Wednesday Indie Artist Fixx with Hidden Eloise

I am really super excited to be sharing my interview with Hidden Eloise of Hide n Seek for today’s Wednesday Indie Artist Fixx. I am such a fan of her work that it’s in truly an honor to be featuring her work her on this blog.  I also admire her for the way she has continued to handle her copycat issue…see more in the interview about that.

Now, on to the interview….

1. Tell us a little about yourself and your work.

I am Hidden Eloise, the pencil and brush behind Hide n Seek.

2. Share some of your inspirations.

I get inspired by silent creatures, faded memories of childhood, childish scribblings, monochromatic lithographies, repetitive mechanical sounds of bizarre gadgets with no apparent use, old toys, vintage illustrations from children’s books and waiting for a rainbow to appear after the endless rains here in England.

3. Who are 3 of your favorite artists of all times?

Utagawa Hiroshige, Rembrandt & Stanislao Lepri.

4. Recently, you had a copycat issue. Can you share a brief bit about that and let us know whether the issue has been resolved or not?

The stationery giant Paperchase, owned by Borders, was selling a range of items with a character copied from one of my artworks. Paperchase refused to take down the items when i contacted them personally initially but after the issue started trending globally on Twitter and with the enormous show of support by kind people around the world, they backed down and took the items down. However, Paperchase have not accepted any responsibility, just backed down for publicity reasons and they have even denied to give the profits they made to charity, as I asked them to do. In the latest events, a Paperchase employee was caught by me slandering my name anonymously online and the Paperchase head has claimed that the person was identified and fired. All in all, the case remains mainly unresolved and you can read the long story full of corporate ugliness in my blog.

5. What’s your creative process like?

Daydreaming is where it all begins and, unsurprisingly, the most important decisions are not taken over paper. When the strange stories in my head decide they are ready to appear through pencil, I start drawing. After a lot of scribbling and sometimes some brushwork, I move to digital colouring where I stay for as long as it takes. I never rush an artwork and I often redraw parts of it and change them again and again until I am satisfied, the whole process taking usually more than two weeks and, more often than not, a month and more since I have to run my shops as well. When I look at a new artwork and it makes me smile, I know it is ready to be shared with the world.

6. What blogs and mags do you read and what shops do you shop at?

Magazines are so yesterday. 🙂 I get my reading fix online because, among other things, you can say a thousand words with a simple link.

About buying, I have almost relinquished all contact with the main street and big business. I prefer buying online from direct sources and I am happier and more stylish out of it!

7. What’s something you’ve learned as an adult that you wish you knew as a kid?

Dreams are there to be followed.

Hidden Eloise with her bear on a photo shoot from last year.

8. Share something silly about yourself.

I drink silly amounts of obscure oriental teas.

9. What’s new or in works for Hidden Eloise?

I have just finished the design of the new album by the very talented Adrienne Pierce, called “Oh Deer”. The album is out in a few days, keep an eye out for it! In my latest adventure, I am collaborating with some excellent jewellery artists from Etsy to make jewellery with my art. It is all very exciting and you’ll be seeing them in my Etsy shop very soon!