I can’t say that I know much about Levi Nunnink. He’s a man of few words, however he has followed me on Twitter for about a year, and I consider him a stout fellow. He has a very classical style of illustration which I appreciate. It has a timeless quality that takes me back to the books and comics I read as a child.
Recently, he did me the favor of answering a few probing questions about his life and career.
Tell us a little about yourself. Where are you from? Where do you live now? What did you want to be when you grew up?
I grew up in Northern California, in the Sierra Nevada Foothills. I was one of those weird homeschool kids where the circle of leftist hippie and christian conservative somehow meet. Me and my wife have six kids and we decided that we wanted to raise them someplace other than California, so we moved to Knoxville, Tennessee in the middle of the pandemic.
When I was a kid I remember saying that I wanted to be a dentist when I grew up, I think because it seemed practical and I knew that I didn’t have the chops for firefighter or astronaut.
What sort of artwork do you do? What’s your main medium?
My artwork is really just illustration. I have no time for abstract or modernist art, “art for art’s sake”. It seems to me that the best art is always in service of a story. My favorite artists, growing up, were all illustrators. I was especially drawn to illustrators who worked in black and white. This naturally led to me trying to imitate their works, using their tools and techniques. My main medium is pretty basic: pencil, paper, pen and ink. I do some digital work when I’m under pressure but it feels like cheating.
How/where did you learn your skills?
Learning for me comes by imitation, trial and error, and practice. Chuck Jones said “Everyone has ten thousand bad drawings in them and all you have to do is get them out.” This is probably the best drawing advice I’ve heard. Just keep doing it, over and over again and you’ll improve.
What made you want to start making art? What motivates you to keep it up?
Art is a kind of magic. I remember being young and examining Maxfield Parrish illustrations, filled with a longing to enter the scene myself. I must have studied his bookplate from Dream Days by Kenneth Graham for hours. Beauty has a an irresistible pull and I think I wanted to try to understand the images that created “sweet desire” in me by creating my own. Today, while images are abundant, I think beauty is in shorter supply than ever.
Where do you get your inspiration?
My two main sources of inspiration are old books and old newspaper strips. There’s a golden age to both of these mediums, starting somewhere in the late 1800s and ending in the 1960s, where the printing technology allowed artists to really flex their chops and publishers would invest in lavish printings. By the sixties, economic dynamics seemed to change the art in newspapers shrank and illustrations became less common in books and dominated by modernism.
Who are your favorite artists?
Roy Crane, Milton Cannif, Alex Toth, and Paul Pope are comic artists that absolutely delight me. Maxfield Parrish’s early work (before his ladies on rocks and landscapes), Ernest Shepherd, and Arthur Rackham are three illustrators I adore. Finally Herge’s linge claire is a style that I love but find almost impossible to imitate.
And, if I’m being perfectly honest, my daughter Lily is of my favorite artists. Watching her grow and develop her abilities is a constant delight and she’s already much better than me in many areas.
Where do you like to show your artwork?
Twitter and Instagram are the main places to see my work. I’ve done illustrations for clients that may pop up on the web from time to time.
What is your favorite piece? Tell us a bit about it.
I think my current favorite piece is one I did recently, illustrating a Christmas poem by G.K. Chesterton. I was trying to use values and light like some of my favorite artists. It’s one where the final piece matched what I set out to do in the beginning.
Do you have any advice for other artists?
Practice and study what you love. There is no one right way to draw but there is a right way for you to draw and you probably have a sense of what it is. You can get better by studying those who inspired you in the first place and following in their footsteps.
Is there anything you’d like to add?
I think that art, especially beautiful art, is more important than ever these days. Art is a form of magic, creating angelic and demonic enchantments. I think we live in a time where art is largely on the side of demons. Beauty is a path of resistance. It’s a worthwhile pursuit and a greater force for good than we might suspect.