Can you hear it? Roaring engines, hissing steam… We must be getting close. Ah, the industrial realm of Ineha, it’s good to be back!
Last time we were here, we brought home our latest Limited Edition design. This time, however, we’re up for an even more special trip – joined by none other than Ineha’s enigmatic creator, Ornamirus! Let’s try to unravel the mysteries of this wildly imaginative artist.
What were your first steps as an artist?
I have been drawing all my life and loved doing it from a very young age. The same goes for looking at paintings and illustrations. Something about them has always charmed me, I don’t know exactly what. Perhaps this is the duality of a picture: on the one hand, it is just a flat surface with lines and spots of color, and on the other hand – a whole other world. This illusion had apparently captured me in its charm, turning into a fascination that has never left me since. Even today, pictures capture me and draw me inside.
As a child, and also in my youth, I would often get asked by my teachers to paint and decorate for holidays and events. I enrolled in art school at a relatively late age and then started working as a freelancer doing illustrations and 2D animations. Now I try to devote my time to personal work.
What is the most important thing you have in your studio?
I think it is the old tea cart that my grandfather bequeathed to me. It’s a small cart with two shelves where I keep my drawing tools. I always place this cart on my right side when I draw, so that I can reach for the brushes, pencils, and colors I need.
Which of your artworks is your favorite and why?
My favorite works are the ones I did recently. In the past, I was mainly working on digital paintings. For the last five years, I have moved to traditional painting with watercolors, pencils, and pens. I really like painting with watercolors. It’s a very challenging medium, the transparency of colors makes it very difficult to correct and cover mistakes, but I really enjoy the feeling of spreading them on the drawing surface.
The colors are very liquid and have a will of their own which makes them difficult to control. Someone once wrote, and I can’t remember who, that a good watercolorist knows how to let the colors do the work for them. Every time I complete a watercolor painting I feel great satisfaction. Most of the illustrations in my current project, Ineha, are painted in watercolors.
What does your creative process look like?
I start with an idea. I think this is the hardest part of the creative process. This idea sometimes comes by chance, but sometimes I have to make an effort to formulate it. Then I sketch to find the best way to present it. Next, I usually try to learn all the details that I want to depict in the painting. Once I know what the picture should look like, I draw it on the drawing surface and then paint it with colors.
For example: if my idea for a painting is an animal, I try to roughly describe it using sketches and then decide where it should be placed in the painting. Next step is learning more about this animal. If it’s one that exists in reality, I need to look up its anatomical structure and behaviors. And if it’s an imaginary creature, I analyze some other existing animals and try to draw similarities between them. Once I fully establish what my subject looked like, I draw it and paint it with colors.
What do you consider your biggest success so far?
As a freelancer, I had the opportunity to take part in high-budget projects with great exposure, but I do not consider this a success. I try to reach people’s hearts. If I manage to make them think or feel something, if my creation brought a smile to someone’s face, or sparked curiosity in someone else – that’s when I might have succeeded.
Where do you take your inspiration from?
I find inspiration in many things. Animals, plants, landscapes, folk tales and legends, Greek mythology, biblical stories, history, machines, and vehicles. All these things interest me and in many cases are a trigger for me to start a creative process.
What are the biggest challenges you face as an artist?
Staying true to my artistic ways. It’s not always easy. The alternative of an easier livelihood has often made me doubt whether to continue on my path. Criticism can also sometimes hurt me. But I’m not giving up, I’m learning to deal with it.
What do you enjoy doing when you’re not creating art?
I usually take a walk or ride a bike. I enjoy traveling in rural areas and places where nature is still dominant. There is something about those places that makes me feel good. It calms me down and fills me with energy.
What are your plans for the future?
I would very much like to continue doing what I love the most – painting.
