Please share your name

Christiane Shillito

How would you describe what you do? Your practice, your craft, your cash machine?

I'm an artist.. I draw and I paint with a focus on themes of identity and sexuality, processing trauma, transformation and neurodivergence. I also do some illustration and modeling work.

Can you tell us where you are from?

I'm from Newcastle-Upon-Tyne, England originally. I've been resident in Los Angeles for 10 years, with a short stint in the PNW.

What does your morning routine look like?

I'm usually up before sunrise... I go to the gym for a couple of hours to get my head in working order then it's back to the studio, feed my cat and get to work on whatever my current project is.

Where do you look for inspiration? A place, a person, a book, an action?

I feel like I'm always soaking up everything around me, anything that I feel drawn to gets filed away. Being out in the wild is always inspiring, it doesn't matter where. I also often look back to my former career as an alt and fetish model and all the associated imagery. Most of my work is very personal and reflects my interests and personal experiences.

What work are you most proud of?

I find these questions hard to answer.. there are a lot of pieces that I'm quite proud of for wildly different reasons. Right now the one that comes to mind is a relatively simple watercolor painting called "Vagina Dentata". I made it not long after I had shoulder surgery and my arm was completely immobilized for weeks. I was pretty miserable that I couldn't make art in the way I usually do and ended up doing all this loose experimental stuff and that was one of the results. It somehow became one of most popular things I've ever made and is a good reminder to myself to keep trying new things.

What has been the biggest challenge on your journey?

Honestly, for me my biggest challenge is fighting with myself. I have a few mental health conditions that really affect my executive function and ability to be productive. Focus can be a real issue and it can take me much, much longer to get things done than it otherwise would. Keeping myself on track is a constant work in progress.

How do you define success? What are the goalposts you look out for?

There are your typical things like making enough money to support myself with my art, gaining some kind of peer recognition or being in a prestigious gallery show. It's definitely motivating to have those kinds of goals. But I've learned that for me, making things that I am proud of and that I don't hate moments after finishing, evolving and improving with each new thing I make, that feels the most like success.

What's the best advice you've gotten from someone?

I'm paraphrasing but Olivia de Berardinis once told me to draw every single day, it doesn't matter what you draw or even if it's any good as long as you keep doing it. Hands down the best advice.. it seems obvious after the fact but before that I was always "waiting for inspiration to hit" and struggled with perfectionism.

Who is someone that has helped you get to where you are now? How were they impactful?

My friend Mildred, who is the designer behind Mother of London, by extending an invitation for me to visit and stay with her in Los Angeles after she moved back to the states. This was way back around 2007, when I was still modeling as a full time job and making art was a neglected hobby. I spent all of my meager savings on the flight, pretty much on a whim but encouraged by the knowledge I'd have a friend and a safe place to stay. It was my first time visiting the states and that trip and all the subsequent visits completely changed the course of my life. Eventually I ended up moving here and a long path lead me to where I am now. It's funny to be able to pinpoint single decisions that made such a huge impact.