Meet Zach Meyer: Artist

We had the good fortune of connecting with Zach Meyer and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Zach, what role has risk played in your life or career?
You never know how good you can be as an artist until you take a risk. It took a risk to start my career. Risk informed my career in ways I would have never expected. I remember I had just finished art school and I was working a job that I hated. I knew at that point to get out of my situation that I really needed to market myself in the art world. This came with an expense. I needed to purchase a client list so that I could find art directors and gallery curators emails. I ended up spending my paycheck on a list of art directors and galleries, not knowing if this risk would pay off. That turned out to be my last paycheck at the job. I was lucky to be able to quit that job shortly after and switch into full-time freelance work. Any move to succeed as an artist involves calculated risk. Many people are scared to take risks in their career, or they get comfortable working a job they don’t enjoy. Some will even turn down work they aren’t confident they can do. Many don’t even put themselves out there to begin with. I never say no to great opportunities and am grateful for every project. Pulling off something that I’m not even sure I can do, in a short deadline, is a theme in my line of work. A career of an illustrator is a constant battle against time and your own brain, but the results are different and exciting every time. It’s gratifying to take risks and push through the unknown. One of the biggest jobs I ever got was to do an illustrated comic preview of Quentin Tarantino’s The Hateful Eight. I got that job from mailing a book of my work to an art director that knew him. Quentin Tarantino believed in my work and my ability to draw comics, even though I had never drawn comics before. I dove into the project, a jangle of nerves, but ended it feeling like I had a real handle on the medium. I am happy I took on that job even though it was a huge risk for my career. If I messed up and did a bad job I would have majorly disappointed my heroes. Luckily, it went well and my career flourished from that experience. Risk-taking should never stop for an artist; it allows you to grow and can take your career to places that you may have never have expected. 

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
I was always drawing as a kid but would have never expected to have a career as an artist. My original passion was skateboarding. I was pretty certain as a kid that I would become a professional skateboarder. When that didn’t come to fruition and I had to start thinking of where to go to college, I fell back on my skill as an artist and cobbled together a portfolio of drawings I did instead of doing any of my school work. I was lucky to be accepted into Pratt Institute, which would later lay the foundation for my career. However, within the first couple of months I still wasn’t sure what I was doing there, and even contemplated dropping out. When I was finally introduced to the field of illustration I felt in love and had found my calling. I then put all my time into being an artist and immersed myself in the field. I was lucky to begin working for magazines and showing in galleries shortly before graduating. But the hard work didn’t end there, fighting to make a living as an artist never truly ends. I worked many odd jobs along the way and really fought to establish myself in the field of illustration. Art is a career where you can never rest on your laurels and have to constantly make new work and promote yourself. I am lucky now to be represented by Richard Solomon, a global art agency in New York City. I am part of an amazing group of artists that push and inspire me to do better. And now I regularly do illustration for big clients and teach college students illustration and how to start their careers as an artist. I still am working as hard as ever and staying grateful for any projects that come my way.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
Long Beach California is a hidden gem, thirty minutes outside of Los Angeles. Eating acai should be a part of anyone’s itinerary when visiting California. Acai bowls are essentially thick smoothie bowls loaded with toppings. Natura Bowls in Long Beach is a great place to take people new to the area for a great quick meal. Then I would head over to Rosie’s Dog Beach, a very quiet beachfront where dogs run wild. Afterwards, I would give them a tour of all the amazing skateparks in Long Beach, such as Orizaba, Cherry, and Michael Green Skatepark. As an avid skateboarder, Long Beach is an amazing skatopia with great food and plenty of inspiration for an artist.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
My shoutout is to an amazing artist Zach Oldenkamp based in San Francisco. His work inspires me on a daily basis and his technique and imagery is unparalleled. https://www.zoldenkamp.com/

Website: https://www.zachmeyerillustration.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/zachmeyerillustration/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/zach.meyer.982

Image Credits
Photos by Danie Primmer