Welcome back for Part 2! If you missed the first part and you'd like to read it, you can go here - Meet the Artist : Journalsanctuary Part 1. Or continue reading to find her art style inspiration, favorite art materials, and quote.
What inspires you in your illustrations?
I often create pieces based on the emotions I am currently feeling, and I have been doing so for a long time. I’ve made a lot of sad girl portraits in my angsty teen years! :D So that would be one inspirational source, but definitely not the only one. I take a lot of inspiration from the books I read, and the music I listen to, though it may not be apparent at first glance.
I also like to document my life by doing these little journal pages, where I simply draw what I saw and felt that particular day.
This helps me to step out of my comfort zone and draw things I would normally not think of drawing (because let's be real, I mostly draw female faces). Of course the world around me, nature, photos, and art pieces are very inspirational as well!
I have also been interested in mythologies recently, mainly the Slavic mythology. It isn't as widely known as, let's say, the Greek mythology, but there are many interesting figures and myths that I believe are worth exploring. That is also why I chose one of the figures, Morana, the goddess of winter, as the theme of my Bachelor's animated movie!
Are there any artists who inspire you?
Oh, there are so many!! From the classics, I’ve always loved Alphonse Mucha, and Claude Monet, recently I fell in love with Édouard Manet, and Vincent van Gogh.
Regarding artists who are still alive and creating, it’s Fernanda Suarez for the wonderful realistic portraits, as well as Kelsey Beckett. I love to learn the basics and fundamentals of drawing from Istebrak. From illustrators, I love Natalie Andrewson’s risography, Batcii’s characters, and Nuria Tamarit’s colors. Taryn Knight is also one of my faves. Oh and Mona K. aka ghostpuff, and Cheyenne Barton! There are so many more, but the list is getting too long! I just love to marvel at other people’s work and see how masterfully they combine colors, shade, and create stories for their pieces.
What’s your preferred medium for drawing?
It's very hard to choose because I keep switching between media a lot! I love variety. But if I had to choose, I would probably go with alcohol markers because it's very satisfying to blend them and they're quite easy to use, or digital art because of the versatility and possibility to correct any mistakes.
Could you describe your workspace a bit for us?
I have this big, corner desk in my room. Over the years, I found out that the more spacious desk you have, the more mess you can fit onto it :D. Nevertheless, I love it. I try to keep it clean and I recently came up with a rule that I'll tidy it up every Sunday, so that it's in order for the upcoming week, and it kind of helps. Having a big desk also means I have a big wall space above it, which I've filled with pictures and things that inspire me.
Above it, there's a shelf holding all of my currently used and unused journals. When I work, I have a window on my left, from which I have this ridiculously gorgeous view. That's probably my favorite part of my workspace. I love watching the sun set over the horizon as I create.
I've attached a photo of my desk. It has been recently tidied, sadly it's not this orderly all the time, but I'm trying to improve that!
A lot of illustrators sell their artwork, as stickers, prints, etc. Do you plan on doing the same one day, or maybe you already do that?
I would actually love to do that soon, and I’m slowly starting to work towards this goal of mine. Since I have more free time due to moving my finals till the next year. I can work on some actual art products I’d love to offer to the world. I am held back by a lot of legal stuff that needs to be done beforehand, as well as a bit of anxiety — will it actually be worth it? Would people actually be interested in my products? But it’s something I’d really love to try — it would mean the world if someone would like my creations so much they’d want to own a physical copy of them!
Besides illustration, do you have any other hobbies you enjoy?
I really enjoy reading. Ever since I was a child, the library was like my second home, and I could never pass a day without reading at least a few pages. I kind of stopped reading as much during high school and uni, but I’m slowly getting back into it now! One thing I love a ton is to browse through bookstores. Even a simple visit of one, without getting a new book, always makes my day (though I usually end up getting a book because I just can’t resist :’D). I am also always up for some book recommendations!
Before finishing this interview, I just have 5 last little questions :
What’s your favorite color?
It's hard to choose only one! I feel like I have a favorite shade of every color, and over the years of being an artist I found out that every color looks great if it's used in the right context, but lately I have been really enjoying mustard yellow, dusty pink, and lavender.
What’s your favorite food?
That would be pasta! Probably with tomato sauce or pesto.
If you had a time machine, which era would you travel back to?
My answer to this question has always been the future because I was never much of a history lover, but thinking about it now, I'd love to travel to the era of some of my favorite classical artists -- probably the impressionists. How cool would it be to see Monet paint his water lilies, get art tips from Manet, and hug Van Gogh and tell him that everything's going to be okay, that the world adores him now?
Your favorite series or movie?
My favorite series would be How I Met Your Mother. This show is to me what Friends is to many people -- a nice sitcom that I watch over and over again for the nostalgia. As far as my favorite movie goes, I think it's Amélie -- I love the quirkiness of it, it's set in my favorite city, and the soundtrack by Yann Tiersen is to die for.
What’s your favorite quote?
A character from one of my favorite books, Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close by Jonathan Safran Foer, cannot speak, and communicates by writing into journals. One of the narrators tells this man a thing (look at me trying to be spoiler-free!). They are both a bit upset about it. The man, trying to comfort the lady narrator, writes the following words "everything will be OK", to which she tells him "OK isn't enough". So he crosses the OK and adds "everything will be OK perfect" but she sees he's just trying to give her the reaction she wants, so he crosses the perfect as well and leaves the sentence like that. It makes the female character cry. It had the exact opposite effect on me.
My favorite quote is as follows:
"Everything will be OK perfect. Everything will be."
There are many other more notable quotes in this book that would be worth mentioning, but for some reason, this little scene stuck with me the most. So much so, that I wrote it on a piece of paper and put it on my wall. It might be one of those things that doesn't really make sense to anyone else, and maybe even the author himself would be perplexed at this weird way of interpreting that scene, but all I know is that it reminds me not to worry too much every time I look at it. And that’s what matters the most! :D
If you missed Part 1 you can find it here, to discover tips on bullet journaling and drawing!
And if you are interested in seeing more of Lucie' s work you can find her on :
Instagram : @journalsanctuary
Pinterest : lucieells