This is a writing sample taken from a final project in my typography class, 2008. The project was to create an event campaign regarding art with a focus on typographic layout, content and overall cohesion. My event was Escape from the Box, a made-up lecture tour led by award-winning illustrator, Sterling Hundley for young artists, exploring topics of creative discipline, work ethic and self promotions.
At first impression, Sterling Hundley is towering and intimidating, possessing both a bull-fighter’s confidence and the charisma of an honest Southern gentleman. His humble attitude and commanding appearance have turned heads and widened the eyes of a diverse and respectable crowd, including Rolling Stone, The New Yorker and The New York Times. His work ethic is very regimented, meticulous and disciplined; a life rooted in a mixture of being brought up in a “text-rich environment” and learning from the biggest talents in the industry. Throughout his career, he has been taught what he calls “blue collar ethic.” Hundley throws himself into his work, taking every precaution to avoid disaster and create something “smart” or “pretty” that viewers will understand and continue to think about. In addition to being one of the highest regarded artists in the industry, about thirty percent of his time is spent instructing three classes for the Department of Communication Arts at Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU), Richmond, Virginia. He is also one of the five core instructors of the seven-week summer program for the Illustration Academy at Ringling College of Art and Design in Sarasota, Florida. He says that since teaching relatively takes up such little time, it allows him to continue working with his clients and commissions, as well as self promotional tours.
Sterling got his start as an illustrator by receiving national accolades while still attending school at VCU. He submitted into competition a self-promotional piece to the Society of Illustrators, Illustration Academy, Kansas City, that won gold, awarding Sterling with a scholarship. He then decided, with his parents’ support, to go to the Illustration Academy after graduating to be mentored and taught by some of the most disciplined and talented artists and teachers from across the nation. He formed friendships with the founder of the Academy, Mark English and his son John. Along with the two came Chris Payne, Brent Watkinson, Anita Kunz, Gary Kelley and George Pratt. Hundley knew that among all this talent and experience, he would certainly have to “earn his place at the table.” From a very early point in his career, he realized he would be challenged, but confidently accepted each time and learned along the way, developing a work ethic that has paved the way to his success throughout his career.
He often credits his family for receiving such great recognition. In an interview for his feature article in Communication Arts magazine, Sterling thanked his family for being his greatest influence in his accomplishments, namely his mother, Rosalie, also VCU alumni. She and Ran, Sterling’s father, live in a log cabin in Virginia, where upon moving, she, herself, stripped and replaced sheetrock on the walls and repaired the steps. Along with helping Ran run a Civil War memorabilia shop, Rosalie designs and crafts dollhouse furniture, which Sterling helped build from childhood. This practice taught Sterling how to appreciate intricate design and the importance of a gentle touch and graceful hand, as well as learning by example from observing the strength and will of his mother. She installed in him confidence that if anyone could do it, so could he.
Communication Arts magazine visited Rosalie while in Virginia interviewing Sterling to examine the person that gave the man true meaning to his name. The writer, Matthew Porter, describes her as a strong woman of German heritage, raised on a Montana farm. She and Ran were able to give their son a solid foundation by mixing in perfect ratios of strength, will and determination, handled with a delicate touch and southern charm. Sterling revealed that not only is his mother a role model, she is also at times his muse.
Sterling has won many prestigious awards throughout his career, including multiple gold and silver medals from the Illustration Club in Washington, DC and the Society of Illustrators, New York. His raw talent and blue collar ethic have opened many windows of opportunity that Sterling has explored and succeeded, such as teaching and working with top-notch clients. With all that goes on in the world of Sterling, he strives to balance his professional and personal life. His studio is now located inside his home in Richmond, Virginia, and he says the “line between personal life and work is blurry indeed.” His wife Shelly is who Sterling likes to refer to as “my dream girl” and says contributes to his peace of mind. She and Hundley met and dated in Virginia while still in college. She accepted his departure when moving to Kansas and they later married when returning to Virginia. He explained about his life then, even though he did not want to let go of Shelly or his comfortable life in Virginia, he saw that the move was essential, making it easier to get away from distraction to focus on his work, his future and getting over his “social withdrawal.”
Hundley dedicates himself and commits to helping students and upcoming artists across the nation by giving speeches and workshops, as well as providing Advice, a blog recently added to his website, sterlinghundley.com. Within the Compulsion or Discipline post, Sterling explains his perception and approach to his work. “It is not a compulsion, but a discipline…I know that every time I work, I am in for a battle.” He admits that everything he creates passes through an “ugly” phase, and if a piece does not ascend from this phase, it is, simply put, a failure. He goes on to say that time is often not on his side, and he knows that people will see his work, whether failure or success, thus maintaining the work ethic and determination to avoid such failure. According to Hundley, there is no time for laziness or procrastination. Planning, scheduling and making goals, as well as having great talent, are the prerequisites to successful work. “How quickly you grow is closely related to how hard you work.”
Sterling is here to give guidance and discuss things that are outside the realm of comfort for students and the undisciplined. He wants to teach artists different ways of breaking free from the constraints that often build walls between the artist and project. Feeling trapped is like being in a box searching for what’s outside and never being able to find one’s self. This box encourages the artist to say “I can only go this far, after that, all bets are off.” Sterling Hundley is here to teach the artist problem-solving techniques, essential practices to staying organized and how to find a unique voice as an artist. He is here to help the artist escape from the box.
Special thanks to Communication Arts and Virginia Commonwealth University for sponsoring the Escape from the Box tour and providing resources.
