Our April art show features abstract geometric paintings by Bianca Yvonne and digital collages printed on photographic paper by Lisa Hammond and Emily Anne. We asked the artists some interview questions in advance of their show, which opens this Thursday, April 14 from 7 to 9 pm during the Capitol Hill Artwalk and runs through May 8.

 BIANCA YVONNE

Bianca Yvonne

Bianca Yvonne is a multidisciplinary artist & designer from Seattle. For the past two years she’s been creating art that attempts to balance minimal design and with a need for a lot of chaos. She looks for inspiration in architecture and the phases of the moon. Her new work takes the patterned abstractions of the past year into a 3D space, which can be seen in her most recent paintings and set design work. Bianca has shown around Seattle at TK Lofts, Chroma Clouds, and Common Area Maintenance over the past year.

What medium are you working with for this show and how did you arrive at this medium?

I'm been into very simple flat and graphic paintings. Keeping it on plywood allows me to keep everything very clean if I need to. Or I can expose some wood for texture.

How do you begin work on a new piece?

Mindset is key. I work best under pressure with a Heart record on and some incense burning. Lately I think about tarot cards or what's going on in astrology and how that's making me feel. I might right down some words like "trapped" or "shedding skin" at the top of my notebook, and then I get to drawing. Using sharpies and paint pens for general colors. Once I'm headed somewhere I like I focus on that drawing and try some variants out. Using studies is a recent thing for me but I feel like it's helping me refine my art a bit more and feel confident when I go to paint.

What is your favorite part of your process?

Ripping off the masking tape at the end of each layer.

What artists are you excited about right now?

There are a couple artists I creep on Instagram regularly right now. I try not to look too much for fear that I will subconsciously start imitating their work. Jordan van den Nieuwendijk (@jvdnieuwendijk) does rad abstract primary color shape based art. His progression over the last year has been really rad to observe. Always cool to see art change. Stacy Lovejoy (@stacy_lovejoy) has explored 3d work that is funky and colorful. And then every so often I just want to look at some classic abstract art from the 60s and 70s like Frank Stella.

LISA HAMMMOND & EMILY ANNE

Lisa Hammond & Emily Anne

Lisa Hammond studied visual communication at Seattle Pacific University and has been working as both and in-house and freelance graphic designer for six years. For this exhibition, she teamed up with illustrator Emily Anne to collaborate on some graphic collages that combine photographic, hand-drawn and digital elements. (Interview responses by Lisa.)

How do you begin work on a new piece?

I usually start with an  inspiration search, choose the medium / style. Then come up with a color palette and sketch out a number of ideas before putting them into the computer.

What is your favorite part of your process?

when things start to come together and you feel some excitement about what you are doing.

What artists are you excited about right now?

I am excited about the designers / illustrators : Non-format, Kate Moross, Michael Bierut, M/M Paris, Ash Thorp, neon saltwater, and Karlssonwilker.

View more of Lisa's work here: http://damedesign.wix.com/damedesign