On Wednesdays, we look at artist/designer statements or About pages and discuss the vocabulary they use to describe their work. Today we’ll look at the Behance page of Kyle Lambert, an illustrator that specializes in portraits.
Here is the text from his page, in italics.
Kyle Lambert is an L.A. based visual artist, who is known for creating commercially successful artwork and illustrations for creative advertising in the entertainment industry.
He originally trained as a traditional oil painter and now leads the field as a breakthrough digital artist. His approach to art involves detailed research, experimentation, and the development of new tools and techniques to create visually impactful artwork.
Over the past 10 years Kyle has worked with some of the world’s largest brands, including Apple, Adobe, Disney, GQ, Netflix, Paramount Studios and Vanity Fair.
Now my comments:
This artist does a good job of explaining his work and sharing his background in a way that is straightforward, which means easy to understand. He begins by telling us where he lives and what he does. Next, he shares a little about his background and his approach, or process. Finally, he shares some of the big clients he’s worked for. This is useful information, but I’d like to know more.
He doesn’t really tell us anything about his inspiration or goals as an artist, which would be interesting to know. He briefly mentions his approach and talks about the development of new tools. This would be more meaningful if he shared an example of the kind of tools he’s developed. He could also tell us a little more about the steps or the process involved in creating these photorealistic illustrations. He talks a little about his past and how long he’s been an illustrator, but he could elaborate by talking about how his work has evolved over time, sharing the challenges he’s faces or saying more about what makes his work unique.
Now, let’s look at the language he uses. He begins by telling us he lives and works (is based) in L.A. and that he is known for a specific type of artwork. To be known for something means that many people know you do that thing well. For example, I have a friend that is known for her delicious cooking. Everyone knows that cooking is her specialty. What Lambert is known for is creating commercially successful artwork and illustrations for creative advertising in the entertainment industry. Something that is commercially successful sells a lot of the product. So he is telling us that his artwork and illustrations sell their products very well. If we look at his Behance portfolio, we can see that the products are movie and television posters and ads for the entertainment industry.
In the second paragraph, he talks about his training. He says that he originally trained as a traditional oil painter. In this situation, originally means he thought he wanted to be a traditional oil painter but then decided to become a digital artist. The word originally emphasizes the contrast between what he thought he was going to do and what he did later. The phrase leads the field means he is one of the best in his field or one of the leaders in his field. In this situation, your field is your area of expertise or the area you work in. His field is illustration and digital art for the entertainment industry.
In the last paragraph, we learn that Lambert has worked with some very famous clients. He describes them as some of the world’s largest brands. It’s a good idea to use the phrase some of in this way when you want to avoid an argument. If he just said that he has worked with the world’s largest brands, I might disagree about which companies are largest. Since he said some of, there is more room for discussion about which brands are the largest and whether these brands are a part of that group.
A good language coach also can help you to describe your work in a way that is commercially successful. When you’re writing your About page or descriptions of your pieces for a portfolio, you want to use the best language and to avoid mistakes. That way your audience is focused on how amazing your work is, and not your spelling, grammar or word choices.
At Artglish, we help artists and designers to write a statement or About page that best describes their work. We focus on choosing the best vocabulary and language to help you share your work with others. If you want to learn more, click here to join The Studio and try some free ways to improve your English, or check out our Lessons page to learn how Artglish can help you succeed.
I’ve chosen 5 words or phrases for you to focus on today. They are in bold. If you don’t know them, look up the meaning, synonyms, antonyms, and other forms of these words. You can find links to Merriam-Webster dictionary sites at the bottom of this page.
To see the artist’s Behance site, click the link below:
https://www.behance.net/kylelambert