Melissa Dawn Interview

Tonight we are visited by the wonderful fantasy artist Melissa Dawn.
Melissa does fairies,angels and animals in her artwork. You can visit her
website and purchase her psp tubes at CDO.
Thank you so much for talking with us Melissa.

1) How did you become a part of the psp tube community?

I had seen and admired tags for years and after being contacted by several tubing companies I signed with one last fall, and switched over to CDO last January.

2) What does your artwork mean to you?

Hmm that's a tough one- I guess it depends on the painting. Each painting is just a snapshot of my over-active imagination! I've always made up different worlds and stories in my head,
and when I started painting it allowed me to show others what I daydream about. Individual paintings can mean different things- my angels and fairies often portrayed an emotion I was feeling, so that painting
it was kind of a relief for me. I want my cats to brighten people's days, making them smile and, for a moment, get caught up in cuteness and innocence, away from the stress & struggles we all go through.

3) What inspires you in creating your artwork?

Literally everything around me... colors are a big one, as I'll see a pretty color and go "Oh! What painting could I create that would use that color scheme?" Scenes in a movie and lines from songs were huge when I was painting angels and fairies. With my cat pieces, it is usually just my imagination, with the help of my four cats!!

4) How long have you been selling psp tubes?

Just over a year :)

5) How do you create your artwork? Is it by hand
or digitally? What tools do you use in doing the artwork?

Usually something will catch my attention- a line from a song, a phrase that I think would make a cool title, or just a thought like "what would it look like if there
was a kitten sleeping in a rose?" I'll take the idea and build a little world from it in my head, trying out colors and adding different elements that might work, like butterflies
or keys. I then block it out in Photoshop, moving elements around and changing the colors until I like them. Then I pick an element in the piece, like the fairy, or the flowers, and start painting. I don't usually do linework or sketch the piece out the
way I would need to with traditional painting. I've worked with watercolors, acrylics and colored pencils, but right now I'm mostly doing digital artwork. I have a 9x12 inch Wacom tablet that I use to paint, and Photoshop and Painter are the two computer programs I like to work in.

6)Aside from psp tubes, what else do you create
with your artwork?

Everything I can! Jewelry, compact mirrors, magents, ornaments, prints, gift tins... I'm always finding new ways to put my art on things. It's one of the most fun parts of being an artist!

7) As you have developed your style and artwork, which artists
have influenced you?

Originally I was painting fairies and angels, so the main artists who inspired me were Amy Brown, Nene Thomas, Jessica Galbreth, and Selina Fenech. Amy's amazing use of color and the way her paintings transported me to another world inspired me
to try and acheive the same with my work. I hadn't heard of digital painting before I read that Nene had a tablet and was painting with it, so she was perhaps the biggest influence on my style. I think a lot of my painting process and the way my art looks comes from the fact that I paint
on the computer, so without her example my work would undoubtedly be completely different.

8) Does the psp community help artists become more well known
with getting their names and artwork more visible?

Definitely! It opens your work up to a wider audience.

9) What do you enjoy the most about being part of the psp community?

Seeing all the beautiful tags that people create with my paintings. I am always amazed with what taggers do with my work-- I might create the paintings but when it comes to making tags I don't think I could be nearly as creative! I love the fact that selling tubes means something is actually
being done with my artwork, and it's not just hanging on the wall... it's being taken one step further, and inspiring someone else to create something new with it.