in conversation with: Juni

We caught up with the Swedish artist Juni for our latest interview. Juni spoke to Renouveau Media about her artistic path, her creative process and her accomplishments.

Iuliana: Hi Juni! How are you? Thank you for your time today! Let’s start off by introducing yourself. How would you describe your personality in three words?
Juni: Hello, I’m good thank you! My name is Saga, on social media I use Juni. I’d say three words that describes me would be confident, extroverted and very much a procrastinator.

Iuliana: How did you start on this artistic path, and which artists have influenced your art over the years?
Juni: I’ve loved drawing since I was a kid, but I’d say my “real” artistic path really started at the beginning of 2018 when I tried painting digitally for the first time. I downloaded some drawing app on my dad’s old iPad and found it so fun I just started painting every day on it. I had also just started my Juni.artist account on Instagram, which was also very motivating to keep practicing regularly since I wanted to keep posting new art.
Keely Elle was a big inspiration for me to actually start my art account, I looked up to her a lot! Two other artists I’ve admired for a long time are Mags Monroe and Audra Auclair.

Iuliana: How would you describe your visual style, and what was the process like, finding your own voice as an artist?
Juni: I usually paint portraits and I love painting skin with rough textures! I think your style is something that comes naturally when you create and look at art regularly. I see most development in my skills and style when I’ve had a lot of free time to focus on only creating art. I also like to study my favorite artists and really point out to myself what elements of their art it is that I’m so drawn to!

Iuliana: Can you speak about your process coming up with and creating an illustration?
Juni: I have a few ways to go about starting a painting. I either see a photo I like and recreate it in my style. Or I’ll have an idea that I collect reference and inspiration photos for. If I can’t find a good photo or if I have a specific idea I’ll take photos of myself or my friends. Or I’ll just paint from my imagination.
I tend to start out with a sketch if the painting is more complicated and I need to plan it out. But I think painting without a sketch before is more fun since I can be more messy with it. I like to begin with pretty neutral grayish colors, and then build up saturation and value as I go. I’ll introduce rougher textures from the very beginning, I think the final piece gets a more organic feel that way, rather than if I just add texture at the end. My favorite part is to add small details near the end, such as highlights on the eyes, or little skin details. It instantly makes the whole painting look more complete and alive! By the end I like to adjust the color and value of the whole piece to finish it up! I usually spend 4-10 hours on a painting.

Iuliana: What is your creation that makes you most proud?
Juni: This is a painting I’m really proud of, I really took my time with the details and I think it paid off!

Iuliana: What would you say is your strongest ability as an illustrator?
Juni: Hard question! I would probably say color theory and color picking, I think that’s what I’ve improved most on these last couple of years!

Iuliana: What types of creative projects do you enjoy working on?
Juni: This year I’ve done a few gallery shows, which was something pretty new to me. It was very fun and I’m excited to do more exhibitions in the future! Lately I’ve also gotten more into graphic design and making designs for apparel, which is also something I’ll definitely continue doing!

Iuliana: What’s one thing you want to accomplish this year?
Juni: My advice would be to go out and try many different mediums and styles! It’s always great to have a bit of knowledge about a wide range of techniques and it’s so fun to try new things out!

Iuliana: Do you have any advice for illustrators just starting out?
Juni: My advice would be to go out and try many different mediums and styles! It’s always great to have a bit of knowledge about a wide range of techniques and it’s so fun to try new things out!

Follow Juni on Instagram here.