Artist Spotlight: Behind the Scenes with Annie Cauffman
“Since I began making poster art in Nashville in the early 1990s, I’ve tried to collaborate with artists who had notably different art styles,” said Anderson Design Group’s Founder and Creative Director, Joel Anderson, discussing his process for networking and collaborating with other artists.
How does Joel find artists to collaborate with on various Anderson Design Group projects? Joel’s approach to creative direction involves heading up a team of in-house studio artists like Aaron Johnson and Derek Anderson (no relation) who specialize in ADG's signature 20th Century color style. Since founding ADG, Joel has worked with numerous in-house artists and produced over 3,000 original illustrations, honing his ability to identify specific types of artistic talent that align perfectly with the ADG brand.
In addition to running the Nashville art studio, Joel has taken on another role in his creative operations. When he's not busy working closely with his in–house artist team, Joel spends his daylight hours–and some nighttime hours, thanks to time zones!—collaborating with artists around the country and world, giving ADG the honor of working with some of the best minds and most talented creative geniuses who appreciate vintage poster art, mod art, classic design styles, and an approach to illustration and poster art that’s reminiscent of the Golden Age of Illustration.
Each artist ADG works with has mastered their craft in a way that is original and compelling, creating travel posters and illustrated designs that are unique to their style yet that also align with ADG’s style of celebrating vintage art and original poster art from the early to mid-20th century.
This week, we had the pleasure of sitting down with one such collaborating artist, Annie Cauffman, an artist who created her first original illustration for ADG in 2023. Since then, Annie has produced 32 original poster designs and vintage illustrations, all featuring themes such as travel art, vintage art, Golden Age of Illustration renditions, national park art, greeting card art, and nature art, all while utilizing a unique, mid-century modern art style.
Annie’s Artist Bio
Annie Cauffman is a storyteller who uses words and images to delight in the absurdity and wonder of daily living. She loves telling stories that are a little bit silly and painting pictures that are a little bit beautiful. Together, she hopes to create a world where people can escape for just a little while.
Equipped with a vast palette of colors and a trail mix of words, Cauffman explores vibrant landscapes of light, shape, and bold design. In her work, she tells stories that navigate novel terrain, weaving together animated details with carefully considered composition.
Since her debut novel (“We Play Tag”, hand-crayoned at the age of 5), Cauffman has done many things. To name a few, she has gone on hikes, read many interesting books, and tried a startlingly wide variety of Oreo flavors. Now, she draws pictures and teaches young people about how they, too, can draw pictures.
Learn more about Annie and see some of the projects she’s working on at her portfolio site, and on Instagram @anneohmated.
Q & A with Annie
ADG: So great to be speaking with you today, Annie. Start by giving us a brief intro to you. Who you are, where you live, and what art you specialize in.
Annie: Great to be with you! I’m Annie Cauffman, an author, illustrator, and professor currently living in Colorado, but originally from Los Angeles. I currently specialize in travel posters, greeting cards, and children’s book illustrations.
ADG: What drew you to the arts, initially? Could you provide an overview of your background?
Annie: I initially loved stories. That was my gateway into illustration. I wanted to be a writer from an early age, and as a byproduct of writing picture books, I would often illustrate my own stories, which I loved. I always loved getting lost in drawing. As I grew older, my love for drawing transitioned from picture books, which were mostly for my enjoyment, to creating art for others. I loved to draw or paint for friends and family, either as gifts or to try to make them laugh.
However, despite my love for art, I didn’t see it as a possible career path until well into college. I always thought I was going to be a novelist! I loved English class and dissecting literature, and I have always enjoyed writing, so the choice to major in English at UCLA felt clear. While there, I continued to love studying English, and I worked for a time at the Daily Bruin.
I also fell in love with volunteering for UCLA UniCamp, the official student charity of UCLA. We would fundraise for underserved kids in the Los Angeles area to have a summer camp experience and then run the camp ourselves. Because it was student-run, there was an opportunity for t-shirt designers and graphic designers to contribute to the yearly camp shirts and promotional materials. The first t-shirt I designed, I think I was too nervous to submit (or it didn’t get selected, c’est le vie!), but the second year, my design got selected! It was a giddy, surreal thing to see my drawing out in the world duplicated on an entire camp session’s shirts. That was a truly formative experience of excitement. I went on to design several t-shirts and things for the camp over the years I was involved.
Over the next couple of years, I continued to refine my goals. I shifted from wanting to work in the animation industry to focusing on illustration work, and now I’m here.
ADG: That’s an impressive background! So, you went to UCLA, and where did you receive your education in the arts?
Annie: I studied illustration at the Art Center College of Design in Pasadena and then earned my master’s in illustration from the University of Hartford, which was the most formative experience of my creative life. That experience involved a great deal of traveling to different parts of the country to study under various illustrators and artists, and learn not only how to create different types of art, but also how art can be a viable career.
ADG: Tell us about your creative process. How do you go from an idea to a completed illustration?
