Interview with Alice Johnson

Alice Johnson is a russian artist living in the Ukraine. She speaks several languages including Russian, Ukranian, English, and Swedish. She is presently attending college and enrolled in Architecture classes.

She did attend art school but dropped out and is basically self taught.

With pink hair and a liking for heavy metal, she was once known on the web as mirukawa a name she invented herself. One time a total stranger walked up to her saying, “It’s you, mirukawa, I saw your art on the web!” which suprised her.

Although fans love her work she is very hard on herself and can very crtitical of her work. Her fans, however, are very supportive and have drawn fan art of her and used her drawings as the basis of tattoos.

Alice, it is a pleasure to meet you. I am a big fan of yours and of your art too! Can you tell us a little about your childhood and where you grew up?

Thank you very much, it’s an honor for me too ^ ^
I grew up in Kiev, the capital of Ukraine, and I still and living there, for now, with my mother. I had weak health and was in a hospitals a lot and that’s where my graphic style appeared. Almost all of my old works are black and white.

Were you interested in art as a child? Are there other artists in your family?

Yes, I’ve been drawing for as long as I can remember myself :3
Mom told me that when I went to kindergarten, classmates would gather around me and I would tell them stories while I illustrated them like comics at the same time. I’m the only one who draws in my family.

Your contains elements of anime and movies. What kinds of things inspire your work?

I’m inspired by music, beautiful things, modern Japanese fashion, game graphics and art by my favorite artists and photographers. Anime and movies also have a great impact :3

Tell us about your interest in runes and seals that are incorporated in some of your works. For those who may not know what are the three Futharks?

I learned then because I was interested in Scandinavian mythology. Runes were the priestly language and alphabet of the ancient Scandinavians. Groups of runes united in the Futharks: the younger Futhark, senior Futhark and Slavic.
used for religious and commemorative records as well as avatars.

One of your most well known images is b&w of a girl with antlers on her head, on eye open, one eye shut. Can you tell us about this and the meaning behind it?

This drawing doesn’t make any sense, except for the runes on the bottom which mean achievement, the goal and ensuring the victory. I don’t know why I decided to write exactly this combination = =

I understand it was turned into a tattoo. How does it make you feel to see your artwork on someone’s body?

I’m just delighted, it’s a great honor for me! Generally I love tattoos, maybe I’ll be a tattooist when grow up.  Who knows :3

It is hard for me to choose one favorite in your portfolio, Your black and white work is superb. Exquisitely detailed. The cover you did for an album cover for brazilian rock band Adeus Lenin is exceptional. How did they get hold of you and what did they ask you for?

Thank you so much!! Derek, the guitarist of the group, just wrote me a letter on deviantart.
I didn’t ask for anything in return but he gave me a premium membership on deviantart. Thanks to him for it ^ ^

I love “Paranoia Mode On”, another of your black and white drawings. How did you come up with the concept behind it?

I just took all I had in my head at that moment and put it into one picture. Also I was inspired by Hayao Miyazaki’s ’Spirited Away’ anime, which I can advise you to see. I painted it for the October Fest contest and it won a first place prize! ^______^

Your painting, “Time Waits for no one” comes from a story called, “The Girl Who Leapt Through Time”. What is it that you loved about the story and how does it relate to the image you painted?

I love this anime, just yesterday I watched it with my bf  ^ ^ I love everything about this story. I was very inspired by the backgrounds, especially clouds, so just wanted to draw a fanart :3 though the characters in my picture turned out somewhere between this anime and manga.

Talk to us about “Waiting” and “525439″.

ohh this I will have a lot to talk about >_______<
Each picture has its own complicated story. These works reflects my mind at the moment of their painting, all of my thoughts, I’m tried to transfer my feelings as signs on drawings, something like that :3 and yet, something very strange happens: when I have a good mood, characters in the drawings come out sad, but when I’m crying or angry (drawing helps me to calm down) faces in the drawings come out smiling .

You have also posted a number of tutorials describing the way you work. Can you walk us through your process here?

okay ^ ^
All is very simple, I’m painting in the SAI, usually on one layer by one tool, you can see brush settings in the ’lips tutorial’
and at the end of work processing it in Photoshop, adding brightness and contrast, sometimes use the saturation tool.
Hope it will help someone ;ω;

You have said you do not like your artwork. What don’t you like about it?

ugh I don’t like everything.
I hope someday that I’ll be drawing such that even I will like it :3

You are studying architecture. What do you hope to do after graduation?

I don’t know, I’m attracted on many things! >w<
I’m studying as an architect-designer, so can go to work and so and so, also dreaming to become a tattoo artist as written above, I want to decorate books or video games, wait and see ^_______^

What other artists do you admire?

ohh it must be very, very long list >_____<
easier to see here http://mirukawa.deviantart.com/myfriends/?offset=0
and here http://www.pixiv.net/bookmark.php?type=user&id=2799447

All of these artists and photographers are just wonderful and inspiring, I must to thank them very much! ^ ^
Besides the modern authors I really like paintings of 18-19 century, I can look at their work for hours and hours.

Where can we find out more about you?

deviantart:  http://mirukawa.deviantart.com/
tumblr:  http://mirumiruu.tumblr.com/
art tumblr:  http://mirukawa.tumblr.com/
vk puplic:  http://vk.com/mirukawa
vk page:  http://vk.com/mirumiru
pixiv:  http://www.pixiv.net/member.php?id=2799447

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