Artist Profile: Brinson Marie Thieme

When asked to give a brief summary about herself, Brinson Marie Thieme, better known as Sairobi thinks of herself as “fairly boring”. “I’ve never climbed any mountains, I don’t know ju-jitsu, and I certainly don’t have any magical powers. (Yet).” She says. However, this artist 24 year-old artist who is originally from Sarasota, Fl definitely has some skills. Currently residing in Van Nuys, CA with her sister and three cats, she looks for jobs during the day and finds time to draw at night. Take a glance at any of her works, with characters adorned in mesmerizing outfits and soon you’ll be begging to see more. She received her BA from the University of South Florida in 2004, along with a MFA in Sequential Art from SCAD in 2006. Her eye for perfectly matching character and costume designs, will easily take you to another world.

How long have you been drawing?

Like most artists, I've been drawing for as long as I can remember. But I wasn't really serious about it until I was around eighteen.

What was it that got you interested?

This is going to sound so ridiculous but … Final Fantasy VII. It came out when I was thirteen or fourteen and I was so determined to work on my drawing after watching the cinematics in it.

Who are your influences?

Hiroaki Samura, Pierre Alary, Mike Mignola, Sir Lawrence Alma-Tadema, Alphonse Mucha – all the usual suspects.

How would you describe your own style?

Oh man! That's hard. At the moment, I'm sort of experiencing an existential style crisis. I can't really decide if I want to be a digital painter a la all those great artists at ConceptArt.org, or draw silly little cartoons.



How do you get ideas for your drawings and paintings?

Reading, mostly. Sometimes I just want to illustrate a scene from a story. Most of the time, though, the ideas are tangential to the content – I'll be reading Greek mythology, and think "Satyrs, huh? wonder what they would look like in modern clothes. Hmmm."




Can you describe your general approach to creating a picture?

I start with the face. I've been told this is a cardinal sin in most art classrooms– OH WELL. I need a face because I want to know what the dominant emotion is for my picture. Once I have one I can start thinking about things like how the color scheme and body language relates to the feeling I'm trying to create. From there I work outward, as my understanding of proportions is all based upon relationships to the face. It's very organic.

Are there any messages that you try convey with your pictures?

I just want to entertain people. I want my pictures to contain narratives and lively characters people are interested in … but beyond that, I really don't attempt to convey any big ideas. I'll be the first to admit it: My work is pretty shallow.


What's your work environment like?

Messy like the dickens. For a big project, my work area (which can be my drafting desk, bed, or computer) begins to resemble a nest. My tools and my iPod are usually at the center, then layers of printed references and junk sketches and books are scattered about in a three-foot radius.

Anytime you feel like you're in a funk, what gets you motivated to start drawing again?

Usually experiencing something very visual helps give me a kick in the butt, whether it's a new movie or just a particularly well-done comic.

What programs do you primarily use for your artwork?

Photoshop 7.

What's your favorite traditional media?

Graphite. I am utterly addicted to pencils. And I just discovered powdered graphite! It's fantastic.

What are your future aspirations?

In an ideal world -- a world of peace, love and unicorns! -- I will be a successful conceptual designer for a major video game studio. But I'll settle for drawing every day and receiving enough compensation for that to pay my bills.



Any advice for other aspiring artists?

Don't go to art school because you want a job. Go because you want an education.

If you could be any character from a video game, movie, novel, etc. who would it be?

Stephen Maturin from the Master and Commander series. That would make me: A doctor and a spy and an amateur biologist, not to mention handy with pistols. I would be a true nineteenth century badass.




What's the one thing you could not live without?

Fountain Coca-Cola. McDonald's is running a promotion where you can get a 64 oz. drink for 75 cents. I've never been happier.


Any other comments or things you'd like to address?

I'm good, thanks. :)

To see more work by Brinson, you can visit these links:

http://sairobi.deviantart.com – deviantART gallery
http://www.sourho.net – Portfolio site
http://sairobi.livejournal.com – Online journal

You can also send emails to Brinson at tetmonk@aol.com