Illustrator likes self-employment freedom

Dave Van Etten, of Van Etten Studios in Hayden, is “an illustrator of posters, books and just about anything that an illustrator is needed for.”

He hails from New York but now calls North Idaho home, where he lives with his wife, Diane, and their three sons, Caleb, Jacob and Joshua.

Van Etten works from his home and says he loves being self-employed.

“I’ve been doing this for 25 years, and I’m able to illustrate virtually any job that comes along,” he said. “I love what I do and have a great time with it.”

What is your hometown? Corning, N.Y.

Where do you live now? Hayden.

What job do you do? I’m a free-lance illustrator.

What do you like most about your job? I love the freedom of being self-employed. It’s diverse work, and I never do the same gig twice.

What do you like least? With the freedom to choose when and how I do a job, there also comes the responsibility to govern my use of time. It’s easy for a 12-hour job to become a 16-hour job if I allow things to distract me. Sometimes, it’s hard to choose between work and family when both are there 24/7 and urgent family needs arise.

How long have you been doing this job? Twenty-five years.

Tell us a funny, unusual or sad story that happened to you on the job. The other week, I was working on setting up a photo shoot for a book cover. I hired a young lady but needed a male model also. My son Caleb was available, so he got the job. After the photo shoot, I realized the male needed a beard, so with my computer program, I cut off my son’s head and inserted a bearded head. My son walked by and said, “Dad, what did you do? You cut off my head.”

What is your dream job? I’d love to be a writer and illustrate my own books.

Why? I love the diversity of what I do, but I also would like to do something once and sell it a thousand times.

If your life were made into a movie, who would you want to play you? I would want John Candy to play my part. He’s a big, good-natured, good guy – just like me.”