We were lucky to catch up with Melanie Boychuk recently and have shared our conversation below.

Melanie, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Do you think your parents have had a meaningful impact on you and your journey?

I was very fortunate to grow up in a loving and supportive household where both my parents encouraged my creativity and truly wanted me to pursue it.

I remember drawing as a young child (my parents kept some of those early, strange-looking creations), making little story books, creating my own comic book characters, and my family was always interested in what I was doing.

When I graduated high school and was trying to figure out what to do with my life, I remember enrolling in Business, with my mother questioning this. While it was obviously the safer choice than the arts, she knew I wouldn’t be truly happy in that program. So, I studied Media Arts and continued on to university to earn a Bachelor of Arts in Communication Studies.

Ironically, I have actually been working as a Human Resources Professional for the past 10 years, but my art has been a staple in my life since a young age, and something I continue to try and work on daily. It is my therapy and my escape, and I am grateful that my parents have always supported my love of creating things from a young age.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

Ever since I was a kid, I’ve always been pretty imaginative and creative, and found my artistic side at a pretty young age. I started out with drawing and worked pretty exclusively with pencil for many years. Around 2008, I discovered “fashion illustration” as a specific genre/aesthetic of illustration and was instantly drawn in. There were so many different styles, colours, and mediums portrayed through various artists and at this point, I think the shift in my style occurred and has remained the foundation for all my pieces in the last 10+ years.

Since then, my curiosity continued to grow, and I started playing around with different mediums, working more with watercolour, ink, acrylic, and more recently, alcohol ink and jewelry making with found objects. I get bored easily, so I am always looking for a challenge and a new way to express my creativity. My go-tos in terms of favourite mediums will always be my A3 sketchbook (I struggle to draw on a smaller size), pencils, fineliner pens, ink, alcohol markers, alcohol ink, and any type of collage.

I am completely self-taught, usually getting inspired by others’ work, but bringing my own unique style to it. I work full-time in Human Resources, so I really enjoy taking off my corporate hat on the weekends and letting my creative side come out.

Because of my HR side, I absolutely love interacting with other artists, anyone who messages me or comments on my art, and I am extremely appreciative of any Etsy order and custom requests I get.

For those who are not familiar with my work, I love creating drawings/paintings of plants and flowers, beautiful, fashionable women, abstract, dreamy alcohol ink pieces, and most recently, jewelry with found objects (shells, sea glass, etc). I like to create a dreamy and romantic vibe within my art, that truly reflects what I find beautiful in the world. Many of my photos feature my adorable, attentive rescue cats, Link and Navi, ambient lighting, lots of crystals, candles, plants and flowers.

I hope this helps give a little glimpse into my work and my brand :)

Looking back, are there any resources you wish you knew about earlier in your creative journey?

I truly wish that social media existed when I was younger, I only started using Instagram in 2012 but really started to take it seriously in April 2020 during the beginning of the pandemic when I had a lot more time to create art, connect with other artists, and watch tutorials online.

As someone who does not have as much time as they’d like to dedicate to the whole art process because of full-time career responsibilities, Instagram and my Etsy store have been an excellent way to stay connected and be found by others. I spent a lot of time revamping my overall image in the last few years, so I do wish I had a better grasp on the power of social media earlier on.

Is there something you think non-creatives will struggle to understand about your journey as a creative?

I think a lot of artists or creatives experience this but my friends or those I know who don’t have that creative “urge” don’t understand how I actually get sad or a bit blue when I don’t have time to draw or work on a new piece. It really is a form of therapy for me and provides a healthy and productive temporary distraction.

Another common one I am sure everyone has experienced at some point is people not understanding why I don’t want to make free art for them. Drawing what I want for myself is enjoyable – making a drawing of someone I don’t know, who has never met me, but expects me to spend endless hours of my limited spare time making them a drawing for free, not so much. Working with clients is a lot of fun but I think a lot of people also have the misconception that because I can draw and paint, it means I can capture any type of subject matter – this is definitely not the case. I have my strengths and I don’t try to take on subjects I am not comfortable with (men, landscapes, cityscapes, children).

There is a lot more pressure in the last two years to constantly be creating pieces and having content to share on social media. During COVID, I had way more time on my hands, so maintaining my social media pages, creating art, and interacting with commenters/other artists was much easier and I felt motivated. Like many of us do I am sure, I put a lot of pressure on myself to gain more followers, earn more sales, get more comments and I think it’s great to have that hustle, but it can also burn you out. Make sure you take time for you. Because I work 9-5 and have only a bit of time each evening to work on anything art-related, I do put that onus on myself to draw a bit or do something creative, but lately, I have made more time for my family and friends, and it makes me appreciate the time I have to work on art even more so.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.melaniab.art/
• Instagram: melaniab_art
• Facebook: melaniabartist
• Other: Etsy: https://www.etsy.com/ca/shop/MelaniaBArt Society 6: https://society6.com/melaniab Redbubble: https://www.redbubble.com/people/melaniab-art/shop

Image Credits
All photos taken by me :)