FAQ

What pencils do you use?
I use Pentel GraphGear 500 Mechanical Pencils, 0.5 mm and 0.3 mm. I use a variety of lead hardnesses, from 2H to 2B. I also use Staedtler Mars Lumograph pencils, from 2H to 6B.

What erasers do you use?
I use General’s Triptip and Kneaded erasers, and a Papermate Tuff Stuff Eraser stick for details.

Do you fix your drawings?
Yes, I use Krylon Workable Fixative.

What pens do you use?
I don’t draw with pens very often, but when I do I use Faber-Castell Ecco Pigment Pens, from 0.05 mm to 0.7 mm.

Where do you buy your art supplies?
I prefer to shop at local art supply stores whenever possible! All of the supplies that I use are common and can be found at most shops and online retailers, or with a good old fashioned Google search!

How do you document your graphite drawings?
I document graphite drawings 18” x 24” and smaller with my Epson Perfection V600 Photo scanner. I have drawings larger than 18” x 24” professionally photo-documented. When I lived in Portland, Oregon I worked with Pushdot Studio and would highly recommend their services.

How do you make your color drawings?
I make my color work in two ways: by scanning a graphite drawing into Photoshop and coloring it digitally, or entirely digitally, with Procreate, on a 4th generation iPad Pro with a 12.9 inch screen and Apple Pencil. For more information about how I use and like Procreate, please see the ‘Procreate’ Story Highlight at the top of my Instagram page.

How do you avoid smudging your graphite while you are drawing?
- Work vertically (at a tabletop or standing easel) so the weight of your hand is not fully on the paper
- Work from left to right (or right to left if you are left-handed)
- Use artist tape to tape a piece of tracing paper up under your drawing hand, so your hand never touches the graphite of the paper. Sticky notes work too.

Do you use an arm brace or other tools to prevent pain while drawing?
Nope! I’ve been lucky to only have pain in my hand while drawing a few times, very briefly. I would recommend working vertically (at a tabletop or standing easel) so that you can maintain good posture, and using pencil grips (I use generic ones from an office supply store) so that you aren’t pinching your drawing tool as hard.

Please note that I can only speak to the tools that I own and use. Unfortunately I am not the best resource for comparing and contrasting tech options. Prices for these items can be found through Google.

How do you make your color drawings?
I make my color work in two ways: by scanning a graphite drawing into Photoshop and coloring it digitally, or entirely digitally, with Procreate, on a 4th generation iPad Pro with a 12.9 inch screen and Apple Pencil. For more information about how I use and like Procreate, please see the ‘Procreate’ Story Highlight at the top of my Instagram page.

Do you use a screen protector on your iPad?
I haven’t found the need for one!

Do you use a drawing tablet?
Yes, when working in Photoshop on my iMac I use a Medium Wacom Intuos Pro Graphic Drawing Tablet.

What scanner do you recommend?
I love my Epson Perfection V600 Photo scanner.

What printer do you use?
I have an Epson SureColor P900 17” Photo Printer. This is my first printer that I began using in 2021. The printer broke and was replaced by Epson twice within the warranty period, but has worked fine since. When I eventually have to replace this machine I am not sure if I will replace it with another Epson printer. I have also heard great things about Canon printers!

What paper stock and ink do you use?
I use Hahnemuehle Bamboo paper. I get my ink directly from Epson.

Please note that artists and small business owners do not owe you vendor recommendations. However, I have shared a few of my favorites below!

How do you make your giclee (or fine art) prints?
I got an Epson SureColor P900 17” Photo Printer in 2021 and have started making my smaller prints in my studio. I still outsource my larger prints, and can recommend Pushdot Studio and Static Medium.

Where do you get your postcards printed?
I print my postcards with Fireball Printing.

Where do you buy the shipping supplies for your webstore?
I source the majority of my shipping supplies from EcoEnclose.

Where did you get your stickers printed?
I no longer produce stickers (and understand that some people have very strong feelings about me even talking about stickers) but frequently receive this question. I used Rockin’ Stickers and StickerApp.

I film with an iPhone 11 Pro. I edit Reels in Instagram and TikToks in TikTok. I use the following in my studio:

Tripod Setup:
K&F Concept SA254T2 Lightweight Aluminum Compact Tripod
Manfrotto TwistGrip Tripod Adapter Clamp for Smartphones

Lighting Kit:
MOUNTDOG Softbox Lighting Kit, 2x19.7"x27.5" Photography Continuous Lighting System with 2pcs 85W 5700K E27 Socket LED Bulbs and Remote for Portrait Product Fashion Photography (I try whenever possible NOT to order from Amazon, as they’re a horrible company. I could not find anything comparable to this at this affordable price point.)

