Art is everywhere. In history books, exhibitions and galleries. Even at the Ukhahlamba-Drakensberg in South Africa, where you can find 3000-year-old cave paintings.

These days millions of artists can be found on the internet. Not only do they share their art with others for fun: they also inspire, encourage, move and motivate aspiring artists to create their own masterpieces. I got in touch with several of my favourite artists to get to know them better and discover more about their art.

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A couple of days ago I did an interview with Merilyn, also known as *naturalshocks: a very talented pencil artist who has been a member of deviantART since July 2005.


I got to know her work while browsing through deviantART for more inspiring artworks. And boy did I get inspired when I came across her gallery! My jaw literally dropped when I found her incredible pencilworks. The first drawing of hers I noticed, a Pirates of the Caribbean fanart, became one of my favourites of all time. Soon after I got more in touch with her I discovered she wasn't only talented, but also extremely kind and helpful to others.


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Lets start with a tricky question... Describe yourself (and your art) in 5 words!

Human Photocopier copies and fails.



What’s your definition of the terms “art” and “artist”? Would you say these terms reflect you and your pencilworks?

I'm one of those who believe that those terms cannot be clearly defined. It's all relative. Let's just say that if a person does something that triggers an emotion or some kind of reaction, whether it's positive or negative, from another person, then that is art, at least that's how I see it.

I don't think about those terms when I'm creating my artworks. I don't even like to think of myself as an artist. Whenever someone calls me that, I want to add that I'm more of a hobbyist for the respect of people who do it professionally.



You  joined deviantART about 4.5  years ago. What made you decide to join this community?

I lurked around dA for about six months before I finally joined it. I had been following the work of a few Estonian photographers I had previously encountered in some forum and they kept linking their deviantART accounts there. While I was browsing random deviations, I noticed so many gorgeous drawings, so many talented artists in this wonderful community and I wanted to be a part of it all. I've always loved drawing, so I thought I'd give it a go. To see what happens when I'm around professionals.









When did you decide to take art more seriously?

From the moment I joined dA. Before that I'd only been an occasional doodler, drawing random girls (because guys were difficult, you know) on my school notebooks and getting As for really ugly watercolour paintings I did for my art class. When I saw all those amazing pencil drawings on dA, I wanted to be able to do that, too. So I decided to learn all the secrets of pencil realism, whatever it takes. And I'm getting there. Slowly.



Most of your artworks are made with graphite. Some of them are even mixed with a few hints of colour! Would you say graphite is your favourite medium to work with? How so?

Graphite is indeed my favourite medium. Pencils are cheap, there's always one lying around somewhere and it's easy to erase your mistakes! Seriously. The reason why I haven't done any 100% colour pencil drawings is that there is always something that goes horribly wrong and I cannot fix it. I wish traditional art had an 'undo' option. I'm the type of person who likes to take the easy way out, so when I started making artworks, then it was either graphite drawings or painting and I consider the latter unbelievably messy. But yeah, graphite, love it.



How much time do you usually spend on a single drawing (research, scanning and editing included)?

Difficult to say. Everyone keeps asking me that and I have to say I haven't got the foggiest. I don't keep track of time when I'm drawing. It's mostly because I'm always multitasking. My drawing process includes eating, watching telly, Internet, running around the house and whatnot. I just can't sit down and do only one thing for several hours. All I can say is that it takes me about 2 evenings to finish a smaller drawing, full A4 stuff usually takes me at least 3 days, it depends on the reference.









You have made a lot of fanarts. I’ve noticed most of them are Pirates of the Caribbean, House and lately Doctor Who related. What inspires you to draw these subjects? Would you say these subjects are more fun to draw than, say, original characters and still life?

Well, we've all been obsessed with something, haven't we? I like to draw things I'm really interested in and drawing the characters I love is indeed fun. Most of my fanart is based on screencaps and stills, because I like re-creating the scenes, facial expressions etc. Drawing things like that makes me relive those scenes and I guess that's what I love about fanart. It brings back all the fun moments you've had while watching the shows-films. I'm not good at drawing original characters and still life...well, I love details, but it's not as challenging as portaits.



As I have defined before, you use both graphite and coloured pencils to create your artworks. Which art supplies do you use the most? Do you have a favourite? (like 2B pencil, kneaded eraser, x-brand of paper?)

The paper market where I live is rather limited (we don't have Bristol here, can you believe that?), so I use some 200g/m2 drawing paper they sell here for most of my drawings. I've recently drawn some stuff on 180g/m2 Canson, too, and I'm starting to like it. As for pencils and other tools, 2B mechanical pencil, 2B and 9B regular pencils, kneadable eraser, eraser stick, blending stump and some tissue is all I need. Any brand will do.



