In this ongoing  feature, our social media editor Vicki May Thorne meets and greets the staff and contributors of This Land Press.

Jeremy Luther is This Land Press’s Art Director/Illustrator. This “slashy” sort of title only hints at the extensive amount of art, design and visual delight that he delivers in every issue.

For example,  in the current issue “This Machine Suits Up” (Vol.3, Issue 2), Jeremy (who is featured on the inside front cover) crafted a portrait of Mr. Sherman Ray (of “Mr. Ray Fits a Suit“) out of fabric remnants, thread, buttons, spools, and a vintage thimble. He then proceeded to shoot the image on film and used Photoshop to add in the text and other graphics.

Jeremy  joins This Land’s crew by way of Kansas City, having studied at the Kansas City Art Institute.  He is obviously an asset to This Land for his conceptions as an artist, ease in working with multiple mediums and his wizardry in ye old Adobe Creative Suite. We’re glad to have him on board.

Here are Jeremy’s answers to our MEET & GREET questions:

1. What influences you? (alternately, what are your “Must Read/Listen/Watch” items? Print or online). 

I have a wicked addiction to the encyclopedia, and I spend far too much of my free time with my nose adhered to those hallowed seams. Really, whose hobby is reading the encyclopedia? C’mon. I get a lot of influence by just being aware of what’s out there: following other artists and designers from around the world has never been easier and I relish in that. Check out great other creatives like James Jean, Eric Fortune, Jon Foster, Daniel Rozin, Chris Ware, Derrick Dent, Bee Johnson, and my good friend John Lee. There’s too many to list really, and they’re all more intense than a campsite. Really.

Also, I have a strong Norwegian connection and my inroads there allow me to follow closely what’s going on in European design and culture, something which I enjoy greatly.

2. Who or What inspires you to do the work that you do?   

I am inspired by pretty much anything and everything. I love seeing patterns in the surrounding world, and that excites and energizes me. I get very charged by mathematical expressions like fractals and the things going on at CERN. Nikola Tesla rules the roost.

I like to jaywalk through the intersection of mathematical, technological, political, cultural, artistic, and scientific history whenever I can.

Specific to art, I’m a big supporter of knowing the rules before breaking them, and so I have a lot of respect for and admiration of the classical masters from the Greeks to Brunelleschi, Michelangelo, and Bernini; to the more recent Sargent, Rozzi, Jean, Rockwell, Fortune, Ware, Leyendecker, Mucha, Lautrec, and so on.

3. What is your favorite piece you’ve done for The Land Press?  
On the Charles Smith cover (Vol.2, Issue 14) I was faced with finding an elegant place to put our issue number and price tag; against all odds I managed to figure out it should go right above the UPC. IT looked great there, and it was a real moment for me.

A lot happens on my desk in two weeks, so much to the point I tend to forget most of what I’ve done here. I can tell you that I love working on the covers every single time, although sometimes I practically have to kill myself to get it just the way I want it. My favorite interior illustration off the top of my head was the Faulkner Love piece, of a girl sitting in a giant red ampersand. Being a designer, you’re pretty much required to have a licensed typography fetish with a Certification in Ampersands- so any time I get to integrate type into an illustration, especially a great big “&”, I’m a happy camper.

My favorite issue visually speaking, is the upcoming February 1st issue, which I spent a lot of time re-designing and creating illustrations for.

4. What do you love about Tulsa and/or Oklahoma?   
Oklahoma at large is generally new to me and so aside from the pleasing assortment of straight lines and gnarled coils that make up the silhouette of the state, I haven’t much place to say. I’m still learning it. I can say that Tulsa is a lot like a huge little town: Small enough to pretty much know everyone but big enough to always meet someone new. There are truly exceptional people here, and they would be reason enough to stay.

5. What is your drink of choice? Alcoholic or otherwise?

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For more about Jeremy, check out his bio and for more of Jeremy’s work,  feast your eyes on the Past Covers Board on This Land’s Pinterest board. Catch his latest masterpiece, on the front of the latest issue of This Land, found at any of our 50+ distribution spots or via Subscription.