My name is Chloe Russell and I am a Wolverhampton based, mixed media artist. I primarily work in pencils, creating intricate, highly detailed drawings but in recent years have started to practice and experiment with other mediums such as painting, digital art and photography. I find having a labour intensive process therapeutic and fully believe that it has a positive impact on my mental health.

As someone who has a complex relationship with my mental health and an interest in psychology, my work over the past few years has been focused around portraying intimate/ personal emotions (such as anxiety, relationships and nostalgia). Art enables me to use my interests as an outlet for my thoughts and feelings, giving me something to focus on and work towards. In terms of photography, not only does it support me mentally, I often find that my photos influence a lot of my ideas, fuelling my love for sketchbooks and photo-realistic drawings/ paintings. Ranging from portraiture to landscapes and wildlife, my photographs work hand-in-hand with my craft in documenting how I see the world as an artist.

As an artist, the process and outcome are extremely important to my style and overall identity. With some of my projects taking thirty-plus hours to make, it’s the finalised piece of work and the reactions you get that make it all worth it, especially when producing a commission for someone. I create art in the hopes of positively impacting other people. Whether being vulnerable about my thoughts and feelings or creating a piece of work as a gift for someone, as an artist I thrive off of how people respond to my work.