Interview
Chloe Alexia
Chloe is a self-taught 23 year old realistic portrait artist and tattoo designer based in the town of Scarborough, North Yorkshire, in England.
She has always had an interest in art, and since a young age, began experimenting with materials and styles.
Although Chloe studied at an Art College in Lincoln City, it was only when she had to endure a dark period in her life that her art began to take true meaning.
Chloe’s expressive drawings show great attention to each detail - conveying a range of emotions that are born from a personal connection.
What is your background and how did you start your journey in the art world?
“I was brought up in the countryside of Lincolnshire in the UK with my mother, father and older brother. I have always enjoyed drawing since I was a little girl. My brother never liked drawing and my mum was more of a doodler, but my now estranged father is an artist, and an amazing one at that. He challenged me to keep drawing to become even better than him, as he always used to say to me. I would sit and draw for hour after hour.
My father is a painter and would paint these magnificent battleships out at sea. Our farmhouse was covered in them! He would never sell them and I always asked him why - he would say he was too old for it, or no one would buy them, but I knew that wasn't true.
I started my art journey in Secondary School when I took GCSE art aged 13. I found the materials I really enjoyed as well as ones I did not favor, but because I was so young I didn't think it would amount to anything.
When I started Art College in Lincoln City, my whole passion for drawing went out the window. It wasn't until I was in a really dark place in my late teens that I truly found who I was as an artist. Portraits full of emotion were my therapy. It pulled me out of my dark place and I started sharing my artwork on my social media, realizing that people enjoyed the emotion expressed and could relate to it. That's when Chloe's Art & Design business was conceived.”
What inspires you most?
“What originally inspired me at the start of my journey, was seeing people thriving off my artwork and bringing everyone together. It has brought tears to my eyes with how people have followed me from the start and supported my drawings by appreciating them and having them in their homes. This inspiration has evolved even further into expressing who I am by sharing my unique and personal vision of the world, which in turn gives the audience the ability and the enthusiasm to pursue their own endeavors.”
What themes do you pursue? Is there an underlying message in your work?
“I would say my main theme would be realistic portraiture. I love taking a blank piece of paper and turning it into a drawing that speaks a thousand words. Especially with my expressive portraiture, it changes how people think or can relate in some sort of way, creating a multitude of different messages, as it is personal to each individual.
In addition to that, one of my other themes is found in my biro sketches, which are a favorite, as the underlying message is personal to me and no one else. This gives balance to the darker recesses of my mind.”
How would you describe your work?
“Expressionism meets realism.”
Which artists influence you most?
“This is a tough question for me to answer. I don't really follow any artists in particular or say they influence me, but the artist that influences me the most is myself. The artist before I was Chloe's Art & Design, that's what I look back on to influence me. The dark times in my late teens, the passion, the raw emotion in those drawings, I am still in awe of it.”
What is your creative process like?
“When drawing I have a clear head, and I have a specific playlist to get my head to travel to where I need to go, whether that is for commissions or my own work. I am quite a heavy contrast artist. I love my black and white, so I always draw in 8B or 10B shade pencils. It makes the drawing just pop and helps make it look more realistic.
I begin drawing by doing quick sketchy lines to get the general features, where the dark and light shades need to be of what I'm drawing. This also helps make sure everything is in the correct proportion. If I started with the details, I'd go all over the place. When the outlines are in place it is just a case of filling it in, like a coloring book. I then start with the main focal features for example, the eyes. I will easily spend a few hours making sure these features are popping out, adding as much detail as I can see. When that is correct, the rest of the drawing just merges together and comes to light.
If I make a mistake, I don't rub it out, I work with it and almost make it part of the drawing. One of my favorite parts is highlighting - I have these amazing white pens which make the drawing look so realistic, for example, the light in an eye pupil or whiskers etc. The end result, signing it with my name, is the best part of the process.”
What is an artist’s role in society and how do you see that evolving?
“Our role as artists in this society is to see the world in so many ways, whether that be through color, emotion, performing, sculpting, clothes etc. The list is endless. If we had no artists, the world would be so bland and dull.”
“Art was dying, but thanks to social media, creative groups, and the connection this offers, art is evolving and people are now seeing the true potential of what it can do to each individual. It affects people differently as well, makes people think, see and feel. I am so grateful to be a part of this.”
Have you had any noteworthy exhibitions you'd like to share?
“I have my first upcoming exhibition in Kensington, London July 1st - 3rd! I am very excited as the BBC will be there and I can really show people my true potential as an emerging artist.
I have been interviewed on an American podcast show, 1 year ago about my drawings. That was an amazing experience, and they have asked me to do another interview as my drawings have progressed so much since last year.”
Instagram: @chloes_art_design
Other: Facebook
