Speaking with Artist & Photographer, Melanie Viola

Melanie Viola is a Berlin-based artist and photographer who creates images that are a little different. She combines the two mediums to create stunning, eye-catching art that always impresses.

In our latest Azutura artist interview, we were lucky enopugh to speak to Melanie and discuss her work, her use of colour, her love of travelling and much more.

Hi Melanie, thanks for taking the time to speak to us. Can you start off by introducing yourself and telling us a little about your life and work?

Hi David, it‘s my pleasure!

I live in Berlin, Germany, and my profession started a long time ago as a hobby. I always took a lot of pictures during my travelling, excursions and so on. People often asked me why I don’t sell them. I never seriously thought about it for a long time. Then I bought more and more photographic supplies, carried a lot more cameras, lenses with me and it took me longer to plan my stays for shooting the pictures I was thinking of.

Also, it was a creative diversion to my office job I had. Then I started my first steps to sell images in 2009 and extended it over the years. Since October 2015 I have been a full-time artist.

So what’s an average day like in the life of Melanie Viola?

Well, when I am in Berlin, I have breakfast at about 5:30 am, then after my husband leaves for his job, I work on my computer from 6:00 am to 7:30 pm with some breaks to eat, cuddle with my cats and a walk in the early afternoon to relax. On weekends I start my working day a bit later.

When travelling, I try to get the most out of it with an early start to my planned tours and, if possible, also taking nightscapes. Even if it sounds hard for some people, one has to understand that it is not just a job and I have turned my hobby into my profession. But, I still have the feeling that the day has too few hours and it is hard to tear me away from my creative work!

What came first, your interest in art or photography?

Photography, but at a certain point, I wanted to do more than just photography, so I tried to create art I would myself fancy to have on my walls. That’s how it all began!

Every image I sell I am really proud of. Now, as a full-time artist, I am happy to spend all the time creating the work I do.

How did you learn your two amazing skills in photography and photo manipulation?

I have mastered all these skills through self-study. I read a lot then tried out practically with my cameras and Photoshop. Also, I’ve watched many videos about working with Adobe software.

What kind of kit do you use for photography and editing?

- Canon EOS 5D Mark III

- Canon EOS 5D Mark II

- Canon EOS 7D

- Canon 11-24mm 1:4L USM

- Canon 24-105mm 1:4L IS USM

- Canon 70-200mm 1:2.8L IS II USM

- Canon 8-15mm 1:4L Fisheye USM

- Canon 100mm 2.8L Macro IS USM

- Canon 10-22mm 1:3.5-4.5 IS USM

- Canon Extender 2x III

- Canon Speedlite 430 EX II

- Battery grip

- Manfrotto 055CXPRO3 tripod

- Manfrotto MH054M0-Q5, Ball Head

- Remote release

- Filter Holder NISI 180mm

- Various photographic filters (UV, Pol, ND)

- Screens: EIZO CG 276 and Samsung 27“

- PC: i9-7900X, 10x3.30 GHz, 64 GB RAM

- Laptop: DELL XPS 13 9370 Touch Notebook i7-8550U

- iPad Pro 256 GB (2018) + Apple Pencil

- NAS: Synology DS 1817+

- Software: Adobe Creative Cloud (Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign, Bridge, Fresco), Procreate

You play with colour in such a unique way. Can you tell us a little bit about this?

I am drawn to urban landscape and the lines I find in architecture. I am keen to explore opportunities that will allow me to combine photography and art in the way I feel happy with, without keeping to any rules. What is most important - I am always working with my own photography!

Mostly, my images are the basis of my artwork and then I add graphic and/or paint to it. Sometimes I just use digital shapes, typography and painting to create my art. The results are usually quite colourful and content-intensive.

The opposite is my photography where I favour black and white images. A real challenge for me is to create minimalistic and rather muted-coloured art.

You’ve travelled all over. Where’s your favourite place you’ve been?

That is hard to say! I cannot break it down to one place.

I love the peace and quiet of landscapes like White Sands National Monument and Joshua Tree National Park as well as the shapes of Antelope Canyon in the US, but I also love megacities like New York, Paris or London. There are so many facets to each place to discover.

What about a favourite building?

Well, in NYC there are a lot of cityscapes I fancy. Lower Manhattan skyline with Brooklyn Bridge from Dumbo/Brooklyn, Midtown with Hudson River. I love Flatiron Building and Empire State Building but photos of these single buildings are not allowed to be used for commercial purposes so I just enjoy them privately.

Is there anywhere on your bucket list you haven’t been to yet?

I am very eager to visit Japan, hopefully in the next few years and during cherry blossom would be fantastic! Right now, I am back from Iceland where I wanted to see the northern lights but the weather has not been kind to me so I have to wait and hope to see them on another trip.

Other than travel, what else inspires you?

Music. I love to listen to music when working on my computer, mainly rock and hard rock. Star FM Berlin 87.9 Maximum Rock radio station I can warmly recommend. The one and only!

If you weren’t an artist, what career would you love to pursue?

I cannot think of another profession than being an artist. An exception would be any job which helps animals in need.

What advice would you give to someone looking to pursue a career in art?

Stay focused and have a lot of self-discipline. It is not just being an artist and having fun, you also have to do a lot of “office-work“ like accounting, rights research, market analysis and so on.

You have to set your own goals and keep an eye on your finances as the earnings for independent artists can be very irregular. When not creating any commissioned artworks (like me), you always have to look for new companies/possibilities offering your artworks.

What’s the future looking like? Anything big coming up?

Right now, I am considering the next travel destinations. Also, I am working on a series of new minimalistic artworks with Illustrator and abstract art with Procreate.

This year, I would like to create further exclusive artworks to offer to selected companies. This is a process I’ve been putting off for a couple of years now.