We created our Artist Fellowship Program to help creative people find the space and inspiration they need to bring their ideas to life. Earlier this year, we hosted illustrator, Liana Finck, at Getaway Eastern Catskills outside of New York. Here’s what she had to say about her creative process, her relationship to nature, and her Getaway:
On Nature
I️ grew up kind of near Catskill, in Orange County, NY. We lived at the foot of a mountain far away from the closest neighbor, and I️ spent most of my free time outdoors looking at things and walking around with my dog. I️ still do, although it’s different in the city.
Visiting Catskill brought back old memories. I️ remember going to a zoo called the Catskill Game Farm when I️ was a kid. And I️ feel so at home in the beautiful, soft, old mountains. I️ remember realizing when I️ was maybe eight, that the soft blue and purple zig-zags on the horizon weren’t just part of the sky. I️ hadn’t seen them since my family moved away when I️ was fourteen.
On Creativity
I️’ve always drawn. My mom is an artist, and she encouraged me. I️ started liking New Yorker cartoons and graphic novels when I was in high school, and have wanted to make them since then, besides a painful detour in art college. I️ use a Muji .38 gel pen (the old kind they stopped making) on slightly higher-end printer paper. I️ trace a lot. It’s my way of editing, instead of using pencil and then inking later, which is what most comics artists do. The paper is slightly translucent, easy to trace. When I️ draw on thicker paper, I️ use an LED light box (cheap and portable).
On Getting Away
I️ went there with my boyfriend on his first birthday while we were together. We didn’t have a car, so we just stayed close to the house and wandered around. We looked at horses, made s’mores, and drew. It was a great birthday. We went back a year later, this time in a car and with our new dog, Penny. She loved it – the first time we’d brought her to the woods.
You can follow Liana’s work on her Instagram.
Ready for your own creative escape? Book your Getaway today.