Interview with Leif Osmundson

Ladies and gents, today I give you (drum roll please) my first ever interview! I hope you enjoy it as much as I did. Meet my good friend, Leif Osmundson, of leafo.us. He is an accomplished photographer, artist, and graphic designer with extraordinary talent. His work is intriguing, eye-catching, and more than a little bit edgy. He has a unique sense of humor that shines through his work, as well as an unsurpassed imagination.



What made you want to be an artist?

Wow. I guess I should have expected this one. I didn’t really have a pivotal moment wherein I realized art was my dream. I hope that doesn’t make me less of an artist. I always doodled growing up. When I went to college I asked my dad what degree I should take and he just spit out "you’ve always drawn, do the art one." The rest is history? I did always want to create. In high school it was drafting and CAD but it was too structured at that level. I might have liked that too, had I stuck with it.

What made you want to specifically be a photographer/graphic designer/illustrator?

I actually took all three of the visual communications degrees offered at my school and switched back and forth the entire time about which was my favorite. I wanted to delve into photography leaving high school but I’d never even put film in a camera. I actually still hadn’t when I started taking photo. Talk about 'from the ground up.' I really like design I would say, because it gives me the chance to do everything. There are enormous opportunities to illustrate, photograph, use type, layout and then make it active for a website all on the same project. That makes it exciting day in and day out for me.

Where did you go to school and what classes did you take?

Del tech for my first three degrees: Advertising Design, Photo Imaging, and Multimedia Design. Wilmington University currently for media design with a focus in print but right now I’m taking gobs of coding classes so I can do web design. I have to know web.

When given a specific project, what goes through your head? Where do you begin?

Jeez. Depends on whether it’s personal art or a design project.
To be honest, the personal art usually starts out with a circle or a shape and then that shape gets turned into something. If I like it, the piece will typically get some ridiculous sentence next to it. I can’t help it, I’ve done it since high school.
For design, I think of the message to be conveyed and the feeling it needs. Humor, somber, angry, etc. Then I start thinking of ways to get that feeling and usually my stuff will have one iconic element to illustrate a theme. Once I did a faux magazine about medicine and the cover story was about sexual addiction. I wanted it to be quirky but still have it apply and, after one horribly failed attempt, I came up with a series of people using "sexy-time" items in place of drugs. That one was fun.



What inspires you most?

Other people’s stuff, and I mean this in two ways. It is truly humbling the way these designers will push boundaries but still communicate a message so sharply.
But also, I pick everyone’s brain around me constantly looking for a better solution to a design project. I love the round-table approach. (Blanket apology here to friends, family and co-workers who feel the wrath of my curiosity.)

What are you doing for work now?

My main job is as the photographer and one of two designers for State Parks. I work for Timeline Media doing their branding design but I also get to help with the commercial shoots, which is awesome because I use my lighting skills but I also get to just carry heavy stuff and hold and adjust things. Sometimes mindless labor is a nice break. Just started assisting a wedding photographer. Unrelated: cater weddings, run open mics and teach guitar lessons. I think I count as a starving artist, actually. I’ve lost weight since being on my own.

What projects do you have in store for the future?

Right now I’m trying to design a website educating people on doing what we can for mother-nature. I’m not as good as I could be, but a little better everyday is a lot. Oh, and getting a job with benefits. I always joke that I have to either drive really slow or really fast so I won’t have medical bills. Does that count as a project?

Who are some of your favorite artists?

Nathan Jones. Amazing photographer. I always try to do my own thing but if someone told me my work was exactly like his, I’d be flattered.
Jason Sho Green. When I was shown this guys work, I thought it was hilarious. He puts little quips by his work like my silly illustrations but he’s way better than I am. Stephen Gammell. So stylistic. Loved it since I was a kid. Shel Silverstein. Matt W. Moore. His use of type is humbling. Excellent sense of original branding. Iron and Wine. Cake. Incubus. Tool. Radiohead. Hundreds more. Kurt Vonnegut. Given.



What are some of your favorite tools and media?

Camera: given.
To draw I typically go for stuff that most artists would call crappy. I really love mechanical pencils and ball point pens. The good stuff I use would be Micron pens and those watercolor markers by Prismacolor. When I paint I use watercolor but have broken into acrylics lately and someday, maybe even oils, oh goddess!

What part of your art is the easiest, and what is most difficult?

Easiest: dreaming it up. Hardest: making a quality product.
Easiest: making a quality product. Hardest: dreaming it up.
It’s tough having off days. The easy part is not always the same and, relatively, the hard part is not. Sometimes you hate the camera, marker, paper, hand, brain, etc. but you still have to produce a final product.
Here’s a good answer, though: the easy part is making the art. The hard part for me, personally, is taking myself seriously and selling myself as a competent, qualified designer and artist.

What is your favorite subject to draw or photograph, and why?

Human beings. There are so many facets. We’re so funny. Look, shape, attitude, style, emotion, politics, religion, taste, priorities... read Kurt Vonnegut’s Breakfast of Champions and you’ll know why I like shooting/drawing people. However, I just like shooting things that are visually pleasing AND/or funny. Funny is the best. People make funny.



Is there anything you don’t like about art?

A lot of my days are spent feeling like one tiny, barely lit star. There are so many talented people out there, sometimes being an artist/ designer is incredibly daunting. I also don’t really care for how degrees and computer programs have gotten placed above raw talent in how qualified a person is. I hope that isn’t too many dislikes. Oh, and I hate seeing ads or commercials that are horrible, knowing someone got paid six figures a year to crap it out. I may be a tiny star, but if this jackass gets paid, so could I! Goddess, I sound so close minded.

Is there a certain project you've completed that you're most proud of?

My latest, my website. It's hand coded, which is unheard of, and it has design and my art so it’s the culmination of Leafo so far. Growing more every day. I just hope it stands out. We’ll see. Fingers crossed.

What kind of message do you want to convey with your art?

It’s okay to be silly. I’d love for people to laugh or smile even if it’s about something typically kinda glum.



Thanks Leif! To see more of Leif's stunning and delightful work, mosey on over to his website, leafo.us. By the way folks, if you would like to be interviewed, or know of someone who would like to be interviewed, please feel free to let me know. As always, suggestions and constructive criticism are always welcome and appreciated! Toodles!