Ten artists join us this year to celebrate a month of drawing with ink. They offer unique perspectives we know you'll want to hear about in the coming weeks. With no further ado, here's the 2020 Higgins October Drawing Team.
Mary Jo Ernst
Mary Jo is the owner and designer of MJ Ernst Couture, a Chicago custom dress shop that has been in business since 1993. Drawing and painting have always been an important part of her life. She has been using Higgins inks for over 40 years.
Mary Jo belongs to several art groups in the Chicago area and often sketches on location in the city. Ink is her preferred medium because it allows for quick, moody captures. The unexpected results of an ink wash keep the fear of perfection out of the simple joy of making lines on paper.
She has taught sketching and ink classes in her hometown in Michigan, at several art-related events in Chicago, and loves introducing the magic of ink to other people. You can find her artwork on Instagram and Facebook under the account name: Mysterious Mannequin.
Carol Midori
Carol Midori is a hand lettering and watercolor artist living and working in Japan with her husband and 6-year-old son.
As a child, she always was very connected to creativity. Her games included drawing, painting, clay, and making castles in the sand. As a teen, she met several artists who influenced her drawing style and techniques. She went on to take several courses in calligraphy, lettering, painting, drawing, soaps making, and candle making.
Carol is always looking to enrich her life by learning new skills. She believes that we are all creative beings and that the only thing that prevents some from developing creativity is fear. If she could give any advice, it would be this: "Don't practice until you get it right. Practice until you can't get it wrong."
Ransom Getty
Ransom Getty graduated from SCAD with a degree in Sequential Art and Animation. Professionally, his work has largely been in the comic book field where he's worked for Marvel Comics, DC Comics, Image, Boom! and Devil's Due as a penciller and/or Inker.
He currently can be found in Vermont, sipping tea while trying to stay warm at his drawing table making tiny brush lines. He has also used Higgins inks professionally for the past 14 years!
You can catch his Instagram live feeds @ransomgetty. Here he discusses his process, knowledge, and helpful drawing tips. Ransom has a clear sense of how important it is for artists to have balance in their lives. He is dedicated to refining his craft and seeks to keep improving his skills as time goes on. He believes it's essential for artists to find a supportive community and simultaneously have the opportunity to create in isolation.
Katie Harmon
Katie Harmon is the ink and watercolor artist behind PinkPolish Design in Washington State.
Katie's work captures beauty on the precipice of change. She hones in on a moment in time just before her subject becomes something new. She loves the challenge of interpreting form and texture into stark contrasts of black & white, then transforming her work again into the brilliant hues with watercolor.
She believes a piece of art is only great if it connects with someone on an emotional level. Her goal is to find a moment with an emotional impact, a moment that arrests one's glance and gives pause to enjoy that frozen moment with her.
Peterson Guerrier
“Beauty is only the beginning of a conversation”
Peterson Guerrier grew up in Miami, FL, and attended Design and Architecture Senior High. He thereafter secured a Fine Arts degree from the College of Creative Studies (CCS) in Detroit. Mr. Guerrier is best known for his work with the concept of duality.
He expertly portrays the juxtaposition between different extremes. Seeking a more individual painterly result, Peterson instills a strong sense of energy and tension in his work.
His commissioned work includes various high-profile companies in hospitality and advertising. His artwork has been installed in Planet Hollywood, Las Vegas, and featured in Boutique Design magazine. Peterson currently lives and works in Orlando, Florida.
Victoria 민지 Lee
Victoria Minji Lee is a Korean-American multimedia and tattoo artist. Born in California, she moved to Salt Lake City, UT in 2013. After graduating from Westminster College with a bachelor's degree in fine art, she began taking on commissions.
After years of juggling her day job and art, she took the leap to become a full-time tattoo artist in 2019. Today, she owns the studio she began tattooing at, Everybody Tattoo Studio. She also has an online shop --Painting Sheep, LLC, that offers original artwork, stickers, handmade earrings, and more!
Working mostly with ink, watercolor, and digital media, she finds joy in drawing and painting animals, plants, insects, and portraits. She often brings these themes together to create fun and whimsical compositions. See her work in all its forms on Instagram @painting.sheep.
As an experienced Tattoo Artist, Victoria never uses Higgins Inks for tattooing; she uses them for drawing only. Higgins Inks are not considered safe tattoo inks.
Chris K. Howard
A Jack of All Trades and a Master of Many, Chris K. Howard does it all. What he is most passionate about is art, specifically portraits. He hopes that his ink illustrations provoke and provide inspiration to all that view them.
With a degree in graphic design, Chris is a graduate of Southern Illinois University, Edwardsville. As a student, Chris would lock himself in the art room for up to 12 hours a day, studying and perfecting his design craft. He uses the rules established in graphics as a foundation in his work with traditional drawing media. He takes special care and attention in translating raw emotion from one medium to the other.
Chris has been drawing since the second grade. His inspirations include art by Basquiat, Genesis Tramaine, and Daniel Crews-Chubb. Chris currently lives in Houston, TX, where he continues to experiment with various ink techniques, media, and styles. He hopes that his art inspires others along the way.
Adrien Blake
Adrien Blake (@lovelydistortions) is a 20-year-old self-taught artist. Adrien has been creating art professionally for over a year and is most passionate about process. Adrien works in all different mediums and is eager to try more -- oil paint, inks, and alcohol markers are favorites.
When not creating, Adrien is a college student and a full-time cat and betta fish parent. Art and the creation process have become very therapeutic and a way for Adrien to speak silently for the rest of the world to hear. Adrien loves to go above and beyond to tell stories that the world has not heard yet. Each story is a distortion of the world and emotions Adrien encounters each day. Adrien is continuously creating, conceptualizing projects, and thinking of opportunities to pursue their art career professionally in the future.
Hetal Tailor
Hailing from Toronto, Canada, Hetal Tailor is the face behind @tailorlettering on Instagram. If you find joy in watching satisfying calligraphy or lettering videos, you will love her page! She is passionate about all things related to calligraphy and hand lettering, and has been a calligrapher for the past three years.
Hetal's other interests include watching movies and TV shows, especially horrors, thrillers and comedies. She has discovered a love of baking during her quarantine – her cookies are so good they last only one day. She loves to travel and has a long bucket list of all the places she wants to go.
Song Kang
Song Kang is a Korean-American freelance illustrator based in Atlanta, Georgia. Kang creates intricately rendered environments in pen and ink inspired by nature's organic forms and textures. As an avid hiker, she would document her walks in her illustrations, drawing the commonplace flora, grass, mushrooms, leaves -- weaving them into new, fantastical worlds.
While she draws most of her illustrations in ink, Kang also incorporates a wide range of painting mediums and drawing tools in her practice, stretching the limits to how to utilize ink as a traditional medium. Kang graduated from Rhode Island School of Design with a BFA in Illustration.