Featured Artist: Camissao
DBH: Where are you from?
Camille: I'm from France and currently live in the UK.
DBH: How would you best describe your art style?
Camille: Minimalist and digital, mostly with surreal settings
DBH: Where do you find your inspiration when creating your art?
Camille: I've been influenced by my environment and dreams since I was young. I'm also quite an observant person. I stop a lot to look at things that interest or intrigue me.
DBH: When did you know you wanted to make a career in the art world?
Camille: I was quite young! I remember wanting to be an art teacher when I was around 8 and when I became a teenager I realised I wouldn't have the patience to do it.
DBH: How does art impact your day to day life or your impression of the world as a whole?
Camille: Like I said, I observe my surroundings a lot. You see the light in different ways, colours, people etc. But it's not just visual observations, I think it's atmosphere overall, like the different smells depending on seasons for example.
DBH: What does a day of creating artwork look like for you and how to you start your creative process?
Camille: In any case, I will always take the time to stop everything I'm doing and If it's for myself, I have notes where I write down all my ideas. I usually pick the one that inspires me most on that day, do a quick sketch, then do the illustration.think, a lot. If it's for myself, I have notes where I write down all my ideas. I usually pick the one that inspires me most on that day, do a quick sketch, then do the illustration. If it's for a client I usually work from whatever material they need me to and do some brainstorming. Then the process becomes pretty much the same as for myself.
DBH: When you're not creating, what do you like to do with your time?
Camille: I like to spend it with friends and loved ones. Going for walks, to museums, exhibitions, for drinks, for nice food, travelling if I can etc... I also like to watch movies, play video games and read stories (fiction or non-fiction). Nothing that might sound over-exciting but I think it's a matter of how you enjoy things, and not what you enjoy. You could do the most interesting things in the world but if you act like you're not fussed about it, it's not going to make you excited about life.
DBH: What artist (either current or past) do you most admire and why?
Camille: The first person that came to mind was Van Gogh. I absolutely love his work, very distinctive. I also have a lot of sympathy for his personal life and I think he is a great example of the stigma that was, and still is sometimes, placed around mental health.
DBH: What's the best advice that's been given to you as an artist?
Camille: Try, a lot, and do things. Keep on learning new things, keep on doing until it feels right. Then do it again because you need to get out of your comfort zone. I don't always have as much time as I'd like to learn new techniques but I'm getting there.