Thank you for your interest in my work! I primarily sell work through my webstore and Antler Gallery. I also currently have a print available through Nahcotta Gallery, and have been lucky in the past couple of years to release prints semi-regularly in partnership with PangeaSeed.

If you are interested in custom work, please see the ‘Custom Work’ section below, or head right on over to my Work With Me page.

Why can’t you ship to the UK?
The UK now requires that small businesses like myself to go through a registration process for a VAT identification number and make quarterly payments to the UK government that reflects sales to the UK. Shipping to the UK from the US is so expensive that shipping items from my shop to the UK often costs as much, if not more than, the item being shipped. For example, it would cost $16 to ship a single $10 mini print to the UK. As a result, I received a total of 53 orders from the UK between 2016 and 2020 (out of several thousand orders), earning only about $350/year from UK sales. These sales are too low for me to justify navigating the new VAT requirements as a one-person operation; I am already working 55 - 80 hours/week, every week. I am sincerely sorry to my UK customers, these restrictions are out of my control, and I hope that they are lifted soon so that I can resume shipping to the UK. People who repeatedly message me about UK shipping will be blocked.

Why can’t you ship to Australia or New Zealand?
Australia and New Zealand are not currently accepting international orders because of the pandemic. I will be able to ship to these countries when their policies change.

Please see my Shop Policies page for all other webstore-related questions!

I am so excited that folks are collecting my work! Thank you for your support!

However, I ask that folks PLEASE DO NOT contact me asking for copies of sold-out limited edition prints. People who repeatedly message me about sold out prints will be blocked.

Prints that are completely sold out:
All large scale prints sold through PangeaSeed
18” x 24” ‘Owls’ print available through my webstore

You must ask permission before using my work in any way. This includes using my work to populate social media feeds. I donate merchandise, provide discounts and waive licensing fees whenever possible for organizations specifically working in the wildlife education, research and conservation spaces. Please note that I make my living from my work, and cannot provide discounts or waive fees for anyone else. For more information about my discounted work for orgs, please see my Work With Me page.

I never allow for-profit businesses or start-ups, bands, yoga studios, or spiritual/religious practitioners or groups to use my work for free. Do not ask me - or any other artist - for free labor.

Do you offer pet portraits? Unfortunately no.

For the most up-to-date info about my availability for commissions, editorial and commercial work, please see my Work With Me page.

I do not accept commissions for custom tattoo designs. I’m not a trained tattoo artist! I don’t know how to use a tattoo machine, I don’t understand how a graphite drawing translates to skin, and I have no idea how to design an image for the three- dimensional human form. You’ll have a better experience if you work directly with a tattoo artist to design your tattoo!

If you would like to use one of my existing drawings as a tattoo, I ask that:

1) You ask permission for the use of a specific image BEFORE getting it as a tattoo. Contact me by sending me an email. I do not read Instagram DMs.

2) You find a tattoo artist who is excited to work from the drawing.

3) Once I give you the go ahead to use an image as tattoo reference, and you have an appointment to get the tattoo, I ask that you purchase a “Tattoo Ticket” in my store. At the time of this writing I usually charge $75, but that fee is subject to change and may be larger for especially complex drawings.

The only exception to this policy is the drawing ‘Life Cycle.’ Due to the large volume of inquiries, I am allowing folks to purchase a ‘Life Cycle’ Tattoo Ticket for the use of this drawing as tattoo reference without corresponding with me first.

Tattoo ticket purchases are non-refundable, no exceptions.

Please note that you will not receive a high resolution file of the image that you are getting tattooed with the purchase of a tattoo ticket. Your tattoo artist should be able to work from the images of my drawings that are available online. Sorry, but I can’t trust folks to use high resolution files responsibly.

Do not send me photos of you getting your tattoo done. I do not want images of random body parts showing up in my email or Instagram inbox.

If you are a tattoo artist, and are interested in tattooing my work on a client, please make sure the client has received my permission to use the drawing as a tattoo. If you post images of a tattoo made from one my drawings, it would be awesome if you could please include something like “copied with permission from a drawing by @zoekellerart” in the caption.

Please do not add my drawings to your flash sheets. I’ve gotten tipped off to this happening a bunch of times without my permission or any offer of compensation. I will ask for payment from artists and/or studios after the fact if I learn that my drawings have been used without my consent.

It’s a huge compliment when someone wants to put your drawing on their body forever! Aren’t the good vibes and free advertising good enough?

If you have such a strong connection with an image that you want to put it on your body, and the artist who made that image is living and working, please help that artist out by financially supporting them! Appreciation doesn’t pay rent.

