Tough and tender, soft and sharp, Lotte Vanns is known for her stick 'n' poke tattoos and her un-ashamedly honest artwork.
We became friends with Lotte a few years ago after seeing her at some art fairs here in Bristol, and after a few studio visits she became a great friend of ours.
We're big fans of Lotte's work and the thoughts and feelings she puts into her illustration. As someone who openly suffers with depersonalisation a lot of Lotte's work centres around staying grounded and trying to feeling real in this confusing world.
Lotte's recently started tattooing some of her illustrations and they're all so beautiful, the simplicity and elegance has carried over from her illustrative work to her tattoos so seemlessly. They're all beautiful.
So what's she made for us?
We really enjoy Lotte's flash sheets and her tattoos so we wanted something that still fit that sort of work. So we thought a sticker sheet would work well!
Lotte's sticker sheet contains 16 separate stickers and we love ALL of them! Especially this little ghostie! You can purchase one of the sticker sheets here
Ok, so onto the questions!
1) What's your favourite fictitious Ghost from popular media?
I think zero from The Nightmare before Christmas. He's a cute patoot.
2) What'ss the best item in your pencil case?
Probably my pentel brush pen. I couldn’t get on with it at first but after some practise and using different pressures you can get some lovely lines and textures. I really like it for drawing big plants.
3) Paint? Pencil? or Tablet?
I mainly use pencil/pen because a lot of my work is a feeling that I draw quickly or tattoo designs. I used to paint a lot more and Lize actually introduced me to using gauche paint but recently i haven't been able to find time to properly get into. It’s something I'd like to explore more when I finish uni. I’d like to get more into using tablet too but I haven't found one that works very well for me yet. I think they can give great effects though.
4) What's your go-to motivational album?
It depends what head space I'm in and I kinda go through phases of listening to one band for ages. Recently Pinegrove-‘Everything so far’ springs to mind. It’s one I find myself continuing to go back to.
5) How would you describe your work? Are there any common themes?
I’d say most of my work is about my relationship with myself and the world. I often get depersonalisation and derealisation (feeling disconnected from myself and my environment) so I'm fascinated with grounding and connecting. A lot of my drawings involve human figures and plants growing together.
6) What’s your proudest piece that you've worked on?
It’s hard to pinpoint one as I tend to do lots of smaller pieces of work recently rather than bigger pieces. Saying that i think making tattoos for people and people wanting my art on them is amazing. I made two tattoos for my dear friend Tom which are two figures-one representing their masculine and one representing their feminine. They also have themes of their connection with themselves and with others. I love that I can create a drawing for one reason and then someone can see it and connect/attach meaning to it in their own way.
7) Do you have any/many artist rituals?
I can’t think of anything major that i always do. I just like to have lots of snacks and drinks nearby for energy lol I'm forever hungry
8) What motivates you?
Sounds cliche but i think I've just loved creating from a young age and it’s always been my go-to outlet. What motivates me most now is creating work about my mental health and making my internal feelings external. I also want to create work that's accessible and easily connectable too. I hope that it can help people feel less alone with their mental health.
9) What do you do, that you think no one else does whilst working?
I can’t really think of anything! Like I said, I just like eating lots of snacks mmm snacks
10) Who are you inspired by?
AHHH there’s too many inspirational people. Well first off Lize of course for creating sad ghost club and making people feel less alone/creating her personal work/setting up and maintaining a business. My sister who creates beautiful work and is generally a very supportive and amazing human bean. My boyfriend, Tom who is so productive and experimental with his art. He may get stressed out but he still gives his work everything he has and you can tell in the end results. he is also extremely supportive/validating of me when it comes to my art and my mental health issues. My friend Nina who is a super talented fellow stick n poke artist. I talk to her about everything and feel like I can be open about anything I'm feeling and be totally raw and emotional with no judgement. Finally, all the amazing creatives i’ve connected with via Instagram.
11) What's your favourite way to practice self care? (Especially after a busy week!)
I find meditation and yoga really helpful but i struggle to give myself the time to do it when I'm busy but even if i can just pause for a little while and notice my breathing/do my best to reconnect with myself and surroundings it’s helpful. Super hard, but helpful! I also like writing about how I'm feeling, cooking myself good foods and having a nice bath as self care.
You can find more of Lotte's work on her instagram - https://www.instagram.com/lottevanns