Inspiration

This is some work by Caitlin Hackett, that I saw in magazine (can't remember which one now, either NY Art or Hi Fructose). Her work is about the destructive relationship between humans and animals and the mutation of the natural world, which is symbolized by the mutation of the creatures in her work.

As you can tell each piece takes her hours to make and the level of detail gives me chills. I think it is amazing how vivid she makes these creatures, you almost believe that they could really exist. Her ability to fully flesh out such fantastic concepts kind of reminds me of the etching "The Temptation of St. Anthony" by Martin Schongauer.

I'm actually so obsessed with this image that I had it tattooed on my back :)

He spent a lot of time studying different animals to understand exactly how they move and the different textures of their fur and skin. I think it is astonishing the way that he seamlessly melded together the different anatomies. I definitely see the the parallels in the stunning realism between these two artist even though they had very different perspectives.

It is so inspiring to me because it is similar to how I work with fashion. Fashion is all about trying to make a fantasy tangible and Caitlin Hackett spends so much time on all the minute details to make her mythological creatures comes to life. That is exactly what I try to do with my work. I'm obsessive about getting all the tiny details right so that nothing will interfere with the experience and the viewer can be transcended into the fantasy that I created for them.