This is a BIG question. My experience at MICA was useful, in that it gave me some professional connections, allowed me to experiment with a lot of different ways of making in a short period of time, made me more resilient to artistic criticism and rejection, and was a nice resume booster in my first couple years out of school. It was also really fun, and the only time in my life when I was surrounded by so many people who were as driven as I am. But it’s important to note that I was able to go on an almost-full-ride scholarship, and graduated without student loans. I am not sure how I would feel about my time there if I was buried under student debt. Since graduating, I’ve watched people who never finished art school have big careers. I’ve watched people who went to tiny art programs at state schools have big careers. I’ve watched people who were doing well at MICA quit art and change careers after graduating. My tentative advice is this: if you are lucky enough to have the option of going to an expensive private art school without totally destroying yourself or your family financially, do it. If going to a fancy private art school would put you deep into debt, work your ass off at whatever program is available to you, and then move to a city with the art scene that best fits your work after graduating. The whole college question feels so heavy when you’re in high school, but I’m in my thirties and at this point nobody cares if or where their fellow artists went to school.

I’m going to be honest: I don’t know. I spent my first year out of art school floundering in food service, being rejected from graphic design jobs. Then I spent one year at a graphic design firm, which I absolutely hated. Then I spent a year living off my graphic design savings, volunteering full time at an artist collective. Then I was introduced to graphite, and to a gallery, which all at once, very suddenly, kick-started the career I have now. My Instagram took off and I received enough inquiries from galleries and clients and sales through my webstore that I was able to support myself. I have never had to solicit work, and have not yet submitted my work to a gallery for consideration. Basically the combination of extreme luck, and working 55 - 80 hours/week on my art, almost every week, since 2015, has paid off. I would recommend two podcasts for young artists trying to find their footing post-art-school: Art Affairs for more artist journeys and insights from gallery owners, and Beyond the Studio for artist journeys and more practical advice.

I love recommending fellow artists for shows and jobs, but those artists that I recommend for specific opportunities are usually people that I have had the chance to meet in person, or who I have a shared connection with either through gallery relationships or residencies. Continue to put your work out there, build your network both online and in person and work will come your way.

The only reason I have the Instagram following I have now is because I had met a pretty high follower count before Instagram navigated away from the chronological feed in 2016. Building an Instagram following now is incredibly difficult. I would recommend investing more of your time in TikTok, which I believe will soon replace Instagram in importance for artists.

I found the first few residencies I participated in through Google searches, and then found more residencies by talking to my fellow resident artists. You can see a full list of residencies that I have done on my About page. I would recommend all of those on my About page, with the caveat that the structure and staffing of residencies can change, and the quality of a residency program may fluctuate over time. I often see people give the advice to “just keep applying” to residencies, but applications can cost money, and for many young artists those fees are a stretch! To find a residency that is a good fit for you I would recommend that you look at the CVs of artists that you admire, and see what residencies they did at the beginning of their career. Those might be a good place to start. If you find a residency through Google, it’s a good idea to look at the list of resident artists who have participated in that residency in the past. If you just graduated from undergrad, and all of the past AiRs at a residency had MFAs, you should probably wait to apply to that program. If you can swing it financially, and there is a residency that you really, really want, it doesn’t hurt to send in an application even before you feel you are ready. I’ve heard anecdotally that some residencies only consider artists the second time they apply.

All of the advice that I give above for residencies applies to grants too!

- Pace yourself, and allow yourself to take breaks, but keep making work. Art is a marathon not a sprint.

- Don’t get too hung up on “finding your style.” Just keep making work that you genuinely enjoy and you’ll find it.

- Don’t freak out if you have a dry spell. I took a full year off from making anything after art school.

- Your most valuable resources are your relationships. Be kind above all else. Learn to manage jealousy. Avoid burning bridges.

- Don’t measure your career trajectory against anyone else’s. Everyone’s career is unique.

- Learn to do your taxes. Be aware of income brackets. I’ve had a tax preparer since 2016.

- Don’t put too much importance on ditching your day job. You are just as legitimate as an artist if you still work a 9 to 5 or hold on to your food service gig. Everyone finds a different balance and that’s ok.

- Know that there is an incredible amount of concealed wealth and privilege in the art world. If one of your peers is flourishing after art school, they might be hard-working and very lucky, but they may also have someone paying their bills, or family art world connections.

- If you are a young woman, know that sexism in the art world is very real, and that men in the art world, especially men who are older than you (this includes fellow artists, gallery owners and collectors), may not be operating with the best intentions, even if they are presenting themselves as a friend or an ally. If an art bro makes you feel small, just ignore them.