Meet Eddie Platt | Illustrator & Caricature Artist

We had the good fortune of connecting with Eddie Platt and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Eddie, we’d love to hear more about how you thought about starting your own business?
Throughout much of my college career, I was able to meet a lot of entrepreneurial artists building success for themselves and their work. For a long time, I thought that I would only be able to find success in my art career if I secured a job with some corporation or studio. This was even encouraged at times throughout my college career by teachers and career counselors. Unfortunately, my life didn’t go down that path after I graduated, and I found myself searching for meaning in my work and in my ability to be a professional artist.

That meaning came when I met a caricature artist who owned his own business and was in search of artists to help work events on his schedule. He traveled across the country working fairs and festivals. At the time, I was single and I walked away from a career opportunity in the restaurant industry to be a General Manager for a BBQ restaurant. I didn’t want to be trapped into an industry I had little to no passion in, and I was looking for any opportunity I could find to put myself in an environment where I could focus exclusively on my art. While I found the idea of constant travel to be risky, I thought it was the perfect opportunity to create the environment I was seeking.

I traveled with the caricature company for two years learning the skill of caricatures and honing my work as an artist. Eventually, I began to see opportunity in taking what I was learning about caricatures and about the festival business and creating something of my own. I enjoyed every minute traveling around the country and seeing places I’ve never seen before, however, I was away from home for up to 6 months at a time. I’d spend anywhere between two to 4 weeks at a time in a new city or state before relocating to the next event and it eventually began to become extremely exhausting. The idea of coming back home and building a business for myself grew more and more with me and I eventually felt that it was time to plan my exit from the company I worked with.

That time finally came in October of 2019. I scheduled my first event in the summer of that year and began to purchase my own equipment to work local art shows and events in Atlanta. I’ve been in business ever since; a fresh new face in Atlanta’s caricature market studying new ways to build both my skills and my business.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
To be honest, my art journey, style, and vision has been one of chaos. I’ve always admired artists who have a laser focus vision on what they intend to do with their work. I didn’t. Instead, I was all over the place, wanting to take on too many things at once. My art was first influenced by comics and video games. For a long time, I believed that entering the comic industry was my life long dream and, to be honest, I still have aspirations to draw comics. I was introduced to the world of art in video games in college when I pursued my bachelors degree at the Art Institute of Atlanta and I found a love for concept art, 3D art, and animation. My interests grew, but I felt I just didn’t have enough time and attention to pursue it all. On top of this, my peers seemed to have a strong focus in one thing whereas I wanted it all, which made me feel discouraged in being able to accomplish anything.

Caricatures came to me in a moment of deep stagnation and burnout. There was a three year period where I had no inspiration to draw or pursue anything related to art or my career. I went through a very bad breakup with my now fiancé in 2013, graduated from the Art Institutes in 2014, and endured multiple rejections from jobs I applied for that I thought would help me achieve the next step in my art career. When I was offered the opportunity to learn caricatures, I was in a place in my life where anything that would allow me to just work on my art was welcomed. I just wanted an excuse to do my work again, and a reason to do it. When I think about being a caricature artist today, I have to laugh at times because I had absolutely no interest in learning caricatures, I can even remember a time when my mom and my grand dad suggested the idea of learning caricatures to me back when I was in high school, and I rejected it. However, once I got into the business, I saw so much more potential with my own work by learning the skill.

Learning caricatures not only gave me an opportunity for business, it gave me an opportunity to grow and improve my personal style. I became exposed to professional artists such as Tom Richmond, who is a caricature artist that also has a background in comics and illustrator through his body of work with MAD Magazine. I realized that I not only had an extremely narrow view of my work, but of the possibilities of what my work could do for my business. To this day, I seek ways to challenge myself as a businessman and as an artist by finding my voice in my style and my work. The decisions I make in my business are influenced by how I can build consistent wealth to grow and expand, and where I can possibly take my work.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
I am a big foodie and eating out is one of my favorite pass-times. The wonderful thing about the metro-Atlanta area is that this is a food city and it serves as a huge test market for interesting concepts in the restaurant industry. Just about every neighborhood in the Atlanta area has something unique and special to offer.

