Mari Anna Rexhausen Portfolio

Welcome to my world.  A lot of my work is so personal I feel that I cannot be subtracted from the equation so this is why I want to show you me in the form of self-portraits, before showing you my work.   I've recently started working with photoshop and seeing myself as a digital character makes me feel like I'm staring in an animated version of my life.  I hope you like my "film". I share a lot of my work on Instagram and enjoy being part of a world-wide art community.  It is however interesting how often people presume to know what I am like because of my art.  Maybe we all jump to conclusions and make assumptions based on appearances only.  Maybe we classify art in the same way as we classify people without taking the time to look beyond the obvious.

Being stuck inside for 3 months really starts to take a toll on your mental health. Not being able to get out and hang out with your friends is sad. Talking on the phone just isn't the same as getting a hug in person. So you end you feeling quite alone with your thoughts and feelings. Feelings will eventually build up. You feel like you have to let it all out, but you're stuck looking at the same walls every day. The only real escape I have anymore is drawing. So I ended up drawing this piece, it expresses how much I feel trapped and want out.

I am a big fan of the artist Melanie Martinez.  She is the voice of my generation and uses her art art form of music to perfectly express what I feel about the role of women in society and the entertainment industry.   I often listen to musical soundtracks while I draw and really love "Heathers" which started off as an iconic movie from the 1980s.  The girls who seemed so sweet and innocent at the beginning of the story turn out to be capable of everything but only with matching accessories.

This is how I imagine the character Pearl from the Stevens Universe series.  I've tried her with different expressions and poses in preparation for going 3D with her.

Even though this series is over a year old I want to share it with you as it is the only example I have of my art being based on an existing image.  All my other drawings come straight out of my imagination.  I now have pink hair but still have two different coloured eyes.

This is the kind of drawing that freaks my Mom out.  When she saw this one she thought it was a self-portrait but in fact I drew it after hearing that my best friend was giving up her dreams of modelling as her parents are so deeply religious they will not allow her to even wear shorts.  I have depicted her parents as the hand pulling her hair and the bruises the external expression of what she feels like on the inside every time she is made to conform to their standards.    If you check out my Insta account, you'll find a number of pictures of "suggestive" and "damaged" women.   Women often get objectified. This has always been an issue in our world. We're seen as objects to look at. Thats exactly what people might see in my drawings: an attractive woman in a suggestive outfit and in a suggestive position. I get a lot of comments over my art, a lot of people think they must know what I'm like because of my drawings and because of that they make as...

I'm very inspired by mythology and enjoy watching documentaries about the fantasy and spiritual realm.  I have named this picture "Fallen Goddess"  and have chosen the royal colour purple for her hair and green for the grass she and her snakes rose from.  Her third eye is wide-open signifying that although she is fallen she is still connected to the invisible realm.   (Copic markers and coloured pencils were used for this piece.)

I really enjoy painting on clothes. This is my most recent piece: " Cry Baby".  I created a type of logo key-visual for the front of the hoodie as this is usually where brands stick their logos.   My key-visual is a neon pink upturned eyeball weeping.  My inspiration came from the late rapper Lil Peep who had the words "Cry Baby" tattooed on his forehead.  On the back of the hoodie I have interconnected the key-visuals to create a wallpaper effect which has been framed.   This represents all the fans mourning over his death by drug overdose. (I used fabric paint for this artwork)

The small image below this text depicts "Kuromi" and "My Melody", two Sanrio characters.  Sanrio created the iconic Hello Kitty character and these are two of her friends.   I asked myself what they would look like as humans and this resulted in a type of reverse-cartoon-characterisation.   In my first "reverse characterisation" each are holding their cartoon selves as soft toys.   Sanrio is a Japanese company so the fashion styling is inspired by Japanese street fashion.  In my next two pieces I have reverted to the familiar head-gear to ease the identification with their original selves. The materials used were: Copic markers and coloured pencils image source:  https://i.pinimg.com/originals/7b/20/f4/7b20f405c6cde74a4a2c6793a8ef77e3.jpg

These three sketches belong to a series I started last year in which I connect colours to emotions. The first drawing is of the feeling of jealