Press

From the Standard-Examiner

By Becky Wright

A fearful Greg Spalenka moved to New York after graduating from California’s Art Center College of Design in 1982. “Moving to New York — I was terrified of that, but I knew I had to do it because that really was the center of publishing,” he said. “It was the best thing I could have done, but it was very scary at the time.”

Success comes from confronting fears and taking risks, in life and in art, because the process leads to knowing who you are and believing in yourself, Spalenka says. He will talk about his successful career as a freelance illustrator during the opening reception and awards ceremony for Bountiful/Davis Art Center’s “Illustrators Utah” exhibit. The reception starts at 6 p.m. today, with Spalenka’s presentation at 7:15 p.m.; admission is free.

New York may be the center of publishing in the U.S., but there are plenty of artists succeeding as illustrators in Utah. The “Illustrators Utah” exhibit draws attention to their work.
“For as long as I can remember, Utah has been in the forefront of illustration. There have been some very good firms that have done wonderful things in the area of illustration,” said Emma Dugal, director of the Bountiful/Davis Art Center.

The art center has hosted the “Illustrators Utah” exhibit every other year for 12 years, but this year’s show is different. “This year, it is a juried competition,” said Dugal. “In the past, it was an invitational, meaning we just contacted illustrators we knew and had them bring art into the center for the exhibits.”

The change is designed to include a greater number of illustrators, and greater variety in the work. Categories for the competition includes book illustrations, advertising, comic/ sequential and more. There is also a student category to highlight what’s happening on university campuses.
“We just wanted to see if we could get a more cutting-edge exhibit that shows the very latest in illustration in Utah.” said Dugal.

The presentation by Spalenka gives Utah audiences a look at cutting-edge ideas from outside the state. NYC to Hollywood Spalenka’s 28-year career as a freelance illustrator began with his move to New York. “I’ve worked with almost all of the nation’s top book publishers, magazines and newspapers,” he said. His list of clients includes Time, Newsweek, Rolling Stone and The New Yorker magazines, as well as the Wall Street Journal, Harper Collins, PBS and the NFL.
Spalenka has won national recognition and awards, and taught art on the college level. Now living in Woodland Hills, Calif., he’s been working in the film industry for the past five years.

“I work on the ‘visual development’ of a film,” he said, explaining that he’s part of a team that includes the production designer and director. “We create the look of the film.” Creating the look of a film includes designing scenes and characters, and color scripting to give the movie its visual tone.

“In CG (computer-generated) animation, concept design is vitally important,” he said. “We’re creating an entire world, so everything has to be designed.”

His resume includes work on “The Ant Bully” (2006), “The Golden Compass” (2007) and “The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader,” due out later this year.

In addition to highlighting his career and experiences, Spalenka’s remarks will give gallery visitors a preview of a workshop he’s been invited to teach at BDAC. The three-day class, “Artist As Brand,” is yet to be scheduled. Spalenka says the goal of the workshop is to help artists align their hearts with their talent and prosperity.

“The foundation of this work is what I call your heart virtue.  This virtue is an integral part of who you are. You’ve been living it all your life, but most people don’t know how to define it,” he said. “Ultimately it’s about knowing who you are, and believing in yourself.”

With this foundation in place, Spalenka says he can help artists define their creative goals, and create their own unique art career.

“Ultimately, my goal here is to create empowered artist entrepreneurs.”