Strange magic
Renee melia, aka whistleburg, makes artwork that’s a wee bit odd.
What kind of art do you make? I’d describe most of my stuff as kind of amateur, offbeat illustration. I’m very much self-taught. I use Procreate for digital drawing, mostly – it’s perfect for me, because I’m often experimenting with colours and patterns and I change my mind so much.
How did you get started in this art-making business? Have you
always been a creative type? I’ve always appreciated art, but I started drawing as a hobby around eight years ago. I literally just bought myself a scrapbook and some coloured pencils one day! A year or so later, I started making shrink-plastic pins from my drawings, and that’s how Whistleburg was created – it was a huge part of my life for about three years. Since having my son, I’ve been focusing on just drawing again and trying to hone my skills. It’s quite refreshing to ‘just create’, but I’d like to put my work to some use again in the near future.
Can you talk us through your creative process? Sometimes I’ll have a vague idea and start by sketching it out very roughly. (Often it’s a completely different drawing by the time I’ve finished!) Other times, I’ll start by coming up with a colour combination I like… or I’ll just draw some eyeballs or a flower and take it from there. A drawing can be really easy and come together quite quickly or be a frustrating battle to the end, but once I’ve started, I find it really hard to scrap a piece, even when it’s not working out.
What puts you in the mood to create? Drawing has become a habit for me; I’m generally itching to get to it by the end of the day. Sometimes I use art to be expressive and other times as a kind of therapy. When it’s more of a therapy-type session, I’ll really take my time on things like colouring in, concentrating on smaller details and patterns. If I have an idea to get out, it’s more of a slapdash approach.
There’s a fantasy theme to many of your images. Where does
the inspiration come from? I think a lot of my inspiration is a subconscious mish-mash of the kind of art I’m inspired by. With a platform like Instagram, you’re exposed to a huge amount of art of all styles – there’s so much talent out there. I tend to be drawn to colourful, unusual artists and I think that comes across in my own stuff. Absorbing a lot of art is a great way to start experimenting and finding your own style.
What do you like to illustrate the most? When I started out, animals featured quite heavily, but more recently, I’ve moved on to drawing people. Flowers and rainbows also make their way into the picture! I’m enjoying the process of developing my ‘person’ style. The other bits are just fun to draw.
Tell us about the space you work from. It’s my couch! Most evenings after dinner I sit on the couch with a cup of tea and start drawing – it’s my way of decompressing for the day.
What are you working on at the moment? I’ve just finished drawing a few pieces to be made into prints for my sister, ceramic artist Laurie Melia. It was fun to collaborate and come up with something we were both happy with.
What’s one thing we should know about you? I’m still learning as I go!
Where can we see more of your stuff? I share most of my drawings on my Instagram, at @whistleburg.