Monday 16 August 2010

Featured Artist: Charmaine Olivia

Charmaine Olivia grew up in a small beach town in Southern California but has since moved to San Fransisco where she draws, paints and enjoys a nice peppermint tea.

Perhaps her work looks familiar?

With clients including Urban Outfitters, Threadless, Envelop and Pingg, Charmaine's work is doing the rounds.

Charmaine took some time out from her busy busy schedule to answer some questions for us!

Q: Where do your get the inspiration for your work?
A: I get most of my inspiration from listening to music, it influences what and how I feel.

Q: Do you have a favourite medium to work with and if so, why?
A:My favorite medium depends on my mood. I've been loving doing smaller watercolor illustrations lately, they're very therapeutic. But I also love painting with oils, which is a completely different way of working compared to watercolor, it's more of a commitment and it's definitely more difficult, but equally rewarding.

Q: What's it like having your work recognized by a company like Urban Outfitters?
A: It's great. It had been a small dream of mine for a while, so I was definitely excited when it happened.

Q: On your blog you give an in depth analysis of your creative process, what made you decide to be so open about your techniques?
A:Well for starters, I was getting a lot of questions about my process so I decided to explain each step of my work in more detail. I'm always learning as I go and experimenting, so the post about my next painting will be even more in depth.

Q: Name some of your favourite artists at the moment
A:Brian Viveros, Dr Lakra, Erik Jones, Olaf Hajek

Q: Where would you like to see yourself in 10 years time?
A:Hopefully still making art all the time, only better

Top 5:
peppermint tea, my boyfriend, sunflowers, music and sunshine





For a look at her full portfolio and all the links to her shop, facebook and blog - check out here page *HERE*


Psssst! If you're in the area, Charmaine has an exhibition in Gallery Hijinks, San Fransisco on the 21st August where you can see some of her tattooed ladies like the picture above. Be sure to check this out if you can!