Hello beauts, hope you are all having a great night so far! Basically, I am on a roll with the blogging mainly because my boyfriend is on nights for a few days so I get a lot of “me time” which hey…. I am not complaining about whatsoever. I find blogging to be my happy place and a place where I can relax.  So for this blog, I decided to spice it up with a collaboration from someone who you guys are not too familiar with but hey I’m “thatothertwin_xo” for a reason! You guys are going to get to know my better half on a more personal note, my beautiful twin Stefanie Hotrum. I am really excited to share with you guys more about her as a person, but more specifically.. an artist. Yes I did say, artist. I was not blessed with this talent whatsoever, thanks mom and dad! No, but honestly, my sister is one of the most talented people I know when it comes to art and her paintings. Stefanie is obviously 23 like myself, but she looks absolutely nothing like me. Aside from myself being a dirty blonde, she is a complete blonde who is 6’1…. am I am 5’7…crazy eh? She is covered in tattoos, I literally lost count how many! Meanwhile, I only have one tattoo so far, you can say she is more the rebellious type as opposed to me.

(just some of Stefanie’s tattoos on her body that she drew… yes she draws all her tattoos)

Stefanie is so involved in self-expression and creativity, hence her amazing pieces of artwork (ps. you can by some, just saying), but we will get more into that later. Stefanie and I grew up in a small town called Jarvis, but she now lives in St Catharines. One thing you have to know about her is she does what she wants… literally. If Stef decides randomly she wants blue hair and tattoos, she damn well is getting blue hair and another tattoo. She is by far the more spontaneous type, as she did get her septum randomly pierced in Toronto…. surprise mom and dad!

Now that you beauts got a better idea and understanding of my other half, shall we get into her unreal work?  Stefanie stated within this collaboration that she was just that girl who was always lost in the world of art. Stefanie states, “In elementary school, I’d draw doodles all over the sides of my school work or binder. But over the years I would just practice sketching in my spare time with the countless sketchbooks I had. When I turned 18, my art turned into tattoo designs, which ended up all over my body 🙂 I’m sure my parents loved me for that lol, but that’s when I knew it was a passion I needed to pursue more”. I always remembered Stef sketching non-stop all the time, whether it was doodling on her notepads like she stated or just drawing on her pencil case, there was always a pencil nearby. Stefanie goes on to explain, “I have always been passionate about art! It’s beautiful, freeing, and there is no right or wrong. It wasn’t until college that I became passionate about painting, though. I had this “life drawing” class that focused on drawing the human figure with different mediums. Although we had to draw a nude figure, (Yes, it was awkward at first) it captivated my interest and honestly, it opened my eyes to the beauty of curves and detail. I found myself painting for 4 or 5 hours at a time, not realising how much time has gone by”. I think if that were me drawing the figure I would be howling or be so immature about it. You have to have a strong maturity level or else you are screwed, to say the least.  Stefanie has always been very serious about her work let me tell you that, if she is painting you do not disturb her whatsoever.

What painting are you currently working on at the moment? “Right now I’m finishing up this “Born to be Wild” piece with a water colour tie dye background. It’s for my cousin. It’s got a boho/ pastel feel to it, showing the back of a woman’s curls, wearing a flower crown”.  This piece of work is absolutely beautiful, and I really do love the tie die paintings that Stef has been doing recently! I then proceeded to ask Stefanie how much she sells her paintings for. Stef states, “right now I don’t have a personal website. You can message me if you want to order a custom made painting through instagram or facebook in the meantime! My canvases are $50 each depending on the size and time put into it. Many people don’t realize how much work that actually goes into the process of it all!” I highly highly highly recommend purchasing one of her paintings, they are all breathtaking and involve so much work to them. There is not one painting that she slacks on, she puts all her time and effort into every single painting.

