FOR ALL THINGS BUBBLE-POP, MAGICKAL AND SWEETCORE, ENTER @frecklepoke. JOIN ME AS WE FEATURE A LOCAL CREATIVE HERE EVERY WEEK - SHOWCASING BRAVE, INNOVATIVE ARTISTS DOING COOL SHIT IN A CITY WITH RAPIDLY GROWING CREATIVE OUTPUT.
@frecklepoke is not an account you stumble across and easily forget. Filled with bright bubblegum tones and everyday objects reimagined as adorable companions, her works are more than just lighthearted and cutesy - instead, they make up a world that is so uniquely Tash, where the mundane becomes something whimsical, and an inner childlike curiousness is allowed to reign free.
Tell us a bit about yourself! How long have you been creating art, and how did you find yourself working specifically with digital art?
Oh hey, I’m Natasha, but I’m mostly known as Tash. I’m an independent Illustrator and Graphic Designer from Melbourne! From a young age I was always the creative type, I was the one in class that would always doodle on their textbooks instead of listening to the teacher! After leaving high school, I knew I wanted to pursue something creative and so I studied Graphic Design. I was taught so many new skills, which really lead me into a passion for illustration and creating my own brand. After taking a year or two to find where I wanted to be creatively, I decided to dive into something new, and so I bought myself an iPad. Ever since, I have been drawing digitally and it has significantly helped me with finding my own style!
Your work is undeniably adorable, from your pastel colour palettes to your super cute renditions of everyday objects. Do you like to think of your work as frecklpoke as an escape from reality where you can create your own magical world? Or maybe an internal reflection of your personal preferences?
Oh, I’m blushing! Thank you! I’ve always loved cute things, seeing bright colours within artwork truly brought me joy. Put simply, I wanted to create that feeling of joy for others too! My work as frecklepoke is basically a world I wish existed. By incorporating daily objects I love adding my own twist of magic and a pop of colour! By creating in my style, I feel like I can escape into my own colourful little universe.
What would you say are the elements that are integral to your work as an artist, when you decide you want to sit down and work on a new piece - whether that’s your tools, your mindset, your environment, etc. - ?
I think the most important element is having a clear mind, cleaning up the space around me seems to get the creative juices flowing. I also feel that the constant pressure of social media is always in the back of my mind, so I make sure that i’m sitting down to create something for myself and not based around if others will like it. I find that sketching on paper helps the ideas flows, with digital art I feel like I am constantly attached to a screen so sketching up ideas on paper is a fantastic way to take a break from a screen!
There’s a thriving scene of super-cute indie art online, though a lot of it is based overseas in the US, Europe and Asia - what does it mean to you being a Melbourne-based artist, and do you feel like there’s much of a presence or audience here for your style of artwork?
I really appreciate bringing this kind of style around me. I think that if i can continue spreading my joy through cute art, then maybe more people might become aware of it! I believe with the right messages, any audience can grow and I’d love to achieve that someday!
You stock a bunch of gorgeous items on your Etsy store, including prints and stickers but also enamel pins. Where else can we hope to see your art in the future - maybe an apparel line or a giant wall mural?!
The ultimate goal would be to create a big and colourful mural somewhere in Melbourne! Sometime in the future I would also be keen to set up some art stalls whether it be at conventions or just a local market. Oh, and I would absolutely love to release some super cool clothing!
