The Walleye Magazine

Fun Art, Not Fine Art

Chelsea V. Creates

For more information, visit chelseavirginia.ca or follow her on Instagram @chelsvcreates. By Wendy Wright

“Art has always been a part of my identity,” says Chelsea Cameron-Fikis, a.k.a. Chelsea V., a digital artist from Thunder Bay now living in Toronto. Creative writing, music, photography, and dance has made up Cameron-Fikis’s life in a creative way. She has settled on digital art at present, though these other endeavours are never far from her daily life. “I like to do lots of different things, I still like to dabble,” she says.

The freedom of working in digital art is a big positive for Cameron-Fikis. “What’s so cool about digital art is that you are not limited to the tools you have on hand,” she says. Her style is somewhat folk art and has a colourful, playful vibe. The art captures her style and motto: “Fun art, not fine art.” She is inspired by female characters, activism, and special places, many of those in Thunder Bay.

At present, CameronFikis has art prints of the General Store at Silver Islet, the Sleeping Giant, and the Finlandia Club. A percentage of the proceeds of the Finlandia Club prints are supporting the Thunder Bay Finnish Canadian Historical Society. Along with that, there is a collaboration with Waxxed Candle Co., where her illustration graces the exterior of the Finnish Pancake scented candle. A percentage of the proceeds from these sales are also being donated to the Thunder Bay Finnish Canadian Historical Society. Future collaborations are possible and probable.

With inspiration coming from everything from childhood folk art puzzles to the everyday in the city or in nature, Cameron-Fikis’s work is varied and has an alluring essence. Her past as a food blogger is apparent in the cheerful veggie and food illustrations. At the other end of the spectrum of the artist’s style are the activist and powerful women’s voices that come through in her pieces. Flowers abound, and the feelings evoked by her “special places” illustrations are powerful. This one-of-a-kind style hops from one to the other and is undoubtedly Chelsea V. “I feel when I make them, they bring me joy,” the artist states. And they bring us joy, too.

“I like to do lots of different things, I still like to dabble.”

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2022-05-01T07:00:00.0000000Z

2022-05-01T07:00:00.0000000Z

https://thewalleye.pressreader.com/article/283824332131240

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