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Why follow the lead of others when you can forge your own path? It is said that adventure awaits those who follow the trail of the wild foxes or at least that's what the wind whispers through the grassy plains.
Let's welcome Sibylline Meynet, the first artist to kick start our Art Kit Collaboration!
She is also our ninth Artist Collaboration of the year as she introduced our new cover design, Autumn Foxes, that features her signature female protagonist with a few lovely foxes as company.
Read on to learn more about the gouache kit, her thoughts on collaborating with Mossery, and more—
Hello, Sibylline! We’re so happy to have you here. How about a self-introduction to kickstart the interview?
Hi there! Thank you for having me, it’s always a pleasure to work with Mossery! My name is Sibylline, I am a French illustrator. I work freelance, I run my online store and sometimes work for edition, animation and comics.
This is our first time working with an artist to curate a whole Gouache Art Kit! How was the experience for you? What were the challenges that you encountered?
It was definitely a challenge to work on this project because I painted a lot of objects, animals and sceneries for the workbook –I have never actually painted a background with gouache before, so I have learnt a lot while working on this kit. It was very interesting to understand how to build scenery and create an atmosphere without the presence of a character interacting in it.
What were your thoughts when working on the Gouache Workbook? After all, teaching through words is a different experience!
I was very excited to share my process with people because I never actually took the time to truly look at my paintings while painting them, and this workbook allowed me to actually take a step back and understand my own process!
What do you hope our customers will feel from buying this Gouache Art Kit?
Dear customers, first, I hope you will like the kit –I always get a lot of questions on social media regarding the tools I use: now you know! I hope the workbook will be useful for beginners even though I am a self taught artist. I know gouache (and paint in general) sounds scary but I really want you to have fun and to be creative!
Now, what would you tell someone who is interested in art but thinks that they are not creative and does not draw ‘well’ in other people’s eyes?
I think art is very personal. My advice would be to draw for yourself. I know it’s tempting to share everything you create on social media but you don’t have to. I think it would be awesome if you could just draw or paint whatever you want without thinking of other people’s judgment. I do think we are all creative, too. I’m pretty sure we all have this little artist sparkle inside of us!
As an artist, your artwork celebrates a diverse representation of women and that is refreshing to see. Women have always been classically perceived as the muse, is it the same for you?
Absolutely! A muse, by definition, is poetic inspiration evoked in the guise of a woman. Women are a big part of my inspiration and the focus of my work because I am constantly fascinated, motivated and inspired by them. I grew up with strong female representation through different media and I remember wishing to be like them when I grow up–I still do today!
After so many years of doing art, have you developed a routine or an environment that helps you to create? Or are you more of a spontaneous creator?
I like to do administrative or “boring” tasks in the morning, and work on my own projects in the afternoon. A typical day would be 5 to 6 hours of work at my desk, sometimes I like to draw in my sketchbook or on my iPad in the evening when I am done with work. I like to think that I am an organized person; I usually plan my week ahead and make to do lists. But since I am my own boss, I sometimes don’t feel like working (that’s the spontaneous part –when I decide to rest instead of painting or working on my projects)!
Have you ever imagined that you would come this far in your artistic career?
Never! I started posting my illustration on social media because I wanted to share my doodles with people. It was never my plan to grow an audience on Instagram back in 2012. I just wanted to have fun and improve my drawing skills. It was like journaling online. I am very lucky I gained an audience throughout the years on social media. I never thought it would change my career! Every time I get to work on amazing projects I feel so grateful –and the support I get when I open my online shop is just crazy. So thank you for the support! Thank you for appreciating my art and for being so nice with me!
Could you share with us your sources of inspiration that might surprise us?
I am fascinated by art that looks nothing like mine. I am obsessed with Drew Struzan’s work (he did iconic movie posters for iconic movies like Back to the Future, Star Wars, Harry Potter, Blade Runner...). I love Edward Hopper, Gustav Klimt, J.C. Leyendecker, Jamie Hewlett and many more –but these are the less obvious inspiration I’d say!
Trivia question! If you can transport yourself into a fictional world and stay there forever, where would you go and what kind of character would you be?
I think I would go somewhere quiet, without having to worry about the news and what is going on in the world, somewhere peaceful where I could paint all day –preferably outside -and spend some quality time with my pets. If I had to choose a specific fictional world, I would say the mythology scene in Fantasia (1940). I would definitely be a centaur lady (centaurette?) and my best friend would be a baby Pegasus of course.
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Sibylline Meynet is an illustrator from France and you can find her on Instagram here and her website here.
Our new Sibylline Meynet Gouache Kit is now available and shipping worldwide. Pre-order yours today and kickstart your gouache journey!
Forge your own path. Adventure awaits those who follow the trail of the wild foxes.
We hope you enjoy this curated art collection as much as we do and we look forward to seeing you all try your hands at painting with gouache!
Remember to tag us with your unboxing clip @mosseryco on Instagram so we can share it!
