Redrawing the lines of fine art with Mike Hooves
Mike Hooves: Loved
Meet Mike Hooves, a Calgary-based queer illustrator, animator, muralist, and drag artist whose works are as playful and engaging as they are. Mike Hooves is a self-described prairie queer working in illustration, animation, and murals.
Pride In Business: What first inspired you to be an artist, how long have you been working as an artist?
Mike Hooves Queer Artist
Mike Hooves: My initial desire to create came from the same place that inspires every kid making art — instant expression. I’ve been chasing that inspiration ever since, and I’ve been lucky enough to call myself a working artist since I attended AUArts in 2011 and started picking up commissions.
PIB: Who inspires you as an artist?
MH: Ness Lee, Keith Haring, Marigold Santos, children’s art.
PIB: What motivates you to be creative, what is your creative process?
MH: Fashion, music, drag, the people I encounter. My works start as a marker sketch — I then refine the sketch further as a marker piece, digital or acrylic piece. I’m often impatient so my personal practice involves a lot of work that can be done in a sitting or two, versus my commercial stuff like murals and illustrations that take weeks or sometimes months
PIB: How does your art showcase your identity, what medium or technique best represents you?
MH: I love the act of play and I reflect that in my work. Cheap markers have become a big part of my practice as the lax expectations that come with the medium allow me to work freely. I enjoy using markers and committing to every stroke I make and learning to negotiate with everything laid on the paper.
I think people’s perception of cheap markers is not as a ‘fine art’ medium because it is a medium used by everyone everywhere. I enjoy that connection to what I create using markers — it's a bit lowbrow but very accessible to many people.
PIB: How has your art changed your life over the years? Has it opened any doors recently
MH: A large portion of my identity is defined as ‘artist.’ Having people seek me out for projects and commissions has been the biggest thing that has come out of people also viewing me as such.
Mike Hooves: Canadian Queer Artist
PIB: What would be your biggest achievement as an artist so far?
MH: My growing mural practice has been a pleasant surprise -- I can’t say I ever anticipated it and I’m enjoying the journey of discovery with this new medium. It’s so different from my marker work in execution but thematically pretty similar.
I also had a show up, “Trans is a Flower,” that had a packed reception, that made me feel like all the work I’m doing is paying off.
Clothing Bar Boutique - Latex Paint On Drywall
By: Mike Hooves
Photography: Bryce Maruk
PIB: How has your art evolved since your first began?
MH: I went to art school and switched to digital art, but I’ve come full-circle and I once again work with cheap markers. My knowledge of digital art tools does really help when I’m in a pinch with a deadline.
PIB: What messages are you trying to communicate through your art typically?
MH: Universal emotional expression through the queer body. Queer joy, playfulness.
PIB: What would you say to new artists trying to work in this industry, what advice would you give them?
MH: If you want to live as a ‘working artist’ resilience is super important. Be prepared to hear ‘no’ a lot and try not to take it personally - sometimes your art style doesn’t objectively fit the brief. Keep at it, it only takes one ‘yes’ to change everything.
Website: mikehooves.ca
Instagram: @mikehooves
To see Mike’s work and the work of other featured artists, get your tickets for the Pride In Art event on May 26, 2023 here.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Michael Fong
PIB — Communications, Events, & Social Media Manager
Pride In Business article in partnership with TD.
By Michael Fong