Hannah Bunzey

Hey Hannah!  Tell us a bit about who you are, where you grew up, and your background as a marker illustrator!

I grew up in Denver, North Carolina which is a small town right outside of Charlotte. My entire life I always wanted to be an artist. My favorite activities as a kid were always creative. When I got older I went to college at UNCA for painting and art education. I never finished my teaching license but I did discover markers as a medium in my final semester and have been using them like crazy ever since! 

What are some things that sparked your love for your unique, vibrant technicolor pallet & the vibes you like to resonate through in your work?

I'm not sure what exactly draws me to bright colors- I love anything whimsical or fantastical and I feel like there is some magic that comes with bright intense colors. I have tried in the past to tone down my palette but it never stuck. Maybe it stems from loving cartoons, Lisa Frank, and Dr. Seuss books growing up. I'm also very inspired by nature and a lot of the images I create feature colors that, while exaggerated, are based off of flowers, plants, trees, insects, etc.



Whats a typical day for you like in the studio?  And how do you balance content creation with .. creation creation?

This is a hard one, lately my days all look a bit messy and a bit different. In a perfect world I'd love to have half of my day be business focused and the other half pure art making... but that's tough to make happen. I've been spending much more time on the business side which means content creation of course, but also things like creating art classes, working on commissions for other people, mailing orders, setting up licensing deals, keeping my Patreon up to date, and making new products to name a few. I do post my artwork daily on at least one of my social media platforms which is what keeps my Etsy shop going. I'm one of the odd few who doesn't mind content creation too much, to me it's more of an additional creative outlet and I often enjoy coming up with ideas to help me get my artwork out there.



What are some consistent thematic through lines in your work that you hope resonate with the viewer?

I want the artwork to convey a sense of wonder. Some themes that often repeat are outer space and the natural world presented as a vivid fairytale. I like to think of each drawing as a window looking into a fantasy world, and for each one to give a sense of peace to the viewer as they pause to look, and hopefully escape everyday life for a moment.