Dorian House

Hello, my name is Dorian House. I’m an independent, self-taught artist and father of four. I enjoy lifting weights, movies, music, or just pop culture in general. Whatever that may encompass for someone, I can find something I like in just about anything. I think it comes down to respect for other artists and knowing that it’s a process that can be very challenging!!!

If I had to put a label or labels on my art, I would say it has elements of comic style and art mixed with abstract elements. I mean, I try to experiment and do things that push my comfort level of skill, but I do get stuck in themes sometimes, like pop culture portraits and futurescapes, or that’s what I call them, and then I end up doing a few pieces with similar themes until I feel I’ve reached the idea potential.

Todd McFarlane is a well-known comic artist, spawn creator, and, in my opinion, the only cool Spider-Man! As well as other comic book artists, such as Jim Lee, Rob Liefeld, and Will Ace Portacio! Erik Larsen

I always read this question and other articles that I read and think, “Wow, that’s a tough question!” I can remember in grade three specifically, I used to hang out with a kid named Elliot, and he drew!!! And for me, all of a sudden, all I wanted to do was draw. We would ignore the class lesson and draw figures of various types that we thought were cool!!! So I guess that other art inspires me to be artistic in my own way, but I usually put on music or a cool movie from the ’80s or 90s with a good soundtrack to get started on a piece. I would also say that the outdoors is a huge influence, and I see the outdoors in frames sometimes, and I want to draw those frames that are captured in my memory.

A number of things motivate me to create. I think that occupying myself with productive things is good for my sense of accomplishment, which is important. I think for any artist, we as humans want to contribute, but in our own way, not the way someone wants you to! So for me, other creators truly motivate me to create. I’m constantly taking screenshots of images that I like throughout the internet to see if I can incorporate aspects of the images I enjoy in my own creations!

From worse to better for sure! It’s been a long haul for my own approval. I think every creator wants to be original, even whilst producing something we all know. As we all say, art is subjective, truly!!! But I would say that I’m way more comfortable taking challenges rather than being reclusive in an artist sense (like sticking to what I already know how to do).

2:00 in the morning is probably my favourite time because I don’t have to be up anywhere, I can stay up to do something if I want, before work. I can still go back and sleep before I go to work. After being up for an hour or two, At weekends, at midday, when the sun is shining in my art space, I can feel the warmth of the sun on myself whilst I’m drawing. It’s a very enjoyable feeling! But I think in the end, my best work comes from when I’ve just woken up and I come downstairs in the middle of the night. There’s no one around, it’s all quiet, and all I have to do is put on some Star Trek and draw!!! Alternatively, how about some instrumental music!!! If I’m listening to music, music with lyrics sometimes distracts me a little bit when I’m drawing! So it’s all about the instrumental stuff!!!

I don’t have too many long-term goals to be honest. I think anyone would love to be able to live in this world off of their creations, but I guess if I had to say I want to do cover/album art to sustain my life. Or even just to do it for fun. I don’t care. I just want to do it. The opportunity for any cover art would be amazing! From books to music to comics, wherever cover-art can be prevalent!

Album cover art for the Deftones!!! Or any type of comic cover for any title. I mean, I have so many. Realistically, I’ve had a few dream projects come true. I did some work voluntarily for Infinite Squid, who’s advertised on your website! As well, I had the great opportunity to design logos, and text logos, and album cover art for a band out of Sweden called Tungsint. If you end up searching for them, the logo you see for them is the one I designed. I’m very proud of it. So I’d say that I’m living my dream in retrospect.

If I had to choose, I really like my Adam from Evangelion. I took all of the series into consideration as I was drawing it, so with some aspects I was true to the original concept, and with others, not at all, I gave it my touch, so to speak!

Most certainly, when the family is out, and my wife gives me the time to be creative, the music starts, and well, I listen to a whole range of music, from metal, to all of its subgenres, to indie rock, to pop, to punk, grunge, and gaze in all its forms! To be honest, I enjoy everything electronic and its subgenres, as well as hip hop! But no radio top 40 of any genre, so when Ashley comes rolling in wanting to listen to the latest, that’s not when I’m creating! Instagram is where I find a lot of my music. It’s where I met bands like Tungsint and Infinite Squid. These bands gave me an opportunity to be an artist for them! Creating art to their music was the first and only experience so far. Even though I create to music, it’s different when another artist shares his art, so you can create art! This experience left me wanting more!

Yes!!! I was an amateur athlete playing Canadian football in the Canadian Major Football League (CMFL), and was lucky enough to win a national championship in 2018 and yes, retired right after!!! I’m an avid collector of comics, magic cards, music, movies, and action figures. I don’t collect them all, just what I like, but that’s a lot! Of course, I love my family and children!

Yes, especially with movies and music. I tie so much of my childhood happiness to these subjects, which naturally influenced me as an adult in my art. I still watch and listen to music and movies every week for all of next week!! I would say the athlete in me is the commitment level of my art these days!! But I can always remember loving all kinds of pop culture as long as there’s been one to like. I had never had the opportunity to compose a piece of music before! Tungsint (the band) gave me the opportunity to do a piece for an interlude that they created for a single that they haven’t even released yet!!! Which will remain nameless, but I’m authorised to share the art! All the interests I have help me to be creative and to create. I can remember my dad having Doc Savage books and loving the cover art and thinking how cool it would be to do what these guys/gals do!!!

Good question! It’s not easy! Hence, this interview! But all it takes is a message on Instagram, and whoever is interested, we work out an arrangement that’s fitting for both parties! and progress from there. If they want a piece of art, I usually start it the day they contact me! So, in short, Instagram is where you can get a hold of me! DM’s welcome @housedorian

I have found that, for me, social media is definitely the best way to seek out opportunities. In any form or fashion, it’s truly amazing how you can build a meaningful online relationship with other artists! So I generally just offer my perspective, and if it’s a warm welcome! Then we work together! If not, then I move on. I try somewhere else, but I let them know! Maybe in the future, we can work together! Other opportunities come to me through friendships and the things that I do, and where I meet people and the atmosphere I meet them in! For example, somebody might want me to draw an event, which could be a milestone, or a birth, a death, new beginnings, getting sober, whatever it might be, and then I take the opportunity to maybe ask them a few questions, and get to know them a little bit so that I can further make the art that they are looking for!!!

So I’ve never done an art show! I’m still waiting on that part of my artist’s journey. But I’ll tell you! I’ll relish the opportunity if it ever comes by! But I think the idea is that interviews like this, and promotions on Instagram, and, of course, word of mouth, are really the only ways. I mean, I have a full-time job as a boilermaker (tradesman), and I’m a full-time father, so it’s tough to find time to do art, but I find it!

In just over a year, I have become a vegetarian, and I will possibly become a vegan in the future as well. I think that this is an interesting fact about myself because, looking ahead, I never would have imagined that I would be giving up meat. Maybe this new lifestyle choice may have something to do with my creativity and being open-minded about not just artwork, but other things in my life.

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