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Ryan Worsley has been with Plexipixel since spring of 2007, working both as a Web Producer and Graphic Designer. When she’s not scanning CSS code or designing games for the Zune, Ryan somehow finds time to create beautifully rendered paintings of buildings and cityscapes . Working with oils on canvas and glass, her paintings showcase a rich attention to detail and a love of her craft that is both stunning and inspiring. Ryan received her BFA from Rhode Island School of Design in 1998, and has shown paintings and films throughout Seattle and the Pacific Northwest. Her work has been seen at COCA, the Lo-Fi Gallery, 911 Media Arts Center, and the AntiMatter Film Festival in Victoria, BC.

Ryan’s latest show is at Zeitgeist coffee in Pioneer Square on Thursday, January 8th, from 6-8pm.

Architecture definitely has a big influence on you. Are there specific architects/buildings/time periods that appeal to you?

I love the Warwick hotel on 4th avenue in Seattle. It’s a sort of awkward looking 60’s design with octagonal windows. I like Marina towers in Chicago, Centrepoint building in London for the same reasons. Sometimes I work from photographs of buildings I’ve never seen in person, and when I happen upon them, it’s like spotting a celebrity.

How do you feel your work as a fine artist influences your work as a graphic designer?

I suppose I always approach a project thinking primarily about color and composition, and probably more often use these things to solve issues.

What other artists influence you?

Well, I have books featuring Edward Hopper, Gerhardt Richter, Andy Warhol, John Singer Sargent, and all those heavy hitters. Nowadays I prefer to troll flickr or blogs. Currently my favorite painters usually do work that is incredibly different from mine….I like fantastic fantasy outsider art, but I don’t incorporate it into my stuff (I don’t think). But I like anything that is simple and pretty.

Have you been to the Edward Hopper exhibit at SAM yet?

I haven’t made it there yet but I’m going this week. So much to do….

Are there any current favorites you’d like to mention from your blog and flickr trolling?

This is one of my favorite blogs:http://pantherhouse.com/newshelton (Warning! Some of the images are not workplace appropriate.) I actually find a lot of my flickr pools from this blog. Unfortunately I don’t save them, so I have no idea what they were. Sorry!

Who do you think has had the greatest influence on your work?

It’s hard to say at this point. I suppose anybody who has ever told me they liked something I did.

Working at graphic design 8 + hours a day can be creatively exhausting. What keeps you inspired and motivated to pursue your artistic goals?

It’s like eating well…all about creating good habits. Periods of non-creating are usually due to lapse in diligence. You crave the same foods you eat, I always say, and I think its true.

I think other aspiring artists and designers would love to know…what are those good habits? Or is this a situation that if you told us you’d have to kill us?

My secret is to wake up early and just pick up a brush and fill in some shape with some color. Its easier to work when I’m not trying to figure out what to do next, and morning is the easiest time to do that. Plus whatever you look at or start is on your mind until the following morning.

How was your experience at RISD, and how do you feel it helped prepare your for the fields of fine art / graphic design?

RISD was a very DIY school. I went from ‘94 - ‘98 so right when I graduated people were starting to really actually use e-mail. Flash websites were popping up and video production was starting to be accessible to the consumer. I paid more attention to video since that was my major, but I learned how to walk the line between technology and ideas. A person can either spend all of their time and energy updating and learning the newest and latest or executing their ideas in the best possible way. One of my classmates became a super 8 film artist, one invented their own software called Processing. I think I’m trying to figure out my own balance.

I’ve been remiss. Yes, horribly remiss by not writing blog posts when they’re actually timely. I’m sorry!

Tonight is Christmas Eve. Matt and I had dinner at the Sizzler down in Southcenter. It’s not fancy, but it sounded like fun and we were feeling a little nostaglic. Besides, remember when going to the Sizzler or Taco Bell were special occassions? We might be old but we don’t need fancy to have fun.

Once we got home, I decided that I needed to shed a little tear to help remind me that a lot of people would be happy to have something as nice as Sizzler for dinner. So I sat down on the couch, turned on my laptop and did a search for “The Little MatchGirl”.

Don Hahn screened this gem at the 2D or Not 2D Festival last month. It’s 6:39 minutes long (including the credits) and took 2 - 3 years to produce–it shows. The animation is beautiful: well-paced, adorable character designs, great story… and done without dialog and colored in monotones.

The rest of the festival was also a treat. The speakers were top notch. We also had a chance to hang out with some talented animator friends and had direct access to lumniaries from the business.

Besides seeing Don Hahn’s screening of rare Disney shorts that included “Steamboat Willie”, “Der Fuhrer’s Face“, and “Lorenzo”, Matt and I also went to the presentation based on his book The Alchemy of Animation. We were joined by Peter Moerhle, Geraldine Kovats and Suzanne Kaufman. Don’s talk was very inspirational and motivating. Animation a result of a lot of hard work and can be a frustrating and long process. He reminded us that “animation is the ultimate team sport” and requires a lot of dedication and passion but that the end results can be like magic.

A few other highlights included Dean Yeagle’s and Barry Cook’s presentations. Dean has been in the animation industry for decades and has worked on projects for Disney, Jim Henson, Playboy, Nestle, and Kraft. Barry directed Mulan and worked as an animator on Torn, Aladdin, Beauty and the Beast, and The Black Cauldron. Most recently, Barry was directing an animation for Laika studio in Portland, Oregon.

The icing on the cake for me was that since we designed and developed the website for the festival, we were given an all-access pass that included the festival gala event. I was priviledged to be able meet Don Hahn, Barry Cook, and Dean Yeagle. Every one of them were nice and nice can be.

We look forward to next year’s festival and hope more people take advantage of this great event.

It’s that time of year again, time to sprinkle some light and joy on your dark winter days with Plexipixel’s annual animated holiday card: Twilight Pixie Glide! Collect cookies and candies as your Plexipixie glides about a snowy winter’s evening lighting up the night. Those of you eager for some Festive casual gaming or Chistmas social gaming can play at Plexipixel’s Twilight Pixie Glide site, or on Facebook for a little added social networking!

And we’d like to thank Aaron Simpson at Cold Hard Flash for his Animated Holiday Bonanza shout-out!

Happy Holidays!

Last month we brought you thrilling news of casual gaming, including our very own Hexic game for the Zune’s 3.0 release. “Rounding out this embarrassment of riches” (Engadget, “Zune 3.1 update out today - now featuring Sudoku!“), update 3.1 has been released and with it comes the addition of Checkers, Space Battle, and our very own Sudoku.

Sudoku!