Meet Orion Mabelle | Illustrator/Sculptor

We had the good fortune of connecting with Orion Mabelle and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Orion, looking back, what do you think was the most difficult decision you’ve had to make?
Back in 2019, I decided to move back to america after living in New Zealand for 16 years (most of my developmental years).

I was convinced by family that my life back in NZ wasn’t going anywhere so I might as well try take a crack at living in America and perusing art here. This was way out of my comfort zone as there are so many cultural differences between the two countries.

I’ve been here just over 4 years and can’t say i’ve quite found a place that feels good for me. May stay in Colorado but am considering other states/ moving back to NZ, possibly Australia.

As an artist, it can be very lonely when you don’t have a community of likeminded individuals around to relate to and be social with.

I used to live in Auckland (biggest city in NZ) Which has a thriving artist community which i really miss. Left so many good friends behind. Probably wouldn’t have made the move if I didn’t have social media to stay in touch.

I hope to go back and visit at the end of the year.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
My artistic practice is mostly focused around the depiction of the human figure, I’ve been inspired by the raw essence of what we are and continue to be inspired by the wide variety of faces, body types, ethnicities etc.

This all spurred from my love of classical sculpture, fantasy illustration and life drawing.

I love people watching and capturing the energy/emotion of people through portraiture, sculpture and imaginative illustration.

I wouldn’t say its been easy but because of my fascination with the subject, it helped me stay strong and not give up when times were tough. Being in social settings with likeminded artists really helped me push myself to new levels, constantly striving to stay ahead of the curve.

I haven’t navigated the business side of making a living from my art just yet but hope to be able to spend as much time creating and bringing joy to my patrons and models in the future.

The delighted facial expression on peoples faces seeing something i’ve made for/of them is what brings me the most joy and keeps me going

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
Unfortunately my experience of denver hasn’t been very extensive. Only been into the city a few times to artist meetups. I’ve not found any places i’d frequent.

First fridays on Santa Fe are definitely worth checking out where all the galleries are open late and there is live art, music and street food vendors. If a friend was visiting, I’d be far more inclined to take them for a plunge in Boulder creek and a hike on one of the scenic trails. I still haven’t been to the Denver botanical gardens but I feel they’d also be on the list. Most of my friends art geeky and into art/ pop culture so i’d probably take them to Mile high comics, the biggest store in the world.

I’d also take them to a friends party in Boulder if possible to experience the wide wacky variety of people who live here/ introduce them to a different culture to wherever they are visiting from. Generally a great time.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
I want to thank all the wonderful people I’ve met over the years who have recognised my passion and pushed my to level up my skills in various artistic disciplines. Mostly other artists I met in and out of school in my early twenties.

I am a social artist and thrive in collaborative creative spaces and live events. I was lucky to have been handed the opportunity to run and organize my very own life drawing group for almost 4 years where I made so many good friends and leveled up my skills so much.

I was first inspired by the special effects artists in movies designing fantastical characters and worlds.

This led me wanting to study animation then fine arts, dropping out of 2 colleges due to me really wanting to do illustration and them not having the faculty for such learning.

Deep down, I really wanted to learn the classical arts of painting, sculpture and illustration from the old masters when they still taught how to make beautiful images, real or imagined. Not many schools teach this these days but luckily there are so many books and content online to teach myself which is what i’ve been doing since 2011.

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/artoforionmabelle/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/orionsworld