Blogged by: Melbourne Central 27 Apr 2020

Meet Kate Pullen

She's responsible for some of the coolest art in Melbourne Central and ELLA, now watch as Kate Pullen becomes our first featured artist in 'Drawn Together'. Keep an eye out on our Insta to find out how it works!

Let’s start with something important: favourite colour? 
All of the blues! 
 
You’re all about typography - what’s your favourite word to draw? Why? 
This is an impossible question to answer! It's too hard! Instead I'll say that I love uppercase Gs because so often I love script styles with lots of flourishes and boy does an uppercase G deliver!  
 
Who are some of your favourite artists? 
There are many, many, many. Just a tiny snippet: Mike Perry, Erik Marinovich, Jessica Hische, Timba Smits, Jess Cruickshank, Karan Singh, Justine McAllister, George Rose. 
 
Pre-iso, what’s a typical day for you? 
The day usually starts with getting my butt kicked at the gym, or taking my dog Vinnie for a walk. Then I alternate between admin and emails, snacking, drawing (usually on my iPad Pro), snacking, brainstorming future projects, and snacking.  
 
How do you get your creative juices flowing? 
I find that I need to be feeling good as a human to make sure those juices get going; my body is temperamental and demanding and will produce ideas only once it's been watered, fed, and nurtured. I'm joking, but also not. This is v true. Without proper food, good sleep, exercise, chats with other humans, time with my dog and time to reflect, I've got no hope. On top of that, it's all the usual stuff - music, TV, movies, fashion, redecorating my house, going for walks, oh and the shower. Ideas always seem to come to me in the shower.  
 
What are some of your fave pieces you’ve created? 
This is another toughie, because all the artists I know are pretty critical beings (of their own work). But over the last twelve months I have lettered and illustrated a book, and painted three murals that are definitely up there: one in the rural Victorian town of Charlton, one for Australia's first urban art festival Can't Do Tomorrow, and one in a stairwell at Melbourne Central. They're up there because I'm proud of the end result, but also because each posed some pretty big challenges for me and with only moderate drama I made it through!  
 
Do you have any tips for people who want to improve their drawing skills during iso? 
If you're feeling OK and have some motivation, then now is a great time to slow down and draw things you've wanted to but have never had the time to explore. That might be lettering or portraits, still-life drawing or animation. Take advantage of things like Skillshare (which are offering two months of their premium service for free) and learn, and explore, and refine. And these do not have to end up on social media. They don't have to be for anyone else but you. 
 
How do we go about buying some of your art? 
Have a squiz at www.katepullendraws.com/shop. Thanks for your support! 
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