We had the good fortune of connecting with Ian Wortham and we’ve shared our conversation below.
Hi Ian, what was your thought process behind starting your own business?
While I don’t have my own business in the traditional sense, I do sell my own art and work on commissions frequently. I just haven’t been able to settle on one specific category I want to make a brand for and pull the trigger. I’ve got plans for specific fan merch of niche nerdy video games, apparel of my own stuff, and recently I’ve been getting into rug making lately and would like to create my own little shop for that once I’ve overcome some of the learning curves (it’s super fun to make rugs). I’m all over the place.
Mostly, I sell my art and illustrations as a vendor at different art shows and events. I usually sell things like screen prints, stickers, buttons, among other items but haven’t set up booths at as many of those kinds of things in the last year or so due to the pandemic. Though, I’ve still been creating riso prints and doing commissions in the meantime. I’d love to try vending at an anime convention as an excuse to spend time making some goofy fan-art for the shows I’ve been into lately.
Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
I always find it a bit tricky to describe my own work in a concise way. But let me try. I tend to use words like light-hearted, vibrant, and graphic. I like to create art that can make people laugh or bring a smile to their faces.
A lot of my art has been created digitally lately but I like to experiment with different mediums and draw on any surface I can make my mark on. Sometimes my best ideas come from drawing with my finger along the glass of my shower. It’s essentially an ultra non-permanent white board for me.
My background in graphic design influences my illustrations and vice-versa. I’ve been able to strike a balance between injecting my personal design and illustration sensibility into my day job and my freelance/personal work. It has been an ongoing process to find the right ways to sell-in my personal style for large clients I work on professionally but over the years, I have found increasing success . My ultimate plans for the future are to figure out ways in which I can be commissioned directly by brands to come to me for my art and make a living that way.
I find myself most content in bringing joy to others through my art. I’d love to start doing that on a larger canvas like murals. I just need to find someone willing to give their walls a fresh coat of paint.
Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
Whenever I have friends visit from out of town I like to show them my favorite little spots I don’t go to nearly often enough on my own.
If I were to try and fit everything into a day I’d start by going to Garden Cafe. It’s this lovely little mom-and-pop cafe that has great breakfast hidden between some old east Dallas homes. They have their own garden in the back patio. If you go on the right day you can eat your brunch on the patio with chickens walking by to greet you.
Next, I’d take them by the Crow Museum or DMA to get some quick inspiration from the free exhibits before I show them around the way too underutilized underground tunnels in downtown.
Finally, I’d have to go by The Libertine in Lower Greenville for some drinks and people watching. If we aren’t feeling like hanging around a busier street like that, I’d make sure to bring them by my favorite little dive bars. Lakewood Landing is charmingly dingy and great for some cheap drinks. It’s also right next door to Cosmo’s which I always felt like had the vibe of a British home in the late 60’s or early 70’s.
The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are
in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
I’ve got to credit my father, Jayson Wortham, on my attitude towards life. He was a kick-ass musician and always encouraged me to pursue whatever brought me joy.
Despite having a creative family overall, my grandfather was a farmer and my dad grew up having to spend a good chunk of his time as a farm-hand to help. He was a talented musician and artist, but growing up he didn’t have the encouragement from his father to pursue his passions in the same capacity I received from him.
Over the later years of my dad’s life, he would make sure to tell me on numerous occasions, “Don’t worry about what I think of your art. Don’t worry about what others are going to think of your art. Create what brings you happiness and people will see that in your work”. It’s rung true over the years, even if I have to remind myself of it every so often. I try to always inject myself into whatever project I am working on and I like to think that it elevates further.
RIP Dad.
Website: ianworthamdesign.com
Instagram: transparently