It's great to be accepted to any show, but at CCAD it's like a little reunion.
How has your CCAD education influenced the work and shaped your entrepreneurial success?
I was fortunate enough to be able to take a lot of printmaking classes at CCAD, which I think is a realm of fine art that really melds well with illustration. I was given a lot of freedom in those classes, which allowed me to really foster a specific style and explore a market that not every illustrator can necessarily get into without taking a good amount of time to learn about the process and materials. As a freelance illustrator CCAD also gave me an immediate, huge network of friends and colleagues who are all artists and designers. This has helped me land some jobs that I wouldn't have gotten without that network.
