Abby Diamond is a freelance illustrator and visual artist, living and working in Pittsburgh PA. She uses ink and paints, and a variety of traditional mediums to create bright, colorful creatures, and whimsical beasts. She draws constantly, and while paying close attention to details, she loves to splash around and experiment with her work.
After graduating in 2012 with a BFA in Studio Art, she threw herself into creating art full-time. Album artwork, tattoo designs, children's books and card games are just a few of things she likes to illustrate. Her favorite part about visual art is that it’s both her career and her hobby, and it never gets old. She loves environmental science and subjects of biology, and is always looking for ways to expand. She also spends a lot of time writing, swing dancing, and hiking with her dog.
Abby is featured in the May 2014 issue:
Source of inspiration: The natural world, backyard wildlife, early English illustrators Beatrix Potter and JJ Audubon.
Three adjectives that describe your art: Bright, splashy, whimsical.
Favorite creative tool: Higgins Black Magic ink.
Favorite snack: Vanilla-almond granola.
Favorite toy (now or as a kid): I had a box of two dozen plastic horses when I was a kid, and used to pass hours in the backyard playing with them.
Favorite creative gig: I absolutely love doing album artwork commissions for bands!
Dog or Cat? Dogs. Dogs.
What music are you listening to right now? Zoe Keating, Chris Thile and Yo-Yo Ma albums. I've been on a huge strings music binge lately.
If you could be any character in fiction, whom would you be and why? Lyra, from the trilogy His Dark Materials by Philip Pullman. Not only does Lyra have some incredible adventures in a rich an beautiful universe, her character goes through some remarkable changes as well-- from a self-centered, lying child to an honest, cunning young woman.
The strangest thing I've ever seen: The way dogs behave around snakes. If you ever get the opportunity to observe this, it's absolutely bizarre. It seems like snakes (sometimes even their scent) make dogs act possessed.
Favorite mythical creature: The Barghest, or Grim, or Moddy Dhoo, the great black omen-dogs that roam the night countrysides of Ireland, Scotland, and England. It's my strong wish to see one of these dogs someday.
Pin-back button story: I think the best image of what a pinback button is all about, for me personally, comes from the Disney-Pixar movie UP. The "Ellie Badge" is a symbol of true love for the things that mean the most to a person; the things worth displaying proudly on one's sleeve for the world to see, but in a small, humble way.
