What Lysha Loves

I've followed eighteen year old Nallie on Instagram for a while now, and I've always loved her art. I first fell in love of her illustrations of Disney princesses, so when I saw that she was doing wonderful self portraits I knew I had to be cheeky and ask for one! If you have noticed we have a lovely new header which Nallie very kindly designed for me. 

I luckily had the chance to interview Nallie to find out more about her love of art and vintage fashion.

What was it that first got you into art and being so creative?

I've always loved drawing from a very young age. My grandad used to be a professional decorator and my grandparents' attic is full of his paintings, they inspired me to create my own. Art was always my strong point throughout primary and secondary school, I just love expressing emotions through being creative!

Were you ever expecting your artwork to get so much recognition? It must have been so overwhelming when Orange is The New Black got hold of your illustrations!

I'm honestly so surprised by all the attention! I've never tried drawing digitally before but I realised it would be a lot easier to share them online. Social media is honestly amazing, you can post a few drawings of TV characters and suddenly you're getting messages from the company and posters made out of your drawings! Not too bad to say I've only just started watching OITNB. 

What software do you use to achieve your unique style of drawing?

It's a really great free app called Adobe Draw, which I have on my iPad. It's so easy to use and I'm really impressed with how the drawings look.

Your Instagram art page @rosycheeksartwork has been flooding with requests since you posted your self portrait. How does it feel that people love your work so much they want to be drawn by you?

It's a love/hate thing, to be honest! I love that people are trusting me to draw them, it can be quite risky drawing portraits because you could quite easily offend them, but I really enjoy adding unique little features that make the portraits all different. It can be quite stressful dealing with all the requests, some people don't realise they take time, so I've persuaded my boyfriend Michael (@all_m0d_c0ns) to help me! He's been doing a good job so far and it's definitely helping my stress levels. I'm honestly really pleased with all the support and good feedback, it's helping my confidence too.

You're a lover of vintage, which is shown in your artwork. How did you begin to like vintage, were there any influences?

Vintage fashion is my true love. It's a relatively new phase in my life and it started about two years ago when I first went to Affleck's in Manchester. For anyone who hasn't been yet, it's a magical labyrinth of vintage and vinyl and I've bought heaps of 60's dresses since discovering it. I also love the shop Space in Harrogate, Yorkshire because it sells new clothes from Pop Boutique (another love) and Lindy Bop, as well as designer clothes for really good prices. 

Who are your icons when it comes to your style? (if any)

I'm extremely influenced by 1950/60's fashion, so obviously icons like Twiggy and Mary Quant are my main role models when it comes to fashion. I'm a great lover of mini dresses with Peter Pan collars and bold patterns - stripes, polkadots, paisley - paired with Chelsea boots or Doc Martens for a more modern look. Alexa Chung, Zooey Deschanel and Suki Waterhouse are all embracing the vintage look with blunt fringes and eyeliner and I'm pleased to see the classic mod look re-appearing in popular brands!

You're off to Manchester University to study Linguistics, congratulations! Will you still carry on your artwork when you start your studies?

Thank you very much! I'd like to say I would if I had time, but I think I'll always have time for art. Living in a very student-orientated and quirky city will help to expose my art work to a wider audience and I'm hoping I'll get plenty of requests from fellow undergraduates. 

Could you ever imagine making a career out of your art?

I'd love to say yes, but I think I prefer art as a hobby. If I had to do it to support myself financially, it wouldn't feel the same; to me, art is more about creating the art rather than the money. Deep down, my heart belongs to linguistics and words and I'd like to pursue a career in music journalism - a perfect job for someone moving to Manchester, the city of fantastic and iconic bands. However, I've already gotten requests to create album covers for up-and-coming bands - watch this space!