Featured Artist - Hanna Melin
At Calypso we publish cards by artists from all over the world – tell us where you grew up and where you live and work.
I was born in Sweden but moved to England in 1998 to study art and stayed there! Now I am living and working in London.
What is your work environment like, do you have a home studio? An ocean view? What sort of music do you like to listen to while you work?
An ocean view would
be amazing! I work from home in my studio. The window looks out onto the street
with two parked camper vans and a block of flats. I like to listen to old crime
stories, like Poirot or Agatha Christie from the BBC radio. I also love a true
crime podcast!
How is your day
structured as a working artist?
Walk the kids to
school, get into my studio and just start drawing! I have to pick up the kids
at 3 again so I don't have a very long time to do my favorite thing.
How did you
begin your career as an artist?
I drew all the time
as a child. My grandmother taught me how to sew and be creative. My mom really
liked crafts, so we did that a lot. In school I specialized in art from 15, and
then went on to do a Foundation, University and Master in Visual Communication.
If I hadn’t chosen illustration, I would most likely be a primary school teacher.
What was your
first big success as an artist?
Probably doing the
drawings for a TV commercial for a British bank. I had to draw a "flirty
coin".
What inspires
your work?
Patterns, stationery,
kids' books, comics, greeting cards, my kids, the planet...
Are there
other artists that inspire you?
Hella Jongerius,
Jockum Nordstrom and Henrik Vibskov.
What is your
earliest memory of creating art?
Doing coloring in
books with my little sister.
What is your
favorite medium?
Black marker pen.
How has your
style changed over time?
It has become more
"perfect" which I think is a little bit sad. Working with a tablet,
you can change everything so easily and add exact colors. I miss the
imperfections from pen and paper a bit. On the other hand, it is so much
quicker drawing digitally.
Of all the
cards we publish by you, do you have a favorite?
"It's finally
your birthday" with a gang of celebration guinea pigs.
Click here to see Hanna's entire collection with Calypso Cards.
