Writer and illustrator Angela Staehling observed her artistic inspiration with us this previous April aboard Heart of the Danube: Bavaria to Budapest – and chronicled her journey in a sequence of illustrations, flawlessly capturing the essence of the river cruise in her art! She shared her story with us in a modern job interview:
Q & A with Angela
Q. It seems like this is your first time touring with Tauck, how did you listen to about us?
A. My partner is a vacation agent and knows that Tauck has constantly been one of the major manufacturers in luxurious travel. A Tauck river cruise has been on our bucket checklist for years, and ideally this will be the 1st of quite a few additional Tauck excursions to come.
Q. You have a playful, eye-catching, design of art – can you convey to us how you explain it?
A. My art style has altered fairly a little bit more than the many years. I have been creating home décor and present products for in excess of 20 yrs and my model has evolved from extremely-sensible to a extra enjoyment, colourful illustration. Now, I love illustrating in a a great deal looser type with bold, vivid shades. Even though a whole lot of my artwork has a steady model, I do do the job in a wide variety of mediums and other styles. I also operate with several shoppers on task-dependent artwork and my variations will improve to fulfill their wants.
Q. Why did you decide on to vacation with us on The Heart of the Danube river cruise?
A. With so many tour possibilities in Europe, we determined to commence with one particular of the staples, that remaining The Coronary heart of the Danube. Whilst Munich, Vienna, and Budapest are a couple of our favorite towns, we by no means experienced a opportunity to examine some of the lesser cities alongside the river. We realized that Tauck’s quite a few excursion solutions and tour tutorial connections would allow us embrace the location in a additional personal way.
Q. You ended up evidently influenced by what you saw cruising along the Danube, can you explain to us a bit about the emotions you had and what determined you to sit down and build Whilst you ended up traveling?
A. I completely loved our Danube cruise as there have been so several picturesque cities and pastoral landscapes from which to collect inspiration. The calming pace of the vacation authorized me to carve out time to illustrate even though having fun with the views. Quite a few periods, I would go for a wander and check out the little villages with our tour team, or even on your own, having many pics together the way. I would even go for a bike ride with one of the on-board bikes to soak in as considerably of the countryside as achievable alongside our several stops. While I was not anticipating to get as considerably illustration performed when touring as I did, I was happy to squeeze in a couple renderings although on board. Of system, I took numerous images to use as reference for upcoming illustrations while I’m at dwelling.
Q. We recognized you have been using a distinctive variety of pen for your river cruise work, is that your regular medium, and if you have more, what is your favourite?
A. I ordered a range of paint markers from Blick Artwork Materials before our journey. I commonly operate with liquid acrylic paints back dwelling, but understood that liquid paints would be hard to travel with. I needed to uncover an art medium that would be a lot easier to tote all over, nevertheless have the identical opaque design and style that I am made use of to functioning in. I ordered a wide variety of marker hues and dimensions from Posca and Molotow brands and was fairly pleased with the similarity in overall look to real paints.
Q. Do you typically choose your operate on the road with you and build even though you travel?
A. I do attempt and get a sketchbook with me whenever I travel. Having said that, it is not often quick to discover the time to illustrate although traveling. The ideal moments for me to illustrate whilst traveling are usually when I’m commuting, these as on a plane, train, or boat, in this scenario. If we have downtime at a lodge, or other accommodation, I will consider to illustrate a spot from our travels.
Q. The place will you journey subsequent?
A. We have a family members journey this summer time to Iceland, Copenhagen, and Sweden. We are traveling with a different household and are hoping to check out other mates who stay in the location.
Q. Have you normally been an artist? Or is this one thing that arrived to you later on in life?
A. I have constantly liked illustrating at any time due to the fact I was a little one. I got my diploma in Graphic Design from the University of Illinois and worked in many advertising companies out of university. Soon after about five many years functioning as an artwork director, I shifted my profession to painting murals in peoples’ homes and firms. I also made commissioned artwork and would sell first paintings in neighborhood suppliers. Soon later on, I learned the globe of artwork licensing, in which I would create patterns and license my artwork to dwelling decor companies. These makers build goods these as dinnerware, stationery, wall art, and textiles, and market to stores close to the earth. I keep on to get the job done with these producers today to license my art on these kinds of household decor products and solutions. Also, I produce and market some of my have products and solutions by way of my website and Etsy Store.
Q. You have just published and illustrated a ebook “How to Pet a Cat” is that your initial? Notify us about that system.
A. “How to Pet a Cat” is my 2nd book. My 1st e-book is termed, “Happy Houseplants”. I have a really like for cats, plants, and of training course, vacation. So composing and illustrating a guide about these topics is a dream arrive true for me! It only appears fitting that I operate on some vacation guides soon – that is my would like! The procedure of composing and illustrating a ebook is truly a operate of artwork in itself. There is a great deal of time and investigate that goes into the crafting, as very well as making the artwork. I was privileged to collaborate with one particular of the top publishers of very best-offering present and art guides, Chronicle Guides. My How to Pet a Cat ebook is now obtainable through most on the net and brick and mortar retailers, including Barnes & Noble, Goal, and Amazon.
Q. How can folks see and uncover out extra about your art?
A. You can watch my do the job on my website, AngelaStaehling.com and Etsy Store be sure to do not hesitate to attain out through my web page here, or my email at: [email protected]
Angela can also be observed on Instagram and Facebook
