Ranee Henderson is an illustrator and artist whose work appears on the front and back covers of the new American Illustration 34 book. The AI book cover—art directed by Eric Skillman—features bold, graphic oil paintings based on old photos of Henderson’s sister. A recent graduate of the Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, CA, Henderson is based in Los Angeles and has been working for about six years. She has created a series of striking projects which combine her rich, textured paintings with personal experiences. “Storytelling,” says Henderson. “I can’t get away from it.”

MY LIFE:
Both my mama and grandma are/were artists. Grandma hand-colored photographs at a department store called Miller and Paine in Lincoln, Nebraska (where I’m from). Mom employed her hippie smarts towards things like weaving giant macrame wall hangings and painting motorcycle gas tanks. No one in my family tried to stop me from becoming an artist. If anything, they were too encouraging.

My first paycheck ever was from a paper route. I was six, my sister was 12. We were a well-oiled machine. After that, I buttered popcorn at the movies, sold way too many jock straps at a sporting goods store, day-cared a bunch of five-year-olds at a synagogue, and photographed cowboy boots to sell on eBay.

Lately I've been making mostly autobiographical work that I've broadly shoved under a “latchkey kid”-themed umbrella. I was raised primarily by my mother and sister. At one point, my mom was working three jobs, going to school full time, and trying to raise us. So, there was a lot of fending for ourselves going on. It is sad, maybe, but it was also very empowering. A lot of the work ethic that I had to develop early on has become a chief asset to me now.

I have a BFA in Fine Art from Emily Carr University of Art and Design, and a BFA in illustration/fine art from Art Center College of Design.

MY WORKSPACE:
I share a studio with six other artists in Eagle Rock (East Los Angeles). It’s a nice quiet spot that I can actually afford right now. It’s the perfect starter space for me. I used to paint in my room, but I tend to “experiment” with different solvents. So, I’m pretty sure that my internal organs are much happier with my current situation.

HOW I MAKE MY ILLUSTRATIONS:
Oil paint, and a constant barrage of second-guessing.

MY FIRST BIG BREAK:
There are about 8,000 occupations that I’ve considered “becoming.” One of them was a poet. I was pretty confident in my little scribbles, so I took them to this stodgy, old English professor. When I returned a few days later to get her feedback, she said nothing about my writing. Instead, she told me that the illustrations I had made to accompany my poems were “f#$king awesome.” She shoved them back at me and told me that I should “do that.”

MY INFLUENCES:
Storytelling. I can’t get away from it. Sometimes a visual clip will pop into my head first, but that nanosecond of image is immediately accompanied by an entire novel that I develop from whatever metaphors or commonalities that I assign to the picture. That’s been the process for maybe half of my work; the other half is created through language first. I’ll read, or remember, or overhear something that triggers the now-secondary image. The entire process is basically a vague jumble that, as lame as it sounds, “just feels right” at the time. Speaking about my work is often incredibly clumsy because of this.

MY MOST ADMIRED CREATIVE PERSON:
I admire Kerry James Marshall. Honestly, I don’t think that anyone should have just one person that they find “most admirable.” That’s too limiting. I picked Mr. Marshall because I’ve seen and heard him speak. He came to Art Center, and what was supposed to be an hour long “artist’s talk” turned into a three-hour oration. It wasn’t self-serving prattle either. I’ve seen loads of creative types who enter a room with something to prove. This talk was different. It was simple, clean, impassioned. He talked about his process and paintings, of course. But mostly he talked about his feelings. No, he explained his feelings. Not just about “art,” but about his environment, his lifestyle, and his history. He was appreciative of, and eager to pass on that knowledge. He is a hard-working, genuine, and generous artist.

THE BIGGEST CHALLENGE IN WORKING ALONE:
Second-guessing myself. I’ve let too many opposing voices into my head. I combat them with podcasts, and rationalized apathy.

MY CREATIVE INSPIRATION:
It’s simply whatever is going on around me. Life. Appropriation has some sticky little boundaries. So I tend to work with what’s close to home. I quickly abandon anything that I don’t feel like I initially have some small bit of ownership over.

A MEMORABLE ASSIGNMENT FROM THE PAST YEAR:
Most memorable was my first commission. The “client” and I went back and forth on one particular detail for ages. I was forced to develop “working relationship borders.” It was a very educational experience.

DREAM ASSIGNMENT:
My own retrospective at the Guggenheim. It would be both tasteful, and sprawling.

MY FAVORITE ART DIRECTOR:
I really enjoyed working with Eric Skillman on the American Illustration 34 cover. It’s my first cover, so my initial reaction was complete intimidation. But Eric’s confidence in me gave me confidence. And after an awkward phone conversation (my fault), I sent some sketches, he gave me some notes, I produced the finals based on his notes, photography was shot and sent…done. It went exactly how an “optimal illustration assignment” was described to me in my illustration classes. Living in Los Angeles over the last three years has definitely heightened my appreciation of anything that goes down without incident. The AI cover experience was perfect, and even better, it was “normal.”

The final images were taken from old photos of my sister, Adalia. Her eyes are closed in both pictures, but the posture, perspective and mood of each image are in direct opposition to one another. The magenta side is rigid, and sort of petulant. When she gets this look, it means that she is completely absorbed in whatever her bull-head is fixated on at that moment. She’ll pretend that she has let it go, that she doesn’t care anymore, but she’s lying! The yellow pose is a little more nonchalant, or listless. There is something more, though. Her regard. The color, the gesture, and the waves of her eyebrows describe how considerate she can be.

SOME OF MY FAVORITE ARTISTS:
William Kentridge, because he’s an extremely versatile artist who’s been able to balance social issues and art in a subtle and gracious way.

OTHER WORK:
In addition to illustrations I do painting, sculpture, photography (especially alternative processes), ceramics, poster design, furniture design, shoe design, printmaking, paper making, and decoupage.

HOW I STAY CURRENT:
I guess you could say that working towards a fine art career has become my alternate route to being a potentially successful illustrator.

HOW I PROMOTE MYSELF:
I’m pretty terrible at promotion. I have Instagram, but I never tag anything. I abandoned Facebook years ago. I made some postcards, but I never sent them out. And I don’t even own a phone. I do like email, because it’s not so insistent, and it serves as a record-keeping device. Competitions have been pretty good for me. I was in New American Paintings, and some really great opportunities came from that. Also, I won the Alpay Award through the Palos Verdes Art Center, which was a really big deal for me. I do think that networking is important. Unfortunately, my attempts at it just end up becoming really odd and alienating conversations that I over-analyze to death. I usually just concern myself with trying to be a good person, and a considerate worker. I’d rather those efforts are what is appreciated.

ADVICE FOR SOMEONE STARTING OUT:
Ask questions, but be discerning about the answers that you get. Any dum dum can give you advice, but really pay attention to the ones that explain the evolution of the advice that they are doling out. Then you can decide what makes sense for you and how/when to implement it into your work.

See more Ranee Henderson illustrations, paintings, new work, and updates here:
Ranee Henderson website
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Instagram: @ranehend