Kristin Cofer - Design That Kills

“practice and practice and practice and draw what you see in your dreams.”
-Caitlin Shearer

Name: Caitlin Shearer
Occupation: student and illustrator
Location: australia

Ten words that describe you:
curls, quiet, milk, pale, doll, swan, sharp, imaginary, secret and dreaming.

Do you remember the first thing you ever drew?
no, not my very first. it was probably a bunch of messy circles and lines. but i remember early in kindergarden there were plenty of drawings of a house and a tree and a sun and the family all standing in a little row.

Any particular artists that influence you?
i really love klimt and j.w. waterhouse. oh, and charles anastase.

How do you come up with your ideas?
they just appear in my head. some are from dreams and some are just visions that i get from thinking about things too much.

How would you describe your personal style?
shirley temple meets anne frank meets a french clown.

Is the dark haired girl seen in a lot of your work a self portrait?
i didnt start out to make self portraits, but when i look back at some of the dark haired girls, i think ‘oh my, shes got my face.’ it freaks me out a little, because its never intentional. maybe its subconcious and my hands are more truthful than my brain?

I love the paul banks portrait, where did that come from? How come you didn’t paint the other members of Interpol?
ah, well, interpol came to sydney back at the beginning of the year and the day after the show i was feeling really inspired and decided to paint paul banks. i had interpol on constantly, so it just seemed to work. i didn’t paint the rest of the band because i didn’t have any more canvases that size.

Favorite musicians?
marlene dietrich, patrick wolf, the grates, cocorosie and cold war kids.

What is your dream job?
being able to draw all day and sew dresses all day, and be my own boss and not have to catch a bus to work in a black commuter uniform.

What do you see yourself doing in the future?
dressing all my best friends in dreamy dresses and painting pictures on the walls of my dream home.

I found Caitlin’s art on flickr and am constantly impressed by her beautiful paintings and illustrations. Artists who can draw out of their brains inspire me- Caitlyn takes her dreams and makes them tangible. You can see more of her work here and buy prints from her etsy shop.