A wonderful artist who creates stunningly accurate portraits of musicians and of course – drag queens. Scott Sweeney also turns out some envious makeup looks, looking flawless and vampy!
Sharon Needles being Scott’s main muse behind the sketchings, drawing her due to her beauty aesthetics. We grabbed a chat with this young artist to chat the art process, makeup looks, and future goals!
Dragadventures: What got you into creating art and what’s your favourite part about the process?
Scott Sweeney: Ever since I was very young I’ve always loved drawing, I used to be obsessed with drawing witches, ghosts, vampires and skeletons and was even banned from drawing them now school! It didn’t last long as I couldn’t stop. I love creating my own magical characters and now they usually tend to be powerful women of different types such as Sirens, Witches, Queens, Disney Villain inspired etc.
DA: What is the drag scene in your area like? Can you recommend some fierce local queens to us?
SS: Where I live is in a smaller town so unfortunately we barely have a drag scene! However, I plan to move to Glasgow ASAP to join the drag scene there! Some fierce queens from Glasgow are Ann Phentamine, Kiko Queen, and CarrieAnn Crow.
DA: (How) Did drag influence your art and creativity?
SS: Drag influenced my art in so many ways! The extravagant makeup and fashion are where I shine most with my art! I love designing fashion and different looks and usually do so when I’m drawing powerful women.
DA: Who are your favorite queens (in general/to draw) and why?
SS: My all-time favourite queen is Sharon Needles because she’s a spooky queen, and she has great comedy! I never get tired of painting her because she is so beautiful! Another favourite is Pearl Liaison because her aesthetic is so heavenly and angelic and she is also gorgeous! For me, she goes hand in hand with Sharon as the Angel and the devil in aesthetics. I also love Violet Chachki because her fashion is so strong and her waist inspires a lot of my drawings in body proportions wise.
DA: You also do stunning makeup looks. Where do you get your inspiration and what’s your favorite part when doing makeup?
SS: I get my inspiration from whatever colour I’m feeling! Usually, I wear purple as it is my favourite colour but when I’m in a Vampy mood, I’ll wear black and red. I also get inspiration from rock artists such as Ash Costello, Chris Motionless, and Marilyn Manson. I think my favourite part of doing makeup is the lipstick as I usually wear bold colours so I can overdraw them to filth!
DA: Any advice for anyone who thinks they aren’t very good at makeup looks or confident with makeup in particular?
SS: For anyone who feels they aren’t good at it, I’d say to use YouTube! When I started makeup, I had no idea what I was doing but I watched makeup tutorials by gurus such as Miss Fame, Jeffree Star, NikkieTutorials and that’s how I got to where I am today!
DA: Has there been a ‘starstruck moment” when a queen reacted to your art?
SS: There has been a few!! Pearl replied to my messages on snapchat and said they were beautiful!! And when I met Sharon in Glasgow, she said she recognized my painting from Instagram and said she loved it!
DA: Do you have future art-related goals? (e.g. commissions, merch designing …)
SS: My main goals are to be a successful Drag Queen and makeup artist, however, I definitely want to keep doing art as a side project and sell my art! I’d also love to design my own merchandise!!
To see more of Scott’s fantastic art check him out on the following Social media:
Instagram: @scxtt18
