HIYA, I'M MEL. A (FORMER LONDON) NOW ESSEX BASED ILLUSTRATION AND LETTERING ARTIST. I'M THE INKY HANDS BEHIND THE CHARACTERS THAT YOU SEE HERE AND MORE!
I BRING MY CHARACTERS TO LIFE THROUGH THESE SCRATCHY, ENERGETIC INKY LINES. I ALSO TEACH ILLUSTRATION AND LETTERING WORKSHOPS.
SO WHAT'S THAT NAME ABOUT THEN? WELL, THE MIGHTY MINDCIRCUS CAME FROM A TIME IN MY LIFE WHERE I WAS GOVERNED BY A FLIGHTY, CIRCUS LIKE BRAIN - BRIMMING WITH IDEAS AND IMAGINATION...ALL OF THE TIME! IT WAS EXHAUSTING!
NOW I'VE WORKED ON CHANNELLING THAT MENTAL ENERGY INTO MY WORK. PAINTING AND LETTERING BRINGS ME A SENSE OF CALM AND GROUNDING IN AN OTHERWISE WILD WORLD.
MY ARTWORKS ARE INSPIRED BY THE NATURAL WORLD AND OUR ANIMAL PALS.
I'VE ALWAYS HAD A STRONG CONNECTION TO ANIMALS. AND AS A YOUNG, NEURODIVERGENT CHILD, I WOULD SIT UPSTAIRS IN MY (SHARED) BEDROOM, TAP, TAP,TAPPING AWAY RELENTLESSLY ON MY TYPEWRITER. WRITING SHORT STORIES ABOUT ANIMALS AND THEN ILLUSTRATING THEM. LITTLE MEL WAS OBVIOUSLY NO SLOUCH, AND ALTHOUGH IT'S TAKEN ME THIRTY PLUS YEARS TO REALISE MY CALLING, SHE KNEW IT ALL ALONG. I'VE ALWAYS BEEN A PROLIFIC (UNPUBLISHED) AUTHOR / ILLUSTRATOR.
INSPIRED BY THE ILLUSTRATION GREATS - BEATRIX POTTER, OLIVER JEFFERS, CHRIS RIDDELL AND OF COURSE, THE KING HIMSELF QUENTIN BLAKE - I SET OUT ON MY ARTISTIC JOURNEY.
MY EARLY WORKS (INSTAGRAM DEEP CUTS) WE'RE PRETTY FLAT. IT WAS ALL TRIAL AND ERROR AS I HONED MY CRAFT. IT'S STILL TRIAL AND ERROR - I'M CONSTANTLY LEARNING AND ASKING WHAT HAPPENS I'F I ADD THIS COLOUR ON TOP OF THAT INK? WHAT TEXTURE WILL THIS ADD? I'M IN LOVE WITH EXPERIMENTING.
THESE DAYS I CALL MYSELF A MIXED MEDIA ARTIST. I WILL LAYER MATERIALS ON TOP OF EACH OTHER RELENTLESSLY UNTIL IT FEELS RIGHT. IT'S ALWAYS AN UNCERTAIN INTUITIVE OUTCOME, AND I LOVE IT.
ANYONE WHO HAS FOLLOWED MY JOURNEY WILL KNOW THAT I'VE TAKEN QUITE A VARIED AND ROUND ABOUT PATH TO GETTING HERE.
I'VE TRIED EVERYTHING IN MY PURSUIT OF CREATIVITY - PHOTOGRAPHY, TYPOGRAPHY, GRAPHIC DESIGN - I WAS ONCE EVEN A FAILED JEWELLER. THE POINT IS THAT THE PATH HASN'T BEEN CLEAR AND I'M HERE TO SUPPORT AND ENCOURAGE ALL OF THE UNDERDOGS TO NOT GIVE UP!
