Caitlin Hazell / Art

Caitlin Hazell's pictures make me smile. Caitlin is from the middle of nowhere in England and maybe, if you live nearby, you'll find toy soldiers hanging about in odd places. She illustrates for rookie and has also had work featured in Oh Comely magazine. She is wonderfully funny and has a beautifully creative soul. Her artwork is full of imagination and thoughts and the little things people often don't notice. 

Why do you draw? I draw because I enjoy it, it gives me a sense of achievement, and honestly, I don't have many other hobbies. I find myself doodling and coming up with ideas I want to develop- and I find the only way I really can is through putting it down on paper. I've always had an overactive imagination, and it's great to let stuff out, though frustrating when my ideas don't convert so well. What inspires you? Books, music and films, but also a lot of people and places- everyday life. I know I'd love to hide out in my bedroom all day, but going out into the world inspires me a lot. When was the first time you dabbled in the arts, and what made you continue to do it? I've never really been good at art or really loved it. I was quite sporty when I was younger, then injured my knee which stopped that (thank goodness). I was the only class member who did art homework in year 9, so I got praised for it, and it made me feel good. I didn't really draw much up until recently. Last year I was sad and a friend suggested drawing and I laughed at it, but it has really helped. You create collages, drawings, stop motion films and photography, which is your most favorite type of art to create? Oooooh I don't know- I love flicking through magazines and seeing the possibilities of collage within photos but nothing beats a drawing. There's still art techniques I want to explore as well. You have this way of making something beautiful, or funny, or thoughtful out of whatever you're thinking, has there ever been anything you couldn't turn into a piece of art? Hmm I don't know- it's hard to really express the depth of a feeling within something so flat. I love Van Gogh's work a lot because he converted his deep sadness into beauty- I'd love to be able to switch my emotions through my art. You had this great project of putting toy soldiers around places in London to try and get people to pay more attention to the things around them, did you ever find out what happened to your army? And why is it important to you that people notice more? The soldiers were put up in my home town, but I put mini zines round Camden in London, so kinda the same thing. I really like to do a lot of things that are odd and unusual because it is important we look at the world, and it's the kind of thing that would make me smile, or make me think and inspire me, so I wanted to give it back to other people. (soppy alert). You have a wonderfully sarcastic sense of humor, has it ever gotten you in to trouble? Yes, I used to be told I had a "bad attitude problem" but I was just speaking my mind in an almost innocent way. And some people just need shaking up and having a laugh. I once got really told off in primary for making my friends crossword puzzles instead of doing the work, and the teacher called in my Mum for a "serious chat" and uugh LIGHTEN UP PEOPLE. How long does it take you to cover a starbucks cup with your illustrations? It depends, I actually haven't done many because I don't get them often. The ones up on my blogs were given to me on a college trip by the people that drunk them, and I did them bit by bit on the places we went to, and on the bus journey. When and where do you most often make art? Sitting on my bed, after a long day, blasting out some music and howling along, dabbling in paint and pens. Do you have any other future projects planned at the moment? There's a lot of crazy stuff in my head I want to let out. If you could do anything with your art, without worrying about money or time etc, what would you do? Ooooh eeee THE POSSIBILITIES I'd love to just do something to rip the world in two. I don't know. I think every artist wants to do something amazing. I'm not even an artist- I'm a teenage girl. I'd love to have a nice book of my work out, nice paper, something cute. My journals of pictures are all a bit floppy. Describe your dream workspace/art studio: 2 rooms, one with all the equipment and lots of colour, inspiration, EVERYTHING, then a room of white and plain beauty. I love to be surrounded by a lot of stuff, but sometimes it gets a bit much. I'd love a nice bookshelf full of my dream art books. You love a lot of great movies and musicians, but if you could only hang out with one famous person who would you choose? DAVID BOWIE (perhaps in the Ziggy Stardust era though) If you were an animal what would you be? A bat! I collect stuffed toy ones, real dead ones (ok maybe i just have one but it's a collection?!) and have been interested in them since I was little. They are cute, not ugly!

You can find more of Caitlin's work on her website