Interview With Artist Michael Auger

I had the opportunity to speak with artist and designer Michael Auger. Michael is a full-time freelance artist based in the Washington D.C. area. His business, Auger Artwork Studios, was established in the spring of 1998 and has grown steadily since.

Auger Artwork Studios is internationally known as a full service provider of professional animation, graphic design (for both print and web), illustration and offbeat fine art. Topics we discussed included the use and benefits of online social media, in addition to the benefits of a college degree in the study of fine arts.

Ryan: You have done work in several art fields including animation and graphic design.

Michael Auger: I needed a way to make a living… graphic design has been a vehicle for my work in illustration. People still come to me for webpage design and I still do a lot of customer work.

Ryan: Many artists have set up profiles and portfolios on the internet to make examples of their work viewable. Some artists do not establish accounts on social media because they are afraid of copyright infringement or for other personal reasons.

Michael: I see social media sites as a growing facet for artists. I have accounts on Yelp, Facebook and Twitter. I sign up on them and it definitely pays to publicize oneself. I am a little more aggressive. I am not going to wait for someone to discover myself. If you want to sell, you have to be a bit bold.

Ryan: Have you ever been able to rate the success of social media with your sales or commissions?

Michael: For me it is kind of hard to weigh in the success of social media. It is kind of like sending a reminder, that “Hey I’m here!” I think social media is one step closer to making a sale.

Ryan: You studied art in college. Is having an art degree necessary for the art profession these days?

Michael: I went to the Columbus College of Art and Design for a Bachelor of Fine Art degree. I attended on a merit scholarship and hold a Bachelor of Fine Arts with a major in Illustration. I always knew art would be my study. I learned a lot at my college and it all filters into my work in some way.

With art as long as you are dedicated and have the drive, you can gain experience and skill. A degree is good and useful, and today people can take classes online. There are many ways to improve and build skills.

Ryan: Currently you are working in Maryland?

Michael: I reside in Maryland, but my heart is in D.C. In the art world, D.C. is a microcosm. And D.C. is great this way. D.C. is a smaller world than New York City. I have been able to speak and talk with other artists and we have a closer community then in a bigger city like New York City.

Ryan: Some of your work will be at the Alternate Realities exhibit at the Herndon ArtSpace in Herndon, Virignia until March of 2012.

Michael: Yes, I have also been at art shows with the other artists at this exhibit. For my exhibit, a large part will be my animal alphabet. I decided each week to turn out or design a new animal for an alphabet letter. It was just the end of last year I finished my series. I will also be bringing out some of my bigger pieces out of my studio.

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You can see many examples of Michael Auger’s artwork at his website: http://www.arty4ever.com and find out Michael latest projects on his blog: http://www.arty4ever.blogspot.com.