Annie: I love starting with research. It depends on the project, on what kind of research makes sense, but I’ll compile a bunch of information and pictures first. For a national park travel poster, for example, I would visit the park’s website and review the park’s highlighted major attractions. I would research the animals, plants, and major geographic features in the area. Then, I would brainstorm which things to highlight. Because the posters I create for Anderson Design Group are so stylized, the destination must be prominently indicated; therefore, the focus is often on the landmarks of that area.
Then it’s a question of how much fun I can have with the composition! I need to figure out the most playful and interesting way to showcase this particular place. I outline several approaches, typically focusing on a few major themes. With the selected thumbnail, I’ll create a more refined drawing and then do a quick value and color study. Then it’s just time to paint.
In general, though, I start by sketching and getting all the ideas and designs out first, and then move on to thumbnails, sketch, line drawing, value, and color studies.
ADG: Who are some of your artistic influences? Favorite artists?
Annie: I’m hugely influenced by the animation world, especially Pixar Studios’ concept art. Watching Pixar shorts as a kid sparked my enthusiasm for being an artist. Some of the things I liked most about those shorts are things like:
- Sense of playfulness
- Shape and color
- Storytelling
Included below is one of Annie’s favorite Pixar shorts:
As I’ve continued to work in the arts, I’ve become increasingly interested in mid-century modern illustrators such as David Klein, Eyvind Earle, and Mary Blair. In the children’s book world, I love Jon Klassen and Quentin Blake.
For Eyvind Earle, here’s some information, and here, too. Super inspiring work!
This gallery by Mary Blair is a really good depiction of work.
For Jon Klassen, I’ve found deep inspiration from his work here and here. He’s one of the legends in children’s books.
Here’s some information about Quentin Blake and how his work has inspired me.
ADG: What advice do you have for aspiring artists?
Annie: Keep going and be persistent. The journey of working in a creative field has no definitive roadmap, which can be both logistically and personally challenging. It can be hard to feel like there’s no one way to go about it, or there’s a flurry of different kinds of advice on how to get to where you need to go.
The best advice I have here is to keep taking steps forward and trust yourself to decide and re-decide your direction as you go. Put effort into your learning and growth. Talk to people who are in the field you want to work in and gather information about how they got there. Keep drawing and painting. Learn the foundation and study, and then experiment, have fun, and see what you’re drawn to in your work. Additionally, try to find an artistic community; although it can be challenging, having people to discuss your work with and collaborate creatively is important.
ADG: That’s really good advice! What are your thoughts about AI influencing the arts?
Annie: I’m really worried about it. Not only is there a complicated and adverse environmental impact from using AI, but there are major ramifications for the creative industry and world generally as it becomes normalized. I’ve read arguments about AI as a tool, but as it becomes more and more difficult to differentiate between what is creatively produced or AI-generated, I find myself unsure about that as well. To read about AI is to find yourself inescapably conceding that it is a complex issue; its core technology and impact are expanding in scope faster than we can draw meaningful conclusions about it.
A quick skim of the issues drives you headfirst into divisive debate and it’s hard to know at this point whether AI will consign itself as a tool of the trade or realign the entire industry. However, I feel sure in my personal opinion that AI does not belong in the arts and certainly not my own art. Personally, I am passionate about my work and about having to toil, to think and to learn and to practice and to develop my eye and hand, to grow. I think that’s the beauty of the arts in any medium, it’s really such a beautifully human endeavor to try to see and depict your world for others to understand. What is art if not the most layered, developed show and tell? Why would I want AI to be a part of that?
Annie's art studio and Annie "in-action" depicted below:
ADG: How did you get connected with ADG?
Annie: I reached out to them through their website, asking if they hired freelancers. I had been working on numerous landscapes and was interested in creating travel posters. Luckily for me, they were interested in hiring a freelancer for a new set of posters! We worked on that collaboration for a year, and since then, we have branched off into greeting cards.
ADG: Can you tell us a bit about how the collaboration with ADG works?
Annie: With the posters, Joel had a list of national parks, international destinations, and American destinations, and we rotated between the established list, usually going from one category to the next in rotation.
ADG: What are some future projects you’re looking at, both with ADG and otherwise?
Annie: Right now with ADG, I’m working on some greeting cards. I’m also working on other projects, such as children’s books.
ADG: What are some of your hobbies and interests outside of art?
Annie: I love reading, hiking, going on walks with podcasts, and watching movies.
ADG: Sounds like you lead a busy life. Thanks for sitting down with us today!
Annie: Thanks for having me!
New Generations Preserving Vintage Art Styles
Like Annie, each artist who works with ADG has developed their unique style, talent, and signature abilities, which stand out in their work and empower ADG to create award-winning poster art collections that seamlessly weave the talents and inspirations of multiple artists together.
As long as people continue to support our small family business, we’ll keep collaborating with the best talent of our time to create artwork that celebrates vintage poster design, old-school printing and illustration techniques, beloved travel destinations, national parks, and much more.
And remember, we donate 10% of our annual profits to several nonprofit organizations, including the National Park Foundation. Proceeds from your purchases help improve the lives of battered women, the homeless, nature lovers, and students pursuing careers in the visual arts.
We thank you for supporting our small family business, and we hope you enjoyed learning about our collaborating artist, Annie Cauffman.
Until next time,
-Ren Brabenec
Anderson Design Group Staff Writer
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