PEGGI COONEY CHATS TO AMANDA SHEEREN, THE SOBER ILLUSTRATOR
By Peggi Cooney | Author This Side of Alcohol | Hola Sober Host + Columnist | TSOA on FB + Instagram |
Peggi: Who are your biggest artistic influences?
When Amanda Sheeran aka The Sober Illustrator began to post on Instagram, I noticed right away. Her brilliant, stand out work manages to capture the essence of the people, places and things she illustrates. Every time. I was enamored with those posts. I am most certainly not alone. I am so proud that her illustration of me became the basis for my logo for This Side of Alcohol. And just look how she captured the essence of Hola Sober’s founder and leader, Susan Christina on the gallery page. When I found out that Amanda lives near me in Northern California, I was ecstatic. I asked if we could feature her work at Sober in the City, Sacramento in May. I am so grateful she agreed. People who attended the event fell in love with Amanda. She is beautiful and gracious. My interview with Amanda, whose words are as beautiful as her art, made me love her more. You will fall in love too. The world is just a better place with Amanda in it. P eggi: Where are you from and how does that affect your work? Amanda: I am originally from the Sierra Foothills, but currently live in a little town in Marin County called Fairfax. I think being here, in a place that is so beautiful, filled with people who are doing interesting work is such a gift. Growing up, I am not sure I understood all the ways a person could exist in the world. Not that I didn’t have dreams, but I struggled to piece together how to make those dreams a reality. Being immersed in a natural setting that offers endless inspiration and surrounded by people who have brought their dreams to life, inspires me to always keep working towards mine.
Amanda: Honestly, I am inspired by the real people around me: people like my son, Riley, who, at 13, is one of the most talented people I’ve ever met; or my husband who works a day job, but still pursues music in every spare moment, or my friends who have found a way to weave their lives around the creative pursuits that bring them life and joy. I didn’t come from the art world or ever see that as a path that was available to me. It took years of adjusting and learning and growing to finally accept that I, as much as anyone else, could live a creative life. Peggi: Tell me about how The Sober Illustrator came to be and what was your motivation and or vision behind creating it. Amanda: The Sober Illustrator came about when I was just a few years into sobriety and really looking to find an outlet for sharing some of my insights around the whole experience. At the time, I did not realize there was such an active sober community on Instagram and that starting this project was more of an opportunity to connect with them than it was to share. When the project started I, quite literally, had no idea what I was doing, but it kept feeling good, so I just kept moving towards it. (A sentiment I try to echo in all areas of my life, to varying degrees of success.) I had never even digitally illustrated a person when I started this project (in June of 2021) but I knew I wanted to and I figured I would work out how to make it happen at some point. I loved the idea of taking a complicated, nuanced, complex person, and finding a way to represent them in a simplistic way, while still capturing who they are. After creating my first illustration (for one of my favorite people, Renee Kelly) I was in love! After sharing that illustration, the commissions started coming in, and they (somehow) haven’t stopped. (Like, how many incredibly kind, sober people are there??
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