Talking art with Oahu based artist, Maddie Hartiens
We first came across the art of Maddie Hartiens @madsmasterpiece whilst scrolling our Instagram feed. Her beautiful and vibrant digital illustrations depict the ocean, surfing lifestyle and beach culture. In our recent interview with this Oahu, HI based artist, we learn that Maddie is exactly where she wants to be and doing what she loves on the daily —we learn more about her Maddie's artwork and her creative journey.
ON LIFE & ART...
Aloha! My name is Maddie, and I live on the beautiful island of Oahu, Hawai’i, with my husband Ben and our little adventure cat, Pogo. We spend our free time surfing, diving, hiking, and spending a lot of time at coffee shops. I really try to reflect and capture the things I love about the island in my art. That’s why I try to keep my palette bright and colorful. My favorite art to do, as well as my most popular, is female surf art.
THE JOURNEY SO FAR, AND THE ROAD AHEAD...
I’ve always loved creating art and going into college, I really wanted to focus on painting/fine arts. I was surprisingly very against anything graphic design-related, haha! That was until I got my iPad about a year and a half ago. I never realized the ease it would bring to creating and how much fun I would have drawing digitally. My goals for the upcoming year are to continue learning new digital skills, possibly go back to school for graphic design, do more brand work, and branch out into new products such as t-shirts, tote bags, etc.
DAILY INSPIRATION
I obviously find a lot of my inspiration from being at the beach. It’s hard to be on the beaches here and not feel inspired! My biggest source is going out surfing with my friends. That way, when I’m drawing girls surfing, I can almost imagine myself being in the piece (even if she’s surfing on a leaf, lol).
FOLLOW THE FLOW
I create pretty much all my pieces using Procreate. I find it extremely user-friendly and so fun to use. I usually start with an idea of something I want to create, then head to trusty Pinterest and save some pictures of the aesthetic I’m going for. As I mentioned before, I loved to paint (and still do). However, it was hard to paint all the ideas I had because painting was such a long process. In Procreate, I can have an idea then have it drawn within an hour or two.
My favorite way to get into an artistic flow is to go to the beach to get some ideas; then head to my favorite coffee shop and order an iced chai (I’m obsessed); put my headphones in with some indie/beachy jams, and draw away.
LIFE LESSON
Forgiveness isn’t to excuse what someone did; it’s to free yourself. It also sounds like an easy choice until you’re the one who has to make it.
CELEBRATING THE WINS
I’d say my biggest success has been finding a niche in art I genuinely love and can see myself making “my thing.” I knew my purpose had something to do with art, but that is just such a broad term I couldn’t pick something I wanted to concentrate on. You totally don’t have to either; I just saw myself doing so many things I didn’t feel like I was improving in any because I wasn’t giving them enough time. Also, it was really cool to see my artwork in a store being bought and enjoyed by customers from all over.
SUPPORT INDEPENDENT ARTISTS
You can find my work on my Instagram @madsmasterpiece, as well as on my website madsmasterpiece.com. The best way to support me would obviously be to purchase any art you like cause girls gotta pay bills, ahaha! On a real note, though, if you enjoy my art, just following or sharing my account or website to others who might also enjoy it means so much!
QUICKFIRE QUESTIONS:
GUILTY PLEASURE: Buying too many candles.
HIDDEN TALENT: I can play 6 instruments.
BIGGEST FEAR A: little morbid lol but a slow death.
FAVORITE SONG: I listen to too much music to have a favorite song, but my favorite artist is LÉON.
BIGGEST INSPIRATION: Jesus and my dad. (artist: Vincent Van Gough)
QUOTE TO LIVE BY “Even when the storm rocks hard against the boat, let it be His deeply rooted love for you that reminds you in the depths of your soul no matter what happens, you will be okay, for He will be with you, wave after wave.” -Morgan Harper Nichols