Computerlove™

May 22nd, 2008

Let's Talk, Leah Hayes(Internal News)

Boston-bred illustrator Leah Hayes, who's a phenom with a Bic-brand ballpoint pen, enjoys laughing. "I laughed forever the other night, watching these rare Andrew Lloyd Webber music videos," she says. "But actually I was laughing out of happiness, not making fun of them. I love musicals so much." Life isn't all shits and giggles for the 27-year-old, Parsons School of Design graduate though. Thumb through the pages of her graphic novels—2004's Holy Moly and the recently published Funeral of the Heart,—and you'll realize Ms. Hayes has her share of somber days too. But it's the less-than-sunny nature of her graphic novels that makes them so appealing. Hayes' multi-layered illustrations aptly compliment the tales of sadness and woe captured in her diary-meets-sketchbook approach to storytelling.

When she's not feverishly sketching ideas for graphic novels (or watching obscure Andrew Lloyd Weber music videos), Hayes stays busy doing editorial illustrations for publications like The New York Times, McSweeney's, and The Wall Street Journal. She also fronts a rock band called Scary Mansion and has a twin sister named Vanessa, who is, coincidentally, also a singer. We took a minute to chat with Ms. Hayes recently, here's how that conversation played out.

When did you first begin drawing in a serious, career-minded way?

I've always been drawing, and I've always wanted to be an illustrator—I used to read my father's Illustration Annuals obsessively when I was a kid. But I started trying to get jobs when I was 19. I was in college and knocking on the doors of The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal between classes. It sounds ambitious, but it was at the expense of my schoolwork I'm afraid.

So were you eager to begin working as an illustrator, or just bored with school?

It was both.

What I enjoy about your ballpoint illustrations is the incredibly distinct feeling and tone they have. What prompted you to use a ballpoint, and can you talk about the advantages and limitations?

I started to use a Bic pen because it is so much like a pencil—the line quality varies greatly, and you can get a super soft fine line, good for cross-hatching. I suspect too that I enjoyed drawing with a tool that is un-erasable. I did it again later with scratchboard. I think I like the recklessness—and stupidity, maybe—of doing something once and not being able to change it.

This idea of permanence related to drawing in pen, would you say it’s helped you develop confidence in your work?

Yes. It’s made me take more risks, in a weird way. Because I always want to do the silly, dangerous thing; the foolish thing. Pen and scratchboard don’t really allow you to make mistakes, so the stakes are higher—I made a lot of mistakes anyway, though.

Your work has been collected in two books published by Fantagraphics, Holy Moly and the recent graphic novel Funeral of the Heart. Can you tell me how your relationship with Fantagraphics came about?

I sent them a cold submission when I had just graduated from college. They were nice enough to read it and give it a chance.

_Holy Moly_ was more of an abstract collection of illustrations threaded together by a loose narrative where Funeral of the Heart is a graphic novel with a defined plot. Can you talk about the difference between the experiences of putting these two books together?

Well, Holy Moly was literally a collection of doodles that I did both during class and at restaurants, and it was a bit like an illustrated diary of what I was going through at the time. It's a really sad book—I can't even look at it now. It makes me so sad. Funeral of the Heart is basically the same thing, but more organized. It's my feelings on certain things, but expressed through metaphor instead of crazy, ranting snails. I'm not sure if one can say that metaphor is a ‘clearer’ way to express an idea, but because of the short-story format it at least gives the illusion of structure.

For future publishing projects, would you be interested in pursuing a more structured approach?

Hmm… no. I look forward to doing another insanely frustrating, confusing, hard-to-read/swallow book.

Your editorial illustrations have appeared in The New York Times, McSweeney's, The Wall Street Journal, and so on. How does contributing artwork to these types of publications differ from say, creating artwork for a graphic novel or more art-minded publication?

Well, I get paid for them, which is helpful. They have also led to some interesting things, too. Every job leads you to something amazing eventually, no matter how small or underpaid.

It’s funny you say that. I’ve had this discussion with so many people, the idea that one opportunity can have this sort of spiderweb effect, leading to so many other opportunities. Can you give me one example of how this has worked in your career?

I drew Holy Moly and had it published, virtually no one bought it, and then one day I got a call from Steven Page from The BareNaked Ladies. He had seen my book in Canada, liked it, and asked me to do the album cover for his next record. That was by far the weirdest career connection that’s ever happened to me.

You also play in a band called Scary Mansion. Can you tell me little bit about the music and what you do in the band?

I started the band a couple of years ago as a solo project, but now I play with a drummer and a bassist. I don't know what to say about the music. I guess it's sort of a musical version of Holy Moly. I have other side projects, too. Lots of little bands.

As a musician too, I see so many similarities between pursuing music and art. I wonder what types of parallels, if any, your experiences have shown you?

I write songs about sadness, dark things, [and so on]. Similar themes to [the] books [and] art I’ve done. I cannot really say what the exact connection is, but I can’t do one without the other.

If you had the opportunity to completely change the trajectory of your life, would you still be an illustrator?

Yes. And also I would have thought to invent cuteoverload.com.

Related links www.leahhayes.com www.fantagraphics.com www.myspace.com/scarymansion www.myspace.com/vanessahayes