FEATURED ARTIST: Lukee Thornhill
PRONOUNS: He/him/his
MEDIUM OF CHOICE: Digital
From the very beginning of Doable Guys, we have had a close eye on the work of LUKEE THORNHILL. He caught our attention with his colorful, fun illustrations (and of course the sexy men he was drawing helped too). We have watched his style grow, and subject matter change and we live for every new post! He described the one constant theme to his work is “queerness and colour” which we feel perfectly hits the mark.
He is currently a digital designer at Dr. Martens and freelance illustrator, so art is a big part of his life, both professionally and personally. He started getting into the queer art scene around 3 years ago as a way to relieve the stress caused by his job a the time and to get back into illustrating after being focused on graphic design. It began with drawing friends or cute guys that he followed on instagram and as he started getting more involved in politics and queer history, his work began to develop more of a message. His 30 Days Of Pride project from last year stands out to us. (Each day he drew a portrait of a person important and visible in the community. Check it out HERE) But not all of his illustrations need to have a message. “Sometimes you just want to shut down, sit and draw something just because you can.” (which we feel is displayed perfectly in his instagram feed, where immediately following the 30 Days of Pride, is an illustration of a hand in a latex glove covered in lube with the simple caption “pride weekend”)
Art has always been a way for him to express himself and escape some of the stress of the real world. From dealing with bullies at a young age, to coming to terms with his sexuality, illustration has been his way to work through some of the dark times. It is a personal journey for him in a lot of ways, and like a good number of artists out there, has to remind himself not compare himself too much with other artists in both quality and quantity. “I would see all the constant work other illustrators were doing and think ‘I’m not doing enough’ which is not healthy so now I create when I want to create and ignore that voice that says I'm not doing enough because life is hard, busy, and some times tiring, I don't need to make it harder.”
And although Instagram can add to the stress of feeling the need to create, it has been a wonderful way for Lukee to meet fellow queer artists. He specifically calls our people like @DomAndInk, @zacharyiswackary, @stevielovesyou, @Rafabrilustra, @hellomynameiswednesday, and @freddelanka. “They all have their own styles that are so distinctive and always have something clear to say with their work, be that sexuality, gender, mental health, body positivity... they inspire me to keep doing what I'm doing.”
We asked Lukee what his goals are for the rest of the year and into the future and his response was simple and to the point: “Diversity. My main goal is to create more work that better reflects our community because it's so diverse and so beautiful, I want my work to show that.” A goal that we at Doable Guys applaud!
For more of Lukee’s work, be sure to follow him on instagram (@lukeethornhill), on twitter (@lukeethornhill) or on his website (lukeethornhill.co.uk)
He is open for commissions and collaborations and is also hoping to start a queer zine over the next few months featuring other queer writers and artists, so keep an eye out for that! We certainly cannot wait!
