Meet Carl

Thick line. Thin line. Thin line with a flourish on the end. Fill. Thick line. Curl. Curl. Curl. Two parallel thin lines filled in with dots. This is me. This is how I work. Am I working on a logo? Am I working on a new illustration? Am I “taking notes” during a meeting? Who the hell knows. The only thing I can be sure of at that moment is that line. That dot. Now fill it in. My name is Carl Floyd Medley III and I am an artist and designer working one detail at a time.

Growing up I always knew I wanted to do something with art in my life. Art was everything to me. It was fun; it was a game; it was serious; it was therapy. When I went to college I saw graphic design as a way to make money and still be able to do something “creative,” even though I had no idea what it was or whether or not I would be good at it. After studying graphic design I graduated and now work in the design field. I am proud of the work I have done, but I would not have gotten to where I am today if it weren’t for my art. As a kid I was never afraid of being good or bad. The only time I ever felt weird about it was if a teacher would say, “Hey kids, come look at how good this thing is that Carl is drawing.” If that doesn’t make you self-conscious I don’t know what does. But still, it never seemed like I ever had to worry about anything. As people grow up, and as artists grow up, so does the fear of acceptance of their work. This is true for any creative avenue; drawing, writing, sculpture, design, etc. People kill their motivation and their ideas before the pen hits the paper. I feel like I am fortunate enough that I have never worried about what people think of my work. I have just done it and moved forward with whatever I come up with.

I think that’s why I say that I am living one detail at a time. Try it some time. Let’s say you’re putting together a screen-print. You have this idea. you want the type to work a certain way with some flourishes, but you don’t want this one color to muddy up the other color. Oh, and you also don’t want the letters to be too close to this edge because it will look messed up. Make sure to get the kerning of the letters right… Do you remember why your idea was so great in the first place? Probably not. Maybe you do, but I don’t think I would. You have already created four problems before your first thumbnail sketch. Why? Why do people do that? Don’t sabotage your work before you have even started. Focus on one detail at a time and see where that takes you.

This love of detail is partly credited to a lot of the artists and designers I follow. People like Chuck Close, Shepard Fairey, Si Scott, Alex Trochut, Marian Bantjes, just to name a few. If you haven’t checked these artists out, please do. They are definitely worth your time. In all of these artists works you can see an appreciation for the little things, and I think that is a valuable lesson for a lot of creatives. I am not saying if you’re doing a portrait it has to be hyper-real like a Chuck Close, but take the time to make it the way you want. Focus on that moment in time on that brush stroke with that specific color. I guarantee you will have a different outlook on life altogether.

If you’re wondering why I do what I do, I guess the best answer is because I can. To me, drawing and painting are so many things it seems silly to say it’s for one thing. I could be working on a new illustration as a gift for someone, or I could be doing it because I had a real shitty day at work and I need some sort of release. Try sitting down with a blank piece of paper and very fine pointed rapidograph pens just making as many different lines as you can and cover the page. It is pretty therapeutic. I have done some of my best work this way. So I am just going to keep doing the work I love because I feel like doing the things you love will get you farther and make you feel better than anything else will. Just ask the great people here at RageHaus. I guarantee you that they are happy (They’re probably smiling right now). I do have goals for my work and aspirations of where I want it to take me, but in order for me to get their I am just going to focus. On this line. And this dot. And this flourish.