Artist Interview: Anna Tsvell

Anna Tsvell is a visual artist who explores digital textures and digital abstract possibilities – her abstract works and animated art gives breath to otherworldly primal organisms and undiscovered organic life, and are unique and mesmerizing.

Integrating her abstract paintings into the real world and locations, the artist has worked with companies such as Dior, Tiffany&Co, and DressX, has been featured by publications like Adidas Originals, Gucci, and Harper's Bazaar, and has exhibited her art in galleries around the world.

We asked Anna about her art, creative process, and inspirations.

Can you tell us about your background as a digital artist? How did you get started in this field?

Well, it was a long and exiting journey. I stared creating digital art in 2012 – I was painting on a very simple model of Wacom Bamboo attached to my old laptop, but later I switched to traditional art. I became a quite successful fashion illustrator with my personal recognizable unique style. I was working with watercolor, ink, acrylic on paper and canvas. I worked with and got noticed by major brands such as Gucci, Dior, Tiffany & Co; painted a cover art for Harper’s Bazaar Korea; got published in numerous magazines and exhibited worldwide as a traditional artist.

I began working digitally again in 2019 when I found a perfect combination for me: iPad + Apple Pencil + ProCreate app. Since then I’ve been involved in digital art more and more. I painted my first digital abstract work in 2021, it was a simple work, but I was very exited. Painting such digital abstract works became some kind of a hobby because I was still working with traditional art materials 90% of all my time. I was getting into digital more and more each year, developing my abstract works and working on weird shapes and textures.

I am still painting fashion illustrations and figurative art (digitally) but my main passion is my digital abstractions currently.

What inspires your abstract art? Are there any particular themes or subjects that you enjoy exploring through your artwork?

My abstract art is totally inspired by nature textures – the beauty of flowers, leaves, stones, clouds, butterfly wings etc was always so mesmerizing to me. I am taking it all as an inspiration to create something new, my abstractions look like something organic from another planet. So I am exploring the theme of digital textures and it’s symbioses or analogy with the Earth’s nature.

What does your creative process look like? How do you approach brainstorming and conceptualizing ideas?

My artworks are 100% intuitive, I never sketch or have a final result in my head, everything is so organic. I am creating many many shapes in many different layers and play with them and their textures, combining them so that’s how one big composition appears. Then I am adding more textures and chaotic lines and ta-daaa new work is here!

Can you tell us about some of your favorite pieces or a past or upcoming project? What makes them special to you?

Each work is special to me, it’s unique because I will never be able to repeat any of them, it’ s just impossible. Currently I am working on my video artworks – it won’t be a 3D video art, I am using my personal technique to create it, so I am very exited about it. The music for these videos will also be created by me; I am a half of my husband’s and my music duo Tsvellusion. As you can see, I have lots tings to do!

How do you handle feedback and critique of your artwork? Can you share an example of a time when feedback has helped you grow as an artist?

Of course feedback and critique are important for my creative process. I am receiving good feedback usually, but of course there are and always will be people who don’t understand what I do at all, but I am absolutely fine with it. The best motivating feedback for me is when art collectors buy my art – it’s a feedback because when I get noticed by a serious art collector, an art lover, and they spend money on my work, it motivates me. It’s also an amazing feeling to get feedback from your favorite musician, film director, or another artist – I got numerous of such cases and it makes me feel like I am on my right way.

How do you think technology is impacting creativity?

While you are a digital artist, technology is everything for you. The more technological tools we have, the more impressive our works are. So of course I am a big fan of the progress.

What is a fun fact about you?

I have my own imaginary language which I can “speak” fluently and for quite long time. It’s funny but it scares my husband sometimes!

What would we most probably find you doing if not creating art?

Taking photographs! Photography is my long time hobby (more than a hobby sometimes) so I can spend lots of time walking with my Fujifilm and vintage Polaroid cameras. Well, photography is also art so it seems that I am creating art like always!