Kitchen Creatives Artist Series: Allen Robbins
"The artist life can be grueling but don't give up and stay true to yourself. Your artistic style is valid. Your goals and dreams are valid. YOU are valid." - Allen
Hi Allen! Thank you so much for joining us as our first guest “baker” to KFKF's Kitchen Creatives!
Allen: "Hey! Thank you for having me. It is really an honor to be part of this!"
KFKF started this series to work with other artists and help provide a platform for their art, to share their stories, and to provide inspiration to other aspiring artists. For this series, Allen has put his own spin on the KFKF Crumbies and created this incredible piece entitled “KFKF Food Coma.”
Property of Kinda Fit Kinda Fat
Love it Allen! So tell us a bit about yourself. Where were you born and did you go to art school?
Allen: "I was actually born and raised in Houston, Texas and I went to New York Parsons School of Design to study illustration work."
Property of Allen Robbins
So were you always interested in art? How did you end up pursuing it as a career?
Allen: "Well as my mom would tell me, she knew I was in love with art ever since I picked up my first Crayon as a kid. I also come from a very crafty family. My mom is an incredible seamstress and my dad is a homebuilder. Needless to say, I grew up in a very positive environment that fostered and encouraged creativity. My Grandmother was also a very large influence on my trajectory into my artistic career. After my grandmother had a stroke, she ended up living with us and I remember drawing with her almost daily as a kid. It was these vivid moments that really helped solidify my love for the arts."
Any notable obstacles you faced during your artistic career?
Allen: "My art style tended to be a bit different from what was considered 'editorial' from what some college staff would have preferred. I was always interested in monsters and what some would describe as 'grotesque' and because of that, my art style was often questioned. It was difficult at times because I wanted to stay true to my art form but would feel like a 'black sheep' among many of my cohorts."
Property of Allen Robbins
Where do you pull your art inspiration from?
Allen: "My inspirations largely come from the early 2000 animation era with Nickelodeon titles like Invader Zim, Angry Beaver, All Real Monsters, etc. I also played a lot with Spawn action figures which had elements of horror in them."
Property of Allen Robbins
What are your aspirations and future goals for your artistic career?
Allen: "I'm currently very fortunate to be able to work in the video game industry which I love, but I would love to continue to be a diversified artist. Artists like Jamie Hewlett who created the visuals for the Gorillaz and Ashley Wood a comic book artists are all people who have achieved goals similar to those that I wish to accomplish as well."
Property of Allen Robbins
Do you have any advice for aspiring artists?
Allen: " Stick with it and double down. Do some artwork everyday. The beauty in art is that you can find inspiration in anything: from television, video games, the internet, life. The artist life can be grueling but don't give up and stay true to yourself. Your artistic style is valid. Your goals and dreams are valid. YOU are valid."
Thank you so much for your time and for being a part of this series Allen! Looking forward to seeing more from you!
Allen: "Thank you guys so much! I am truly humbled and grateful for the opportunity!"
You can find more of Allen's artwork on their Instagram: @Allenrobbinsartwork
Interested in being featured? We'd love to hear from you! Email us at service@kindafitkindafat.com
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