For Staff Appreciation Day (Oct. 16th) I've done a series of Interviews with several members of dA staff. I hope you all enjoy!

Interview with ^ArtisticAunJuli.

1. How did you come up with your deviantART nickname?

I originally joined under my own first name, ~Aun-Juli, which primarily holds all of my photography, but when I decided to start posting my artwork, I just devised a silly way of distinction by adding Artistic to the front of my name and dropped the hyphen so it wasn't so confusing.


2. What is your role on deviantART and what do you enjoy most about it?

I'm currently the Fan Art Gallery Director, and I'm coming up on my one year anniversary in this position! The absolute best part about my position is definitely the people I get to represent and surround myself with. Say what you want about fan art, but fan artists are some of the most giving and passionate bunch of people I've ever known. They make things fun for me, and I meet someone new everyday!

3. How did you find about deviantArt and what made you decide to join?

I found deviantART around 2002 when I was looking for someone's art website who had moved it to deviantART! It took a little while for me to get used to the layout, but once I did I signed up and started posting my own creations in the form of photos, at the time. I think being smacked with so much arty goodness made me go, "Hey, I want to be a part of that."

4. What is your biggest pet peeve on dA? How about outside of dA?

I don't want to sound like a cop-out, but not much really bothers me. People complain about this or that, but I appreciate it all and take the good with the bad, if its even bad at all. I think a pet peeve overall, even on dA, is when I encounter someone who treats other people like they are lesser, for one reason or another. I can tolerate egos, but I can't tolerate someone using their ego to justify treating someone else like they are garbage.

5. On deviantART, who’s artwork has inspired you most and what are your 3 favorite deviations of theirs?

Wow! I've gone through so many changes and loves here on deviantART, that I appreciate all genres of artwork, so to pick any ONE person would be horrible! My first huge influence was *kittynn. Something about her work really got me passionate about deviantART and photography in general. Though I'm not seriously practicing, I've never stopped my love of photography. Now I am more inspired by the artists I interact with a daily basis, they are all so inspiring!

Some of *kittynn's work:


6. Of your own art work, do you feel you lean towards a particular art form or a theme within that art form?

I've made a point to try and vary my gallery, and its pretty obvious its all over the place, but I think overall in my personal work I tend to lean towards a more fantasy style or a surreal style than anything else.

7. Do you feel that deviantART has helped you to grow and develop as an artist? If so, in what ways?

deviantART has helped me to grow in ways both as an artist and just as a person. I understand the value of persevering in both artwork and life. There are so many people who kick ass here on deviantART, and I want to draw/paint/sculpt/photograph on their level-- they are motivating and driving even when I don't feel like doing anything. I'm definitely nowhere near the level I'd like to be at, but I know that when I do have the time to work on my personal stuff, deviantART has all the inspiration and resources I need to get it done.


8. What do you like best about your chosen art form?

Its hard to say what is my chosen artform, since I dabble in so many things, but I love the feel and inspiration I get from traditional media. I love that I can take pencils and paper with me anywhere, or just get messy in paint. I adore my tablet and digital work, but there is just something about cleaning your brushes after a really awesome paint session that makes you feel satisfied.

9. What have you struggled with most in your chosen art form?

Bah, I struggle in all of the artforms I use. I lack passion in my work, regardless of art form, and I'm trying to get back to where I can't stop drawing/painting/etc.

10. Of your own deviations, what 3 are you most proud of and why?



The first one, the snail, was during the height of my speedpaint fun. I was getting to a place where I was really enjoying speedpainting. It is also my one and only Daily Deviation! The second is a fan art, and though its not one of my favorite pieces, it was my one and only realistic digital portrait attempt! (And its fan art, and I love fan art!) And lastly is a more recent piece, and it makes me happy because I feel as though I might be coming back to a point where creating art is enjoyable and not just work!


11. What inspires you most?

Nature, things about nature, environments. Lord of the Rings. Haha, anything fantasy. Winter. (I have a hard time doing artwork in the summer...)

12. Walk me through a typical day in the life of ^ArtisticAunJuli.

Wow, what a boring day! I wake up about 7:30am. Check on the cats to make sure they have food and water, tidy up the house a bit, log into deviantART and go through my messages. I get my fiance, George, ready for work, and then I drag out all of my stuff for the day. Some days I have to work on commissions which may involve clay or drawings, and other days I work on pieces of jewelry for my etsy store. I also work with ^misskittyoooo as the colorist for her comic Daqueran, so that might be an option for the day. I log into dAmn, and say hi to everyone, say hi to everyone who is on the Artist Relations team that is up, and then pretty much go between creating artwork and talking to people online all day. I do some fan art gallery stuff, and then run my errands and visit with my family. I learned to cook! I cook every night now, and it's become a new favorite hobby. I set my Daily Deviations, and then watch TV with George when he gets home.

Its pretty dull isn't it? Its kind of my comfort zone for now... I had been shaking it up for a little bit and taking 'glamorous' trips to Hollywood and other places, but gas got expensive and I got tired and missed chatting with everyone ;D Haha...


13. What kind of movies would we find in your DVD collection?

Lord of the Rings, Harry Potter, Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, all those sorts of movies. I'm all for fantasy movies, but I love action movies and comedies. I like them all.

14. How about if we opened your fridge right now, what would we find?

Right now, not much! I have some chicken and some pot roast that I'll be cooking soon, fruits like apples and oranges were on sale. George loves rice pudding, so we have that, and I like to have the low calorie yogurt. Water, skim milk, and our new favorite, cherry 7-up. I have cookie dough and biscuits, and what else... left overs from Del Taco!

15. If you had to list 3 things you think everyone should do in their lifetime, what would they be?

The first thing I think people should do is one thing that scares the crap out of them, or something that they've thought of doing but just never had the nerve to. The biggest lesson I learned this year is that stepping out of your comfort zone once in a while and doing something completely uncharacteristic is one of the most exhilarating feelings in the world.

Secondly, everyone should go snorkling or scuba diving at least once. I've been snorkling twice and I'd love to get my scuba license. Seeing things in the ocean up close and so beautiful is a captivating experience... sort of like going into another part of reality that you didn't ever know existed. Lastly... and I'm sure many many many people on deviantART have done this... random acts of kindness. People you know and love, people you know and don't love, people you don't know, everyone. Random acts of kindness keep my faith in humanity, and when you are able to do something for someone who doesn't expect it at all, you can give them a highlight in their life. Usually for the people you 'randomly' choose, it couldn't have come at a better time.