Ninja March 4th, 2009
One of my favorite, young, emerging talents, Melissa Haslam, was kind enough to take time and tell me about her life and her work!
I am thrilled to introduce you to Melissa Haslam. I was immediately smitten when I first saw one of her graphite drawings. Her pop-surreal drawings and paintings are romantic, whimsical, and even a little melancholy. Her creations are inhabited by beautiful, fashionably dressed women in exotic, fairy-tale environments. Her intricately rendered figures, plants, insects, and animals pull the viewers into her haunting landscapes.
This Melbourne-based artist studied Multimedia Technology and then went on to work at a software company creating user interfaces graphics. After a few years, Melissa returned to school to study a Visual Arts.
I have always been interested in art and drawing and loved doing it at school, but it took a while to work out what kinda of art I wanted to do for myself. It wasn’t until I was in Borders book store one day flicking through magazines that I discovered the book Curvy, and illustration style art. I immediately knew thats what I wanted to do. It was beautiful, imaginative, and like an adult version of the books and cartoons I used to watch as a child.I tend to draw females and nature at the moment, but this doesn’t mean I’ll be drawing the same thing forever. I don’t know yet.
Not surprisingly, Melissa is inspired by the female form, fashion photography, Victorian painting, vintage culture, and botanical art. Her two biggest artistic influences are John William Waterhouse and Arthur Rackham. She also enjoys the work of Aubrey Beardsley and Henri Rousseau among others.
I find inspiration comes from everywhere. From going to exhibitions to look at other peoples art to going for a walk and looking in peoples front gardens. Everything you do in life gets remembered and sometimes finds its way into a picture.
Random bit of trivia:
This drawing (above) got lost in the post on the way to a gallery and was later rerouted to Melissa. After its misadventure, she decided to keep it for herself. It is currently hanging on her wall.
Thank you so much for sharing, Melissa!!
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Tags: Arthur Rackham, Aubrey Beardsley, Curvy, Graphite, Henri Rousseau, Illustration, John William Waterhouse, Melbourne, Melissa Haslam, Oil Painting, Yen Magazine
