Illustrator John Hendrix was born in St. Louis, and began drawing shortly afterward. He eventually studied graphic design and illustration and after working for a few years as a designer, moved from Kansas to New York City to become famous.

During his time illustrating in New York, John also taught at Parsons School of Design and worked at the New York Times as assistant art director of the Op-Ed page. His work has appeared in Sports Illustrated, Rolling Stone, the New Yorker and Esquire; he's also drawn countless book jackets for Random House, Knopf, Penguin and St. Martin's Press; and won numerous awards, appeared in many annual award publications and was recently featured in Taschen's published survey of the top 150 contemporary illustrators in the world.

John lives in University City with his wife Andrea and son Jack.

07.16.08

Drawing During Church

If you have a degree in what field is it? I did my undergraduate studies at the University of Kansas, where I finished a dual degree track in visual communications with an emphasis in graphic design and illustration. My graduate work was done at the School of Visual Arts, where I earned an MFA in illustration as visual essay.

Have you always been able to draw or was it a skill you learned in college? Drawing has been a part of my life for as long as I can remember.

What was your first paid assignment? There were many little assignments that I took in high school all the way through college, but my first real client as a freelance illustrator was the Village Voice. It was a cover for their "Culture" issue that ran inside the magazine. I was terrified.

Which illustrator (or fine artist) do you most admire? Tough to only pick one: I’m going to mention Jack Unruh. I’ve gotten to know him a bit over my few years in the business and he is an inspiration. First of all, his work is an ink symphony. Underneath the surface of my work is an aesthetic that I first saw in his unabashed love of drawing. But, more importantly, he embodies an easy, joyful and genuinely kind spirit with everyone who comes into contact with him—something we all could learn from in a business built around deadlines and competition. Not only that, but he has been a prolific and, gasp, relevant illustrator for 35 years. A pretty difficult combination to beat.

What would you be doing if you weren't an illustrator? I might be teaching full time or go to seminary.

From where do your best ideas originate? Ideas come from so many places that it’s difficult to find the starting point for many of them. But, in one way or another, I suppose they all start in the pages of my sketchbook.

How do you overcome a creative block? My muse is the clock. A deadline cures even the most acute forms of idea blockage.

In one word describe how you feel when beginning a new assignment? Hopeful.

Do you have a personal philosophy? The joy of making images is in the telling of small stories. Not a lofty goal, nor a unique one to be sure but, to me, there is something beautiful about the solitude of pen, paper and a voice. Now that it’s my career, though, drawing is more like an addiction that’s socially acceptable. I also love singing hymns, being with my wife and my son, sifting through long-ago-forgotten attics, drinking coffee and walking through tall weeds in the fall. Drawing is a big part of my life, but it's not the only part.

Do you have creative pursuits other than illustration? I think it’s essential to have small and healthy obsessions in a place outside of your profession. I desperately wish I was in a rock band, but I'm saving that for my late 40s. I make small assemblage boxes for my wife every Valentine’s Day that are admittedly and clearly Cornell rip-offs but I love doing them. I draw in my sketchbook during church. My newest desire, though, is to to start beekeeping.

What music are you listening to right now? We all want to associate ourselves with bands and music that represent our own taste and aesthetic philosophy. And, it’s usually at the very moment that someone asks, that what’s playing is something in our collection that we adore, but that just happens to be trite, commercial and embarrassing. However, at this very minute, what’s playing is Iron and Wine, “Waitin’ for A Superman.”

What’s your favorite quote? “We wake, if we wake at all, to mystery.” —Annie Dillard

Do you have any advice for people just entering the profession? I will say this about the world of illustration: As small as the market is in our business, there is always room for another voice. Anyone with any level of talent can be a successful illustrator. Talent is overrated by the way. You must also have a tremendous work ethic, perhaps colossal; an accurate and healthy ability to assess yourself and your work; and desire (desire trumps all).

What’s one thing you wish you knew when you started your career? I wish someone had told me to cultivate a desire to enjoy the process of making, not just the final product. Admittedly, I struggle with this. As illustrators, we are so focused on the “finished art” that on many days the means is only in service to the end. A healthy artistic life is one that is full of wonderment and joy in all aspects of our job.