Rising Stars: Meet Levi Thomas of Ohio

Today we’d like to introduce you to Levi Thomas.

Hi Levi, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I have been drawn to art as far back as I can remember. As a kid, obviously it was cartoons. Growing up excited to see what Tom Wilson’s “Ziggy” was up to or why Garfield hated Mondays. I was an 80’s kid in every sense of the way. A time when Saturday mornings meant cartoon mania and every brand was portrayed by a character that was either cute, gross or rude. I loved it and told myself “I was going to be a cartoonist!” As I got older, I was exposed to art history and what I like to call “The Great Artists”. The painters and sculptors whose works sit in museums. I was curious as to how these artists would take rough brush strokes with paint make the most incredible detailed images. Even during this interview and knowing the time I have spent personally practicing trial and error, I still wonder how? I started my first business art studio doing graphics, logos and websites around the early 2000’s and kept my fun art on the side. If and when I saw an opportunity to use my artistic ability for a company and pick up a pen and paper to draw, I would. Those days became the stepping stones to what is my work today. I am in a new studio of my own (Killer Arts Media), Still working on graphics and ideas for local companies, but spending more time on digital art, pen and ink and painting projects. Finding ways to reach a bigger audience and getting more involved with art shows. It is a different world today then it was as a kid, the ability to showcase your art and reach people are literally at your control instantly.

Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
I think everything a person does will have ups and downs and it is either going to break you or make you. I think if it was an easy road you would never develop into what you can be. Let it drive you. I think a huge struggle is staying focused. As great as it is to have the world at your finger tips, it is very distracting. I think personally, my struggle is trying to finish ideas that run through my head all day. Being creative can be a labyrinth, finding my way through my brain that is constantly going in all directions with ideas is my challenge. I am learning though, I am making time for things individually. Example: Do three things at a time, not ten.

Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
It’s tough to narrow it down as to what art I specialize in. I love creating digital art because of the final visual. It’s clean, it’s balanced and it has no errors. When I work on a digital piece of art, I can focus on the mathematics of art. I can make something exact, lines can be perfect. You can play with alternate colors quickly to see the best version of what that art can look like. You can repeat identically. However, with pen and ink the fun is freedom. Drawing without making mistakes. letting what you put down on paper be either exactly what you wanted or accepting the result as being the nature of the art. I am proud of all my art, I mean no parent thinks their kid is ugly. When I look at any of my art I see what I was going through in life when that was created. I remember what my ideas were and what I learned from it. I think it’s up to the ones that enjoy or collect art to figure out what sets any artist apart.

What do you like best about our city? What do you like least?
I enjoy the city I live in because I have watched it grow and go through its generational changes. I’ve been fortunate to be a part of many of those changes. Working with places locally, creating plans and ideas for the future growth has and always will be fun. Although, as the community expands it can be sad to see some of the history slowly disappear. Currently, I am working with some of the local family owned businesses providing them with fun and exciting color sheets for kids to enjoy as I did when I was young.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.killerartsmedia.com