"As my art is all made on my laptop I don’t really have a set work space, however with it now being Covid times, I’ve mostly been working in my room. I find illustrating in my room rather than other places of the house helps with my creativity, as many of the pieces I make are based in a bedroom. So being in this environment when trying to create a similar scene, naturally brings inspiration. I find I get restless quite quickly and like to work on multiple projects at once. Because of this, I have a few different creative things I can do at hand when I need a break from what I’m working on. I keep a lot of materials on my desk and in my draws like paints, pens, a sewing machine and canvases, as well as a few bags of scrap material I sometimes make clothing out of. I also have some guitars on one side and my record player and bookshelf by my bed which I often use in between making artwork to keep my mind refreshed."
Q.Who are your favourite artists?
A: At the moment I really like illustrator Maria Medem and painter Martine Johanna, because of their use of vibrant colours and dreamlike scenarios. My favourite artists are also probably Henri Rousseau and Keith Haring.
Q.When and where do you get your best ideas?
A: There isn’t a particular time or place that influence my ideas, they usually appear when I’m not even thinking about making an art work. Most of the illustrations I make are of a reflective scene or communicate a certain atmosphere, mostly a calm one. Ideas often come to me when I’m in environments like these, such as sitting at the bus stop or just walking about, as you have time to soak in your surroundings and might spot something that could work well for an illustration.
Q.What is important to you?
A: To try and follow through with making creative ideas. Most times things don’t really turn out as I envision and can be challenging but I think that’s what makes it interesting, exploring where an idea can go. I think it’s important to push yourself to see what you can create.
Q.How do you get started?
A: With both personal and commission works, the first thing I do is collect as much detail on what the artwork is aiming to be and once I get an idea in my head, I round up as much images as possible for references. What I find the most challenging in making is because I don’t usually create a piece of work based off a single image, I use a lot of imagining for things like where to place light and shadow sources. This I think is one of the most powerful aspect of an image, as it can completely change its mood. Once I have a foundation of an image built, I start to experiment with things like the time of day, which then determines if I add details such as coloured reflections and light on certain objects and things like that.
Q: What makes you happy?
A: Guitars and frogs.
Q: If you could travel back one year (pre Covid), what would you tell
yourself?
A: To try and put my work out more.
Q: What music do you listen to when making?
A: It depends on how far I am with making something. Usually when I’m coming up with the beginning of an illustration I’ll listen to something that has a similar kind of feeling to what I’m trying to create. A lot of the ones I do are based around sunset times so I’d listen to something relaxing. Once I’m past the initial idea I’ll just put on whatever I’m in the mood for, recently I’ve been listening to a lot of jazzy genres.
Q: What is the future of your artform?
A: My artform has seemed to have developed specifically for music covers and so I think I will continue exploring this route. I enjoy making covers, as it’s always kept interesting with the range of different peoples requests and the process of collaborating another persons vision with my own. I’m planning to expand from creating just prints to making designs onto physical products such as clothing and items like notebooks and mugs.
Q: What's next for you as an artist?
A: Although I have formed a style that is now recognisable, I also enjoy making simpler more cartoon like drawings and so would like to branch out into making works in this style, along with the illustrations I’m making now. I’m hoping to create these as animation clips that can be played alongside some music.