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Chromacon indie arts festival international guest J.A.W. Cooper tells us how she juggles her passion projects with making a living from art.

"Balance is incredibly important to me. I get the most personal satisfaction from my gallery work but without the challenge of my commercial work as a freelance illustrator...my personal work would stagnate."

Born in England, Cooper grew up in Africa, Sweden, Ireland and various other locations throughout Europe and California, travelling with her parents who were freshwater biologists.

As an adult Cooper has chosen art as her way of investigating the natural world, becoming known for her beautiful but unsettling illustrations and garnering many commercial contracts. She's been brought to NZ to speak at Chromacon through the generosity of Takapuna Art Supplies.

Renee Liang interviews her in the lead up to Chromacon this weekend.

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You have an amazing background living in different countries - how has this influenced your style?

Growing up traveling the world with freshwater ecologist parents instilled in me a great curiosity and respect toward the natural world. Drawing was a natural pastime for a child on the road, being easy to transport and requiring few supplies. My work reflects both my fascination with nature and my love of drawing - I would consider myself a drawer who also paints. Growing up somewhat nomadically gave me footloose-and-fancy-free-feet for life! I am fascinated by how our perceptions of the world effect our experience of reality and love learning about other cultures, traditions and ways of thinking; I continue to travel and go on long camping trips frequently to challenge and expand my own perceptions of the world.

How did you train as an artist?

I drew voraciously from an early age but thought a career in art was impractical until senior year of high school when I did a bit more investigating into the possible commercial applications of an arts education and discovered that there were actually plenty of ways for an artist to make a living. I knew that those jobs were highly competitive so I decided to attend a four-year art college (Otis College of Art and Design in Los Angeles) for an immersive and focused education. I started freelancing sophomore year and started showing in galleries junior year, all of which "trained me" as much as my actual education.

Your work very powerfully illustrates the conflict, yet co-dependency between humans and the natural world - is this influenced by your childhood, or other things?

Yes I would say that my perception of the boundaries between humans and the natural world as arbitrary is strongly influenced by my upbringing and experiences traveling and camping. I frequently portray my human characters as fierce and feral and use animals and natural elements as symbols.

What's the best way for an emerging artist to attract an audience, and work?

Be prolific and share your work, methods, and process with others to foster a sense of community. Hold yourself to professional standards technically, conceptually, and in your interactions with others. Widen your perception of the kinds of work you are qualified for and interested in; try to see yourself as a skill set rather than a single profession and expect to be compensated adequately for those skills.

How do you juggle 'passion projects' vs the need to make a living from your art?

Balance is incredibly important to me. I get the most personal satisfaction from my gallery work but without the challenge of my commercial work as a freelance illustrator for Print/Motion/Advertising/Fashion/Entertainment companies my personal work would stagnate. My commercial work is challenging conceptually and exposes me to a wide range of ideas and visuals I would not otherwise come into contact with - which energises my personal work. My personal work keeps me passionately engaged and allows me to build something that is wholly my own - and ultimately is how I snag commercial gigs. Balance between those two sides of my life is ever shifting due to the changing financial pressures and personal passions in my life, but at the moment 5-10 days a month of commercial work and the rest for personal projects and experiencing life is perfect!

Is this your first visit to NZ?

I was apparently in New Zealand for a month while 'in the womb' but as you can imagine my memories from that time are a bit blurry. I am extremely excited to be visiting New Zealand as it has been at the top of my extensive to-travel-to list for a long time, and even more excited to meet and support the incredible community of artists both running and attending the Chroma Talks April 17th and Chromacon April 18th-19th! See you all there!

Do you plan to take a look around the country after the convention?

Oh yes! I am traveling down to the Milford Sound / Fjordland National Park on the South Island after the conference to explore and hike for a week and then back up to Aukland to see the beautiful beaches and scenery there before flying back to Los Angeles. If I didn't have a large number of paintings due for an upcoming solo show in August I would have stayed for much longer so I could take full advantage of this wonderful opportunity to see such a gorgeous country. As it is I only have two weeks and I know it will fly by!

What are you working on at the moment?

I am currently working on an upcoming solo show Viscera opening August 7th at La Luz De Jesus Gallery in Hollywood. This will be my 5th solo show with this gallery and will feature 20-30 new paintings, drawings, and sculptures. If you are interested in following my work, and seeing my process and techniques the best place to do so is on Instagram! (@jawcooper)

• Chromacon is on 18-19 April at Aotea Centre, Auckland.