With winter in full force, we find ourselves daydreaming about summer. The days of sleeping in, grilling on the balcony, and tanning in our backyards are ahead, and we can’t wait. In the meanwhile, we have Marcy Day’s illustrations to keep us warm. Vibrant and cheerful, they present a universe in which winter is optional and adventure is right around the bend.
Day—a happy go lucky sort of gal—knows a thing or two about adventure. Originally from sunny southern California, she spent many years on the road, riding her bike 10,000 miles from Vietnam to Turkey and illustrating as she went. Recently she settled down in Portland, Oregon, but her adventurous spirit still shines through her illustrations.
“My artwork has always been bright, colorful and fun,” Day shared in an interview with VoyageLA. “I remember being teased in college because I didn’t paint anything dark or depressing. In fact, someone once said during a critique that my work looked like ‘all unicorns and rainbows’. At the time it bummed me out because I thought I wasn’t thought-provoking enough, and no one would take me seriously as an artist. Now I realize that there’s enough depressing imagery out there in the world that we are bombarded with daily, so why not counteract it with something uplifting?”
Working in a variety of mediums—from gouache to watercolors, but mostly digitally—her pieces highlight her love of color and the great outdoors, and often features women doing adventurous things like surfing, biking, and hiking. According to Day, her work is inspired by her travels and is based on the photographs she takes along the way.
“I think the biggest challenge facing artists today is the pressure to create artwork that will please everyone,” reflected Day. “In today’s world, social media is becoming increasingly important to landing jobs and legitimizing artists work. It can be a blessing and a curse. It can give an artist the ability to reach a wide audience with the click of a button, but the pressure to constantly create artwork that will get likes and engagement can really alter the creative process.”
Show her some love on Instagram:
