miss led

Please describe your style in one sentence:
Beautiful, cheeky, kitsch line loveliness.

What’s the name of your Infectious art piece and can you tell us the inspiration behind it?
The piece is titled Peek-a-boo Floatations. I was inspired by an old book which illustrated a retrospective of pin-ups from turn of the century, through the cheesecake era of the 40s and up into the 70s. I even have a pin-up from the 60s featured in my artwork with a fabulously big bouffant.

How did you come up with your moniker miss led? Is she your alter-ego?
The idea was to create a temporary name for the purpose of using social networks to show my artwork. People responded really well to it and the name just stuck. She’s the one who gives me the fearlessness – she’s the character that can climb over a car all day in front of thousands of people. It’s funny but I do talk about her as another person, someone I have a really strong connection, even relationship with. She allows me to look at my work in the third person which helps immensely.

You’ve had some first hand experience with car art before – can you tell us all about your involvement with the Art Car Boot show where you did live graffiti on a vinyl-wrapped car?
There was a real underlying element of performance to the event, I was keen to create the character of ‘miss led’ for the day, so it really was an exciting experiment. The heat was immense – the paint was steaming on the roof at one point. I’d set myself the challenge of painting a long black ribbon that stretched across the bonnet to boot and then over the doors, culminating in a huge bow on the roof that draped over the front windows. Creating straight lines across panels proved very difficult. It was a real test to both my brush skills and patience.

What vehicle would you love to see your art on?
Definitely a vintage model, dated around the 50’s. Maybe a Cadillac?

Name some inspiring things that surround you in your studio right now:
My lilies, a picture of my dad dressed as Charlie Chaplin in the 50’s when he was about eight. The light that comes through in the morning is pretty awesome. Oh, and my new Apple Mac.

If your art was music, what would it sound like?
David Axelrod, John Barry, Serge Gainsbourgh perhaps…

What’s on rotation on your iPod at the moment?
Fleet Foxes, Kyuss, early Monster Magnet, Interpol, My Morning Jacket and Velvet Underground.

What websites do you look at for inspiration?
Flickr – I love that people share their photos and special finds. The Drama website and Dangerous Ink are also great.

Who are three artists you’ve seen recently and loved their work?
I saw an amazing show the other week by David Le Fleming. I really love Vania’s work and I’m also really excited about Jasper Goodall’s new work.

If you had to draw yourself a tattoo design what would it be, and where on your body would you have it?
I designed a cover-up tattoo a couple of years ago. It starts on the top of my right shoulder and creeps along and down my back. It’s a beautifully coloured peacock feather, which I adore.

If you had to change careers, what would be next?
I think a performer, I’m not oozing with confidence but I love the daringness of being on stage and having to be conscious of every move. It’s not miles away from what I’m doing already.

Any interesting projects coming up that you can share with us?
I’m doing a painting commission on a boat, which is another exciting surface to add to the repertoire. I’ll also be working for a trainer store nation wide in the UK creating miss led walls and also hopefully creating a female identity in Selfridges department store.

9/19/08