Did you take any art classes before? “In high school, I took a few general art courses. I had tried to get into Graphic Design. Although it did have that “Life Drawing” course I loved, I found in the end, it was way too technical for me involving photoshop. So who knows for the future! But I’m definitely more of a hands-on girl”. I personally think that photoshop would be too much for me to handle as well. I even find Macbooks hard to use, I am more of an Acer girl that is for sure. I think that having this talent can be shown in a variety of different ways. Stefanie does not need photoshop when it comes to a canvas and a paintbrush. All she needs is her creative and open mindset. Stefanie has always succeeded well in her art classes, as I have taken a few with her in the past. It was no competition for my drawings to look like stick figures compared to her’s let’s just say! haha!

I began to ask Stefanie more general based questions in regards to her everyday painting life. I had asked her how long roughly it takes for her to create one painting. Stefanie explains, “usually anywhere from a few hours to a week. I don’t like to complete a painting all in one day. It needs to dry and I don’t like to rush my work. I’ve probably painted over a dozen in total so far. One canvas can take me 24 to finish, just by waiting for it to dry, blending out the colours, highlighting and fixing minor details. But I wouldn’t have it any other way, I enjoy spending so much time on a piece. I’m a perfectionist. I plan on creating an actual website for myself, where I can strictly sell my canvases and prints. But I have sold quite a few of them! It’s hard to get the word out when you’re a local artist, but patience is a virtue! In the mean time, I’m trying out new painting styles and building up a collection. Right now I’m really into water colour tie-dye”.

A lot of people inspire us every day, and I am always interested in seeing who inspires other people, especially my twin. Stefanie states, “the very first person to inspire me to paint was Lucy Ford. She was the first one I ever followed on instagram towards art. She showed me that to be successful, it just takes practice and effort. You don’t need school (although it helps) or you don’t need some desk job to bring in a successful income. Sure it’s gonna take some work, but it’s possible. She’s now living in California at the age of 24, living her dream and sharing her art with her fans”. I then proceeded to ask Stef what her best piece of advice would be to someone who is just starting out in art.She expresses, “continue with it! So many times I hear, “but I don’t have that talent, or they’re better than ill ever be. Or I CAN’T do it, so why try?” Well, everyone has to start somewhere, that’s life. If it makes you happy, do it for you! You don’t even need a subject with art, that’s the beauty of it. It just takes practice and time. Also, don’t get discouraged with mistakes. If I’ve learned one thing as an artist, it’s that you need an open mind. Go with your mistakes. People don’t know they’re mistakes”.  I hear you sister, and that is exactly what I did with blogging. I randomly just went for it even though I did know a gd damn thing about it or have never really written too many things before besides a forced essay. It does take time and practice, but go and follow where your heart is telling you. You will honestly be surprised at where you may just find yourself, you could find your calling like I have.

“It’s not who you are that holds you back, it’s who you think you’re not.”

One question that I had wandering at the back of my mind was what interests her to paint certain things, or what is her favourite thing to paint about? Stefanie answers, “I have so many things I love to paint! My style can go from pretty pastel flowers to a vibrant nude female figure, to paintings that have a sexualized, edgy feel. It’s really just whatever captures my interest at that moment in my life. Although I do have to say that acrylic paint is still my favourite to use”.

 

Lastly, I decided to ask Stefanie what her future plans were in regards to her amazing talent and her artwork. Stefanie explains, “my dream is to open up a collection in a gallery someday. I want to go back to school for a general degree, but overall that’s the big plan. To travel across the world to art shows, display my work and encourage others to pursue their dreams”. I think this is a beautiful dream Stef and if you set your mind to it, you can do anything you please to do. I think Stefanie has so much talent that she really could go places, not just as my twin but as a professional artist. If you guys are interested in any of her pieces or having one made just send her or I a message on Instagam and we will sure get back to you guys!

Thanks again Stefanie for collaborating on your beautiful artwork. I really enjoyed showing you beauts my other half, my best friend and my sister. I hope you guys enjoyed reading this post. Let me know what you guys think about these collaborations, and if you enjoy reading them! Be sure to follow Stefanie on Instagram at:

StefanieHotrum

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Much love xo.