I think all of your drawings are equally beautiful, but I do have a few of my favourites such as the first ever drawing I got to see from you: “Will’s Worst Nightmare”. What are your personal favourites from your gallery, and why?

Oh, please don't make me choose, they're all my babies, I love them all. But I do have a certain fondness towards the drawings I've made for/of my friends. There's a really strong emotional link between me and those artworks.









What are your favourite artworks from others at deviantART?

Well, they're all in my 'favourites' section. Go take a look.



Who are your most favourite artists from both inside and outside of deviantART?

I admire `nimra, *akaLilith, ~imaginee, ~Crimefish, ~Hongmin, *caldwellart, ~DDzim, ~aramismarron, ~Snow-Owl and basically every other deviant who's into realism of some sort. I also like artists whose artwork is whimsical and makes me smile, for example, ~Adnil, *faboarts and `trenchmaker.

I've always loved impressionism, the works of Monet and Degas are simply brilliant. I also like American photorealists, like Ralph Goings and Richard Estes.



DeviantART is filled with all sorts of artists. Many of them are self taught, others went to a school of art. Fact is that they all influence each other in some way. Did you follow drawing classes, go to an art school or are you a self taught artist?

I've never been to an art class in my life. Except for those in school, but that was rather pointless, we only painted trees in gouache and stuff. I'm self-taught all the way, everything I know, I learned from trying out the things written in online tutorials.









Whether it’s traditional art, realism art, digital surrealism art, comic art or photography to mention a few examples, there are always parts an artist finds easy and less easy to do. What are the easiest and the hardest parts for you to draw when you work on a regular drawing?

I've been told I'm a freak, because I love to draw hair (especially blonde hair) and insanely detailed things. Those tend to come out good. I absolutely hate drawing hands, though, and noses give me hard time as well.



All artists experience an artblock every once in a while. What do you do to find your muse back?

I haven't found an efficient way to deal with that yet, so I'm open to suggestions. Usually, I just continue drawing/doodling and hope for the best.



What other interests so you have besides art?

I like languages and literature. I'm an English student, so it would be strange if I didn't. And I also like history, especially the 18th century, I find it fascinating. That's about it. I've been told I'm really boring and I guess that's true. I take it as a compliment.









What would you like to accomplish with your art in the near and far future? Would you like it to make it your profession someday (if you haven’t already) or maintain it as a hobby?

People have asked me why I don't take commissions and the main reason is that I can't force myself to draw stuff, it has to come naturally, otherwise I'll make a complete mess out of it. So my main goal would be to get rid of that psychological barrier that keeps me from drawing things for people other than myself. It hurts me to say no to my friends all the time. I don't want to become a 'professional' per se, but it would be nice to earn something with drawing every once in a while. Right now, art is strictly a hobby for me and I daresay it'll stay this way. But you'll never know.



I noticed you got a Daily Deviation once! If you could give a Daily Deviation to someone else, who would it be and why?

You know, that was rather unfortunate. I actually got my DD because I was trying to get it for someone else. I now probably risk of getting hate mail from fine art connossieurs, but I'd like to see more pencil realism in the DD selection. It is often dismissed as uncreative and dull art form, but some deviants possess mad skills and I think it should be recognized.



People probably ask you a lot of questions about your art! What is the best advice you could give to an aspiring artist?

They do ask a lot of questions and most of the time I don't know what to say. You have to be very careful with the advice you give. I can only give tips on pencil realism, but I don't want to set limits to people. I think everyone should find their own way, the style that suits them the best and go on from there. Try to be open to different things before you settle for a particular style. And if something doesn't work out, don't give up. I've met people who think you need really expensive and professional art materials to create art, but no, it's not like that at all. I've seen masterpieces drawn with a HB pencil on a printer paper. It's all about the artist who holds the pencil. It's such a cliche, but you can do everything if you put your mind to it.









Where else can we find you and/or your artworks? (i.e. Twitter, Red Bubble, Sheezyart, LiveJournal or your own website perhaps!)

I've got a Twitter account where I sometimes post some art-related updates and I recently joined LiveJournal, it's still very confusing for me, but you can find some sketches and WIP images there. And I'm also on Stars-Portraits.



Is there anything else you would like to say before we are going to end this interview?

I'd like to thank you for choosing me as your interview victim, answering those questions was a great fun. To everyone who bothered to read this, Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! Keep your pencils sharp!



Thank you so much!

It was a pleasure.









If you like to see more beautiful artworks made by *naturalshocks, make sure to watch the rest of her gallery.


Love,
~Nicolien / `Cataclysm-X