TGIF, happy Friday readers! Today we share with you a wonderful artist with a creative twist on normal artwork. Taking to fabrics Oliwia creates masterpieces on various pieces our favourites being her denim jacket designs. We got to talk all about her start in art, the beauty of discovering art and gifting her amazing designs to the pink barbie herself Miss Trixie Mattel!
Dragdventures: Can you tell us a little something about yourself? How you did get started in art?
Oliwia: Hi! My name’s Oliwia, I’m 21 and I’m from Warsaw, Poland. I’m not really sure how my friends would describe me because I’m not even able to do it myself. I’m a very complicated person, I think (laughs.) I love travelling and meeting new people as much as having some me-time at home. I got into doing art a long time ago, I was probably about 11? I started with very simple drawings of singers that I liked at that time, such as Miley Cyrus or Lady Gaga. Through the years, my skills have been developing, but I’ve always liked drawing portraits the most, because I’m a perfectionist and I like to add a lot of details that are not that important in e.g. landscapes.
DA: What made you decide to put art onto jackets, is there any other garments you’d like to create art onto in the future
Oliwia: I just want to try new techniques and textures. I started with art by drawing only with pencils and charcoal, then I started experimenting with watercolour. And it was the same with textures, first it was just paper, then I thought, why not try and do something cool with my jacket? Besides jackets, I also paint on tote bags.
DA:How did you get into drag, out of all the seasons of Rupauls Drag Race which inspired you the most?
Oliwia: Oh boy, I love telling this story, because it let’s me promote my favourite band that deserves way more attention than it receives. So in April 2017, HURTS, my favourite group, released a song called ‘Beautiful Ones’. Along with the single, they released an amazing music video in which the front man is in drag and the whole plot is just heart-breaking.
This kind of introduced me into drag, because I had never been interested in it before and I hadn’t had any idea it was so popular.
Then I found this video on YouTube with drag queens reading mean tweets about themselves and that was the first time I saw Raja and Raven. I decided to look them up and that’s how I discovered Fashion Photo Ruview. Finally, after falling in love with Raja, I came across one of Rupaul’s Drag Race episodes, it was the first episode of season 5, I believe. And that’s a shortened version of a story how I got into drag!
I can’t really choose one season that inspired me the most because I learned something from each one of them. However, it was probably season 3 that had the biggest impact on me because it was the season I started with. Also, season 7 and the second and third season of All Stars were important to me because my favourite queens competed in it.
DA: Is there anyone in particular that influenced you to begin with, and led you to focusing on drag queens?
Oliwia: As described in the previous question, it was for sure my favourite band that influenced me to get to know more about drag. Then, things started happening so quickly, and know I feel like drag will stay with me for the rest of my life.
DA: What is the most difficult part of the creative process with fabric in comparison to graphic or print?
Oliwia: I don’t know much about graphic or print because I’ve done just a few digital paintings, but I can definitely share my experience with painting on fabric and paper. The most challenging thing is probably that with paper you have an almost unlimited amount of resources. If you -funk- it up, you can take another sheet and try from the beginning. When working on a jacket, especially owned by your customer, you have to be very cautious, because it’s not that easy to fix the mistake or start all over.
DA: How do you go about when creating one of your artworks? How long does it take you from start to finish?
Oliwia: I always forget to check the time because I take a lot of breaks, but jackets usually take me about 25 hours. Artworks on paper take less, but it all depends on the texture or equipment I’m working with. Also, the picture I’m basing my art on can be more or less difficult to copy.
DA: Who is your favourite queen to draw and why?
Oliwia: 100% Katya and Trixie. I love painting them as much as watching them perform or talk about the most stupid things.
DA: Out of all the artwork you’ve created which has been the most enjoyable to create?
Oliwia: I’m excited for every artwork I’m making but the ones I’m going to give to the person I’m painting are the most enjoyable to create. However, they also make me the most stressed out because I want them to look as good as possible and I put even more effort into them.
DA:Have you ever had a starstruck moment when a queen has reacted to your art in person/social media?
Oliwia: Oh yes! I had a few interactions with queens, either in person or on social media. So far I’ve managed to give my artwork to Sasha, Violet, Trixie and Alaska. Every reaction to my gifts was different but they all loved them and it made me inspired and encouraged to make art even more often.
DA:Where can readers find your work and buy your wonderful designs?
Oliwia: You can find me on Instagram under @coliwkaaart and DM me there or on my main account @gypsyoh_
DA: What would you love to do in the future with regards to your art?
Oliwia: I’d love to keep developing my skills and trying even more techniques like digital. I’ve also seen some incredible fan arts being used by the queens themselves for their merchandise, so being able to work with them would be a dream come true for me.
Keep up to date with Oliwia and her wonderful designs over on the following social medias:
Instagram: @gypsyoh_
@coliwkaaart
