Meet Starline Hodge | Pop Culture/Fantasy Artist & Video Editor

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

Hi Starline, why did you pursue a creative career?
I pursued a creative career because it was something I was always drawn to. Most people draw a lot when they were little kids, but I just never stopped. Even when exploring other career paths in college, I couldn’t imagine a life without creating and sharing my art. I filled up countless sketchbooks and just had fun trying a bunch of techniques and crafts. There was always a part of me that thought, “I’m going to make and sell art even if it was on the side.” It was never a question that I wouldn’t be creative in my life.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
I am passionate about comic books, fantasy and anime. I love things that are cute and bring joy to others. Lately, I have been drawn to portray diverse women in a high-fantasy setting, drawing them in a pinup style, often finding that they are under-represented in most forms of media. I have worked on my own personal webcomics for nearly two decades. Although they are currently on hiatus, some long-time fans have recently expressed interest in seeing more of the characters again. Their enthusiasm has inspired me to revive the project soon. I am also a painter and every year I make a series of humourous colorful butts, and paintings of cute cats in a similar aesthetic. In addition to all of that, I design and create my own stickers and stationery, reflective of my body of work.

In the last few years I’ve been a part of a few local pop-culture related art shows, like Gallery Nucleus’ “Power in Numbers”, Netflix’s Hilda and the Enchanted Art Gallery at CTN Studio, small exhibits at Meltdown Comics (RIP) and most recently “Tossed Palettes and Scrambled JPEGS,” a Frasier themed art show to support the AFSP.

However, I am most proud of having completed my first solo show! This summer as a fundraiser for surrogacy, the event was held at Social Medium Maker Space in West Hills. It was a real challenge to make enough pieces to cover a whole gallery wall, and I spent months creating the pieces, hanging many of them in my living room to save space in my studio. It was so exciting to see people engage with my art in such a positive way, and I’m so thankful it went well with the support of friends, family, and coworkers.

I moved to Los Angeles from Miami Florida in 2010 after working in the art dept for WSVN-7, a local Miami news station with the intent to pursue a career in graphic design and illustration.

Freelancing was fun but financially difficult, and it forced me to come out of my shell and learn to network around town. This eventually lead me to working for SourceFed, a Discovery/Group Nine Media-owned YouTube channel, as their official graphic designer.

I loved that job and the people I worked with, and it inspired me to learn video editing and document my experiences and artistic pursuits. Honing this particular skill set, has led to my current full-time job as a digital video editor for Black Love Inc. I vlog and document my art projects, posting how-tos and drawing tutorials on YouTube. Also, through my channel I share my infertility struggles so that other people who are on their own journey won’t feel so alone.

Being an artist in Los Angeles has taught me that you can be as weird and niche as you’d like and still find an audience for your work here. The main thing is to keep creating, even if it’s not your main source of income. Ultimately, putting in the work influences how you move through life, and can open up potential opportunities for projects, for connections, and for community.

When people see my art, I want them to feel joy, humor, or just a tickle of “ooh i like that.” I hope that people see a little part of themselves in my work, and that their nerdy interests are shared by others. I’d like them to know that I’m just a black and jewish woman in LA, trying my best to make stuff that I enjoy, in the city that I love with the people I hold dear.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
Ooh, I love this question! There’s a lot of places I would suggest for visitors to go, but if it was for my best friend, I’d focus on some unique bookstores around the city!

First… I’d go The Last Bookstore in Downtown LA to check out this amazing space that used to be an old bank now turned book store and local art gallery. My favorite part is how they converted the old bank vaults into themed genre sections. While in DTLA, I’d suggest stopping by Wexler’s Deli in Grand Central Market for a bite before heading over to The Broad Museum. In the evening, I would recommend going to Clifton’s Republic, not because of the fancy Depression-Era aesthetic and tiki themes… but because on the first floor, near the women’s bathroom has the oldest piece of neon light that’s been on for over 77 years! I just think that’s neat.

(I would have also suggested a really cool Black-Owned Wizard-themed cafe called, Nimbus Coffee… but they are in the process of relocating from DTLA (i hope they return soon!))

Speaking of The Last Bookstore, I heard they are opening a 2nd location in NoHo… which coincidently is also near another one of my favorite bookstores, The Iliad. They have an amazing collection of old pulp books and a couple of friendly cats that like to prowl the corridors. Not too far from there is my favorite local art supply shop, Carter Saxton Artist Supplies. It’s such a cute little art supply store and they hold events and art classes as well (they also have little birds in the store!) For eats, I’d recommend Pitfire Pizza and Kahuna Tiki (they have a Burlesque show on Tuesday nights!) )

There are also a few bookstores in Downtown Culver City that I’d stop by as well! The Ripped Bodice (variety of great romance novels and Village Well Books and Coffee. While in the neighborhood I’d stop by Honey’s Kettle Fried Chicken for a little southern comfort meal and then Salt and Straw at The Culver Steps for a dessert.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
I want to dedicate my shoutout to my amazing husband, Max Muller. He’s the most supportive and kind partner I’ve ever had in my life. He has a goofy sense of humor and is the perfect sounding board for hashing out new ideas. We approach artistic concepts in different ways, and he is a constant source of inspiration when it comes to my business. We’ve been going through a lot lately dealing with infertility and trying to earn more funds to help pay for treatment and surrogacy, and without him, I’d be a mess. When I’m anxious and overwhelmed, he helps keep me centered and relaxed. He also makes sure I eat because I have a bad habit of forgetting to do that when I’m in work-mode haha

Also shoutout to my mom for always encouraging me to draw and make art all the time! I don’t think she thought it would be my career, but she’s really happy I’m doing well. In her retirement years, she enjoys helping me pack and ship orders and calls herself my honorary assistant. Her and my manager, Panini (our tabby cat), work really well together!

Website: https://www.starlinearts.com

Instagram: https://instagram.com/starline

Youtube: https://youtube.com/starlinehodge

Other: Our fertility/surrogacy fundraiser: https://gofund.me/76107dd3 (this would be the most important link at the moment to be honest)

Image Credits
My husband, Max Muller, took the photos with me in them.