Ryan Miller - Profile Of An Artist
When and where were you born? Are you originally from Atlanta, GA? What was growing up like for you? Do you have any siblings? When did you first begin to have a fascination with Art?
I was born in 1992 in Atlanta, GA and grew up in the suburbs of Roswell as an only child. As a kid, I always had a love for both music and art and was often spending my free time at home after school drawing frogs and lizards and some cosmic outer space shit or endlessly running through suggested music videos on YouTube of the 80s heavy metal gods like Metallica, Pantera, and Sabbath as well as pretty much anything grunge.
What would you and your friends do for fun growing up? Who were among some of the first artists, or in general, creative forces that made a huge impact on you? Did you have any other interests outside of art and the other mediums you’ve embarked on?
Me and my close friends did all the normal things most adolescent/teen kids do - getting in trouble with the neighbors, playing video games until 5AM on the weekends, loitering in parking lots bored out of our minds. I’m not sure I could pinpoint or name certain artists that made an impact on me, but a big part of my college free time was spent listening to records and looking through the vinyl artwork and packaging. I remember being particularly fascinated by 60s/70s typography and the general feel of the artwork from that time period. That has stuck with me throughout my journey as an artist and is something I try to incorporate into every piece I make. As I mentioned earlier, my life is sort of a 50/50 split between music and art. My friends and I started a band in college and still play together today under the name Rujen. We’ve released an EP and a single so far, with our first full length record set to release later this year.
When did you realize you wanted to be an artist? Did you go to school for art? How did you initially become interested in working with the mediums you’ve chosen? Before your career and path as an artist took off, what was that trajectory like? When did everything start to click for You?
Drawing was always a big part of my life growing up as a kid and throughout college. I could never help myself from doodling on my notes in class and would often use drawing as a way to decompress/relax and zone out. I’d mostly draw bootleg posters/designs for my favorite bands at the time in hopes they might one day see them. Although I was a Marketing major, a good majority of my friend group in college were Art majors and I was always so inspired by the things they would come up with and show me. From their drawings and paintings to digital collages and video work, I wanted to fit in with them and be able to make art of my own. I took on a Digital Media minor which was really just a few introductory classes to Photoshop and other Adobe software. I learned the basics from those courses, but did a lot of my learning and growth as an artist post-graduation. I spent most mornings and afternoons teaching myself new things from YouTube tutorials and trying to replicate patterns, subject matter, textures, and color schemes from art that caught my eye. After 6 months or so of self-teaching, I finally began to feel like I had an understanding of the artwork I wanted to make and had the tools and know how to do so. Or maybe I didn’t know anything and still don’t today… Who’s to say?
What has made an impact on your life and work the most in terms of inspirations and the topics/subjects you choose to explore and expand on?
I’d have to say my love of music and particularly the genre of 60s/70s and modern psychedelic rock has had the largest impact on my work.
When was your first commission and who was it for? What is your approach and process when going about creating your work? Who are some of your Inspirations whether that's other artists, people you know, bands, etc.?
My first commission was for a good friend of mine, Joey Tuholski, for his music project ‘Pure Colors’. Bless his soul for trusting me with his artwork in those early years where I feel like every piece I created was totally random and looked nothing like the previous piece I had made. I definitely had to learn how to create a cohesive look or brand for my artwork, but I still find it hard to stick to one thing or another. I love experimenting and trying out new things.
How has your career impacted your life as you move forward working on projects, developing your style more and more? What project(s) have you worked on that you’ve enjoyed the most, or has it been the most honor/privilege?
Working as a freelance designer has taught me a wide variety of life lessons and I’ve absolutely felt the full range of emotions towards it over the years. But most importantly it has connected me to so many awesome people and music that I may have never met or heard of without it. There are two projects that really stand out to me. The first being the album design for Faintlife’s self-titled. I had discovered their music on my own a couple years before and fell in love with their sound. I reached out to one of the band members, Sam, and have been in touch with him ever since - sharing music with each other and talking shop on gear/equipment. When he reached out to me to create the artwork for their next album, I was beyond humbled and excited to be able to work on it. The second being my most recent project for St. Lucia. I remember sitting outside at a local coffee shop, mindlessly scrolling through Instagram and seeing a DM come in from the band. I had to do a double take to make sure I wasn’t having a caffeine-fueled hallucination and then I quickly called a bunch of my friends to tell them about it. Working and collaborating with Jean, Patti, and Andrew on this project has been such a fun process and having the chance to create full album artwork for vinyl release is a dream come true. Thank you St. Lucia!
Has it been difficult since the pandemic to work on your projects, or your commissions? Are you currently working on any new projects? How has your style/approach changed over the years since you first started out on this journey?
The pandemic had its ups and downs for me. On one hand, it offered me loads more time to work on my freelance projects outside of my day job, but on the other hand it made inspiration harder and harder to come by and dealing with anxiety/depression as a result of being cooped up inside for months on end made it tough for me to even want to work on my artwork. I tried my best to power through any negative thoughts/feelings I was having towards my work/freelance and ended up making some of my favorite pieces to date! It feels like every time I finish one project, I end up with three more on my plate… Which is absolutely nothing to complain about. I remember the days where I’d wonder when my next project would come in, so staying busy these days is something I don’t take for granted.
Is there anything else you would like to further share with the readers?
Remember to drink water and go outside; I often forget to do both of these things.
https://www.instagram.com/its_rydawg/
http://www.ryanmillerdesigns.com/
Dakota Brown
