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Interview by Yising Kao, Art by Louise Melissa
WWHN Awsten
Meet Louise Melissa, a talented artist based in London!
What inspired you to start creating art?
My Nan was quite arty and whenever I was there, I’d always ask her if we could paint, do a craft or bake! So she is definitely a large reason why I love to create. Then when I started university being surrounded by all these creative people really made me want to draw more and improve my skills. That was when I started to make digital art and I decided that was the medium I liked to use most. It gave me a lot of freedom to experiment without needing too much space and resources, something that tended to stop me before.
What’s your process like when planning out a piece?
Normally I’ll see a photo I like or pick out some lyrics in the a song and just see where my mind takes me! Most of my work is based on a photo of some kind that I use as reference and add to make the piece feel a little more interesting. For example, I’ll add make up on the person or change colours and I always add little highlight shapes on the nose and cheeks.
I'm Seeing Red And Nothing Else
What or who do you pull inspiration from for your artwork?
My main inspirations are my favourite bands and the lyrics in their songs (in particular Waterparks). Even if I’m just doing a portrait, the style and composition is affected by the lyrics and feelings in the chosen song. Other people art always gives me a lot of inspiration, I love to see what comes out of people heads creatively. Style wise, Pop art has always been a favourite so I definitely pull some of that style into my work.
How do you overcome any challenges you face?
Normally if I’m struggling with a piece, I’ll make myself have a break from it and have a look and some other works. This normally give me some new inspiration. A bonus with digital art is you can try different options until you find something that works! That definitely helps work through problems. I often find as I’m drawing something else, I’ll realise what I need to do to finish the piece!
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