Today we’d like to introduce you to Andrew Tamlyn.
Hi Andrew, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
This journey really began about ten years ago when I dropped out of college to pursue music full-time with a psychedelic rock band called Heaters. We spent the next few years touring relentlessly, first across the U.S., then throughout Europe. It was exciting, chaotic, and completely consuming.
Like a lot of DIY bands, we had to do everything ourselves. I started designing our flyers, merchandise, album artwork, and anything else that needed to exist visually. Somewhere along the way, I realized I loved translating sound into images just as much as I loved making the music itself. That creative process became an obsession.
But after a few years, I realized I wasn’t built for the traditional rock-and-roll lifestyle. The constant touring, late nights, drugs, and never really having a place to land started to wear on me. As much as I loved making music, I knew I needed a healthier way to create and express myself.
After leaving the band, I pieced together a living by teaching guitar lessons and taking whatever work I could find. Around that same time, my partner was building her own jewelry business, and I began helping with branding, product photography, design, and marketing. Without really planning it, I found myself spending more time creating visual work than playing music.
Looking back, that period planted the seed for what would eventually become Formless and Forming. I just didn’t know it yet.
We were fortunate enough to have a small business that continued to grow throughout the pandemic. Like so many people, though, COVID became a strangely transformative time. On the outside, things were working. But internally, I found myself asking deeper questions: What do I actually want to create? What do I see beyond what’s directly in front of me?
Somewhere along the way, I’d become so invested in building someone else’s vision that I’d lost touch with my own. That realization was difficult, but it was also the beginning of something new.
I found myself returning to the books, philosophies, and spiritual practices that had always grounded me. They helped me navigate existential anxiety, my relationship with time, and the impermanence of life. More importantly, they reminded me that creativity isn’t just about making things, t’s about making sense of your own experience.
Formless and Forming grew out of that rediscovery. It became a place where I could merge everything that had shaped me, music, visual art, design, philosophy, and spirituality into one evolving practice. Rather than separating those interests, I finally gave myself permission to let them inform one another.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
It definitely wasn’t a smooth road. One of the hardest parts of freelancing is that you’re constantly being asked to believe in yourself before there’s much evidence that it’s going to work. You’re wearing every hat designer, marketer, accountant, customer service, project manager and it’s easy to let the business consume your entire life if you don’t learn to set boundaries.
Leaving the stability of a regular paycheck was one of the biggest leaps I’ve ever taken. There are still moments where you don’t know where the next project is coming from, and that uncertainty can be overwhelming. You have to get comfortable with the unknown and trust that if you continue showing up and doing good work, things have a way of working out.
For me, the biggest challenge has been learning how to stay present instead of constantly worrying about the future. Building something from nothing requires patience, discipline, and a willingness to keep creating even when the outcome isn’t guaranteed. That’s still something I work on, but it’s become much easier over time.
In a strange way, freelancing has become its own spiritual practice. It forces you to let go of the illusion of certainty, trust the process, and keep creating anyway.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
I’m an illustrator, graphic artist, sound designer, and screen printer. At the heart of everything I do is visual storytelling. I love taking complex ideas whether they’re emotional, philosophical, or spiritual and distilling them into simple, symbolic compositions. Most of my work lives somewhere between minimalism and psychedelia, whether it’s album artwork, merchandise, branding, logos, or hand-pulled screen prints.
I’m incredibly grateful that this work has led to opportunities like being featured in Thrasher Magazine, designing for bands like Gojira and Circa Survive, creating work for professional skateboarders Kyle Walker and Shaun Hale, and painting my first mural at Riders on the Storm Tattoo Shop in Houston. Those moments have been really meaningful, but they’re not what I’m most proud of.
What I’m most proud of is simply continuing to show up. Creativity isn’t something that arrives fully formed it’s a practice. Day after day, year after year, I’ve continued making work, refining my voice, and trusting that process even when no one was watching.
I think what sets my work apart is the lens I see the world through. I’m fascinated by the intersection of psychology, spirituality, nature, and symbolism. Rather than being overt, I like weaving those ideas into my work in subtle ways that invite curiosity. My hope is that the work reveals a little more of itself each time someone returns to it, almost like a song that uncovers new layers with every listen.
Is there any advice you’d like to share with our readers who might just be starting out?
My biggest advice is to not compare your path to anyone else’s.
Every artist is walking a completely different road, carrying a completely different set of experiences.
Measuring your journey against someone else’s isn’t fair to your soul.
Stay curious, keep showing up, and trust that your unique perspective is your greatest strength.
The goal isn’t to become the next version of someone you admire, it’s to become more fully yourself.
Pricing:
- Hit me up for any custom designs. I’m always willing to work within your budget ::)
Contact Info:
- Website: https://formlessandforming.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/formless.forming/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/formlessandforming
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@formless.forming
- Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/formlessforming
- Other: https://www.patreon.com/c/formlessandforming
