Following the release of “The Making” limited edition print, we were able to send Brandi Milne a few questions in a mini-interview. We are able to take a look into what inspired her to create art, and the inspiration behind “The Making” limited edition.

Hi Brandi, Can you please tell us a bit about yourself and how you got started in art?

Brandi: Well, as a kid, I was always drawing and coloring. It just felt like me – I hoped I could be an artist when I grew up. I didn’t go to school for art when I got older, I just studied on my own with anything and everything that caught my eye. I developed my style over time, drawing things for friends or drawing for fun – and I didn’t really know where it would go, or even if it COULD go anywhere, I just did it because I loved it. Then in 2003 a friend of mine told me about some art shows and events where I was soon able to hang my work! It happened really naturally, and I’m very blessed to have been able to progress and to have the support of such wonderful people, galleries, companies and artists!

What are some of the things (music, movies, etc) that inspired your work?

Brandi: The Wizard of Oz, Alice in Wonderland, Pinocchio, Willy Wonka and The Devils Rejects are some of the movies and cartoons that play over and over in my head and have provided me with a lot of inspiration. And music just consumes my head and let’s my artwork flow naturally. It’s so important to my working and my inspiration – music from Muse, Mastodon, early Elton John, Pink Floyd and Led Zeppelin is something I couldn’t live (or create) without.

Can you please Name and tell us a bit about the people that greatly influenced you as an artist.

Brandi: Gosh, there are so many artists that have had such a strong influence on me through the years. When I was starting out (drawing & design) I studied Alphonse Mucha, when I started painting, I studied Camille Rose Garcia and Daniel Peacock. When I need a rush of inspiration I also look to the works of Travis Lampe – for silly freedom, Femke Heimstra – for composition, Ryan Heshka & Gary Taxali – for design and crazy goodness – to name a few. We’re so lucky to have such a wealth of access to inspiring art work from anywhere in the world!

Can you tell us about the inspiration behind your piece “The Making?”

Brandi: I’m a big Halloween fanatic and I always get inspired during the Halloween season – this was certainly true for The Making. Vintage Halloween postcards and nostalgia are great and I wanted this piece to have a bit of that mysterious 1930′s feel. Halloween art pieces are rare – you can’t just bust out a big orange pumpkin all the time. They’re special, so I was really inspired to do this ONE blatant, sinister piece.

The colors in this work are simply amazing. How does your working process go, do you do color studies or sketches beforehand?

Brandi: Yes, I sketch out the image to get the composition and lay it out first. If I need, I’ll do a few more sketches for different areas in the piece, then I go straight to the wood panel and draw it all out in pencil before I start painting. I don’t do any color studies for the most part – but for this piece, I used the vintage Halloween posters for my color inspiration – basically, the work was already done!

Thanks for taking the time to answer these Brandi. Head on over to the print page an see the details about this amazing limited edition for yourself.
The Making by Brandi Milne