Ponce City Market for example is a must go for a visitor to Atlanta. Not only does it have a variety of high quality restaurants all in one building, but there are also great retail stores as well, and you can’t beat the view of Atlanta’s skyline. It’s connected to the Atlanta Beltline which offers even more options for restaurants, breweries, and activities. It’s a great scenic view of the city and some of the outdoors life Atlanta has to offer.

Of course, Ponce City Market and the Midtown area isn’t the only wonderland of great food and outdoor activities. I’m intending to move to Marietta later this year and immediately what comes to mind is Truest Stadium and the surrounding shops and restaurants at The Battery Atlanta. Not only that, Marietta has a ton of great eateries in the downtown area of the Marietta Square and even has its own market to compete with the likes of Ponce City Markets and other Market-style facilities in the Atlanta area. If you’re an outdoorsman and like to hike, Marietta has some of the best trails around. They’re sprinkled all over the neighborhood. You’re also nearby the Chattahoochie River which is a great destination for people who like water activities such as Kayaking and Water Tubing.

Currently I live in Decatur, a neighborhood that doesn’t pull its punches in great restaurants. The Decatur Square has served as a long-time culture hub of arts, crafts, and strong indie vibes when it comes to the retail experience. It’s an eclectic neighborhood that prides itself on the small businesses that have served the neighborhood for years. Decatur has quite a few one-of-a-kind restaurants that you can’t find anywhere else in the city. It’s also not shy on outdoor activities, as the neighborhood is located just 15 minutes away from Historic Stone Mountain Park. The hike up the largest granite rock in the world is a great workout which rewards you with a sky high view of Atlanta’s entire skyline if the skies are clear, as well as miles of Georgia’s great forest and trees. Stone Mountain Park packs a lot of Georgia’s history as well in great preservation all over the park. One visit wouldn’t be enough to take it all in.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
There are so many people I’m deeply thankful for supporting me on my journey as a professional artist.

First and most important, I express my deepest gratitude to my spiritual teacher, mentor, and healer Melana Plains. She has encouraged me from the day she met me to be my own boss and build something that I could have complete ownership of. This woman has taught and continues to teach me how to love myself, how to heal my pain, and how to find my purpose. It is because of the great work that she does that I was able to overcome so much of my personal flaws and find the courage to take risk.

Daniel Flores is the most influential artrepreneur that I’ve ever met and I must express deep gratitude for his willingness to involve himself in the Atlanta community. It is through his organization, “Art Is King”, and his weekly meetings, “The Black Book Conversations” that I was able to meet so many artists within the community of Atlanta who found their voice and found success in their work. Dan continues to be a powerful influence in the art community to me, sharing his knowledge and wisdom of art and business to this day to the world for free! It is through his work that I was able to find the vision to become a self employed artist and see the possibilities of success in my work.

I’d love to give a special shout out and a deep thank you to the man who taught me how to draw caricatures. Reggie Ferguson is the owner of the company I traveled around the country with called “We Art Stuff”. He taught me techniques in drawing live caricatures and also offered me the opportunity to see the mechanics of his business. It is because of him that I began my journey as a caricature artist and saw the plan to build my business.

My fiance Tesia has been extremely supportive of my journey. Tesia and I have a long history together and at the time I began my Caricature work, she was not in my life at the time. Tesia came into my life in the middle of a very chaotic time. I was unsettled and highly mobile which made having a relationship with her extremely difficult. However, she has shown tremendous support for me and my work throughout my journey and she’s held strong throughout all of the changes in my life. Tesia is also a part of the reason I needed to make a change in my traveling life and build something that would offer me a little more stability and a lot more control of the direction of my work. To this day, Tesia has supported me in my business and she has even attended some of my events as my assistant.

There are so many other people I could add to this list but I’d have a near endless gratitude list if I were to include everyone. I thank all of the people who have supported me on this journey and I am blessed to know everyone I interact with.

Website: www.eddieplatt.com

Instagram: @eddieplattart

Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/in/eddie-platt-40326a6

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/eddieplattart