Meet Ashley Von Helsing

Today we’d like to introduce you to Ashley Von Helsing.

Hi Ashley, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
I started my career very early as a traditional painter. I was always fascinated with the way light hit humans, objects, fabric…everything. Gradually that led me towards my passion for photography. As an outcast 16 years old kid from the middle of nowhere, I began experimenting constantly trying to find the voice I longed to project into the world. In time, I accepted a scholarship and went onto study graphic design while continuing to strengthen my voice artistically on the side. The thing about college is, is that yes, it’s cool to show a degree, to pay all of the money and be a graduate, but all of my visual push in life has always been self-induced. It always has been. I think most artists will say they didn’t need the “curriculum” to shape their careers. It’s an internal drive and self-discipline to and more, and for me, I always longed for more than my tiny town could offer. So I worked hard, got the degree, and moved across the country to see what I could tangibly turn into a line. Eight years later and I finally feel like I’m some sort of mystical being floating through the industry.

Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
It’s almost never been a smooth journey, honestly. And I can say that while laughing because who really knows where the hell the world is going these days. As someone who lives in Los Angeles, I see the extremes of wealth and poverty daily, and as someone vibrating in the middle, I’ve constantly juggled jobs in the design field while grasping at the idea of full-time artistry to just be realistic. Everyone’s timing is different. To some people, I’m and incredible visionary of my time. To some, I’m an overpriced ” content maker” who shouldn’t think to ever charge money for my services. The struggle of being in LA is that people love your work and won’t pay. People will admire you and copy you. People will keep you close until you’re doing better than them. That’s what a big town in a pandemic will amplify. The challenges never really end, they just shift. Now, we’re all just brewing in our next moves as artists, people, and humans surviving, so the greatest obstacle is honestly who to trust in your visual journey.

Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
My work has always derived from escapism. Through photography, my main goal is for every piece to have an atmospheric quality that leaves the viewer both aware and unaware of the environment in a sense. Most of my work over the years is known for being quite dark and evocative, with its primary colors being dark and black. Lately, I’ve been experimenting with color, more distortion, and overall otherworldly elements, but overall, my vision in life is to distort reality any way I can. If anything, I hope my visual voice is what sets me apart, which has carried me through so far.

Risk taking is a topic that people have widely differing views on – we’d love to hear your thoughts.
I’ve always looked at risks as essentials to growth. I mean, my whole life has been a game of risk, bouncing from one side of the country to another and jumping from state to state until things seems fluid. Even then, being a risk taker as an artist comes with waves of thinking you know everything to feeling completely lost, so it’s all about making moves no matter how big or small. For me, the greatest changes in my life have come from the most sporadic, sometimes irrational ideas I have, and if that’s relying on risk to survive, then that’s the only way I could ever imagine living.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.ashleyvonhelsing.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ashleyvonhelsing/