There is a fresh face in the Pacific Northwest art scene who is making stunning, stylized animal prints and greeting cards. Dan Filler, the man behind fillerfogg design, has had a passion for art his entire life, but his creative endeavors had taken a backseat to his teaching career– until he recently decided to turn back toward his art.
Filler sells archival-quality giclee prints, small cards, and wood prints of his animal illustrations. The designs are simple yet detailed, with each animal exuding a distinct personality.
“I spend hours sketching and then doing very detailed drawings before I arrive at the more simplified final images I create,” says Filler. “I always feel like I am truly seeing an animal for the first time once I start to draw it.”
Fillerfogg gets its name from the founder, Dan Filler, and his husband, Walter Fogg.
“The name fillerfogg represents the fact that I could not be doing this without Walter, my husband. He is my artistic sounding board and helps me make business plans and decisions,” says Filler.
Fogg also has a background in graphic design and does all the digital work for fillerfogg design, such as website management and helping to get Filler’s designs ready to be printed.
Filler makes his pieces by cutting and layering tissue paper, and adding details with color pencils to capture more texture and depth. He also makes illustrations by stenciling, using multiple stencil layers to build the image. The result is a vibrant, almost graphic style that still captures the realism of the animals Filler is portraying.
Some of the animal designs from fillerfogg include a fox, an octopus, a moose, a frog, and much more. He sells his works at maker markets and art festivals, as well as on his website.
Filler prides himself on crafting his art in the most sustainable and ethical way possible. He packages his prints in a plant-based, compostable plastic sleeve and avoids using traditional plastic when shipping his work to customers.
The inspiration for Filler’s designs come not only from the animals themselves, but also from vintage children’s books.
“Being an elementary school teacher introduced me to the incredible world of picture book art,” says Filler. “The illustrators Alice and Martin Provensen, Ezra Jack Keats, and Roger Duvoisin, among many others, have certainly influenced my work.”
Filler says his goal for fillerfogg is to continue to push the limits of his artistic and printmaking abilities. He is learning new printing techniques and will be featured at many more makers markets in the near future.
“It is important to me that as I grow the business, I am also growing as an artist,” says Filler.
Bellingham, fillerfogg.com
