An interview with Amy Ruppel – artist for Plant It Portland!
By Chelsea Schuyler
By now you’ve probably seen the vibrant signs in front yards all over Portland advertising Friends of Trees’ Plant It Portland! campaign. If you missed the signs, perhaps you’ve come across the FOT tents, magnets, postcards, stickers, door hangers or posters smiling back at you with montages of familiar Portland sights.
Who is the genius behind these clever designs? Certainly not one of us, we have TREES to plant, people!
Meet Amy Ruppel, professional artist and illustrator, whose artwork the marketing firm Frank Creative solicited for Friends of Trees’ Plant It Portland! campaign. A transplant from the Midwest, now a West Coast lover, Amy works right here in Portland. You probably know her mostly from her computer illustrations, which have been used by big-time companies like Converse and Target and also in several local shops. (Seen those adorable magnets in Presents of Mind?)
Even though from Amy’s web site I found that she’d like to be in space photographing the earth, or in Antarctica to “experience an unending view of white,” I was lucky enough to snag some of her time to ask her a few questions about herself and her artwork for Friends of Trees. (Stay tuned after the interview for info on her online sales and upcoming studio open house!)
How long have you been “doing this” professionally?
I have been illustrating professionally since 1994. I moved here to Portland in 1996 from Madison, Wisconsin, where I worked at The Onion doing paste-up/layout for the paper. Yeah, I have an okay sense of humor. They breed that in Wisconsin. Or perhaps it’s in the beer.
What’s your favorite part of living in Portland?
It’s green year round … and when the sun comes out, you appreciate it that much more. There’s also an amazing community of creatives here. It’s a little utopia for a nature-loving artist like myself.
Had you heard of Friends of Trees before working on the campaign artwork?
Oh yes. I have a lovely Butterfly Magnolia from Friends of Trees in my parking strip at my home, and I joined a planting team for that day as well. It was so much fun, and I met so many of my neighbors—all awesome, of course!
What is your favorite tree and why?
The birch tree. It reminds me of where I grew up, in the Kettle Moraine forest in Wisconsin. I built many a fort of fallen trees and sticks in my youth, with floors of soft needles from the long needle pines.
How long did it take you to come up with the multiple designs for FOT? How challenging was the experience and why?
It all came together rather easily, actually. I had excellent direction from the kind folks at Frank Creative, and they also gave me the freedom to just do what I do. It’s also never a challenge when it’s for an organization I know and love. […] I really wanted the trees to carry all the personality, since they are the stars of this show. Something simple and easy to relate to. All trees smile, right? The people are very happy and appreciative of them as well. I just wanted to represent Portland’s greenery in a wonderful light, which is really easy to do. It represents itself already!
How would you describe your artwork in general?
I would say it’s uplifting, and soothing at times. I try to evoke some happiness and/or serenity in whatever I make.
Your web site says you don’t have any representatives. Are you a one-woman show?
Yep. It’s just me here in my studio. I get in very early every day, sometimes starting my day with a hike in the Hoyt Arboretum or the Gorge at the crack of dawn before diving headlong into whatever project presents itself that day. Each day is different. Some days I paint, some days I draw using the computer, some days I write, and some days I play music. I always have to be doing something.
Have you created artwork for any other nonprofit organizations?
I do work for Mercy Corps and PRODUCT (RED). I just completed a construction fence cover design for the Seattle Children’s Hospital that should be going up as we speak. It’s very rewarding work. I love it.
Friends of Trees is grateful to Amy for giving our Plant It Portland! campaign the fun and lightheartedness it needed to attract people to learn more about the 16,000 trees to be planted all over east Portland and to entice them to buy trees and get involved!
You can always place a Plant It Portland! sign in your yard, but why not have some of Amy’s other art in your home or business? Amy Ruppel has an online sale every month from her web site www.amyruppel.com, and the next one is Friday, November 5, at 11 a.m.
If you’d rather experience her art in person, Amy’s having an Open Studio night on Saturday, November 13, from 6 to 10 p.m. She’s in studio No. 254 in the Ford Building at 2505 SE 11th Ave. (11th and Division). All are welcome.
Want to know everything remotely Amy related? Sign up for her mailing list for reminders and updates.
Thanks again Amy!