Artist Spotlight: Kieran Michael

Interview by Yising Kao

Meet Kieran (Mikey), an amazing graphic designer based in Northern California!

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Twitter: www.twitter.com/starboypatty

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What inspired you to start creating art?

My inspiration to start creating art was actually music. Music is something that means a lot to me and is something that I hold very close to my heart. I would always see these designs in my head that were usually inspired by the lyrics from some of my favorites and I had the urge to bring them to life.

You’ve designed merch for artists such as 1000 Miles of Fire. What was that experience like?

Working with people that I consider my friends is a very fun experience, to go from the initial “we want you to design for us” message to the creative process, the bands vision and then to see your art on the final product is exhilarating. I’ve recently worked with a band called Happy. On a limited valentine merch drop and it was so incredible! I’ve got about 4 to 5 more bands in line and we will have releases in the coming summers!

What are some of your long-term goals?

My long-term goals all revolve around the merch design industry, specifically within the realm of music and bands. I’d like to eventually work with some of my favorite artists, but of course to achieve big, you must start local. I have a vision of creating my own brand, one that musicians will see and will enjoy enough to potentially work with me!

What advice do you want to give to artists who may feel discouraged about their artwork?

I feel like this may sound cheesy, but some of the best advice I can give is to never give up. Sometimes you scrap a piece, sometimes you lose a client, sometimes you fail, but that is the beauty of art. Failure is necessary to invoke growth and change. You are good enough, your art is good enough, you will do everything you want to in life and more, you just have to keep pushing!

Essentially, I got sick of people stealing and tracing my artwork and claiming it as their own, so I decided to draw up this little defender of the arts type guy!

This one is an Awsten Knight piece (not shocking coming from me, I know) based around that sneaky little snippet he released on the last date of the tour!