Where are you/your studio located?

    White Plains, New York.

How long have you been doing art?

    Well, since I was a youngster. I have been working professionally for about 4 years.

What brought you to art in the first place?

    As a kid I was obsessed with drawing, I did it ALL the time. I also day dreamed a lot, haha.

Was there a certain path you took to get to where you are now in your career?

    I went to art school to pursue my passion.

 

You seem to be a very versatile artist. You've shown in The Adventures of Corwyn that you can paint and do pen and ink. Is there anything else you enjoy doing art wise?

    I really enjoy cooking, and taking care of my feral cats.

You have quite a lovely style that seems to be simple but also complex--like there is something deeper hidden behind the surface. Is that intentional or just happens naturally?

    Thank you, I would like to say it is intentional and natural. Maybe to simplify, it is just something in my nature that I recognize.

Since you have a range of medium into which to work and a style that blends into each medium, is it possible to have a certain style over the other? What do you enjoy doing the most with/through your artwork? What makes you smile when you engage in your work?

    Hmm… What makes me smile? I tend to enjoy faces, and details/patterns. I also really enjoy the idea process of making an illustration, the raw moment when everything is just a concept. It is the time when I get excited to create the picture in my head. Sometimes when I'm having a great time painting I dance, heheeee.

There’s that sprite nature again.   So before you start to dance, what is the process you go through in order to do a piece of artwork?

    First I read the story, very important to me. I like to know the characters on a personal level, and feel what the whole book is about in a nutshell. Then I sit or clean, and wait for an idea to come to my head. In a way I let the story soak in a bit, before I dive in. When I have an idea or a handful of ideas I sketch them out in my sketchbook. I usually prefer one concept strongly out of the bunch. Then I mesh out that sketch, and look for reference to support my illustration. I also take reference usually of myself, a friend, or my boyfriend.

    After all the reference is collected, I start the final drawing and value study. Usually I print off my final drawing and paste it on masonite board, but these days I am drawing straight on the masonite with acrylic paint. I like to switch it up every now and then. Then I begin to paint, and the rest is history, walla!

Do you have any favorite artists and if so, who?

   

    Yes I have a lot of favorite artist but I will just name a few: Jeffrey Jones, N.C. Wyeth, Claire Wendling, Edwin Austin Abbey, J.C. Leyendecker, Jon Foster... the list can go on and on.

So how did you find your way into working on The Adventures of Corwyn?    

   I was asked by Chad Corrie, the author.

Easy enough, I guess.  You were responsible for the cover and the interior art for The Adventures of Corwyn--basically providing that art for the whole book. In order to do that you had to read the entire book itself. Some readers of this interview might be interested to learn if you have any favorite stories or scenes from that experience?

    Yes I do. I enjoyed the short story Rainer's Legacy. Surprisingly, I liked the exciting moments with the polar bear and the woman. I don't want to give too much away so I will keep that vague, when you read it you will know what I'm talking about. I also really enjoyed Where Dreams Go to Die. This was the first story I read out of the bunch. It had great symbolism regarding faith, that not everything is how you perceive the world, at least that was my take.

It's been understood that you are a fan of fantasy. What sort of fantasy do you tend to like/read/are interested in?

   I really enjoy books like His Dark Materials by Phillip Pullman. You might have heard of the first book, The Golden Compass. I love The Hobbit, LOTR, The Giver, Chronicles of Narnia, the Harry Potter series. I tend to really like young reader fantasy. Fantasy that has symbolic spiritual undertone, or just a good adventure book like The Hobbit.

What does the future hold for Tiffany Prothero?

    Haha! I don't know. Maybe kids, more illustration work, and a nice house on the beach. How many licks does it take to get to the tootsie roll center of a tootsie pop? the world may never know.....

Where can people see more of your work?

   

    At my website. I am also published in Spectrum 14, the best of contemporary fantastic art.

Any advice you like to pass on to other artists?

    Work hard, and stay sane.

    Good Advice to anyone.

    Thanks again to Tiffany Prothero for taking time out of her busy schedule to answer these questions. Once again, you can check out her work in the forthcoming The Adventures of Corwyn as well as at her website.

    This interview is copyrighted 2008 Corrie, Inc. All rights reserved.

No portion of this interview may be reproduced or used without the written permission of Corrie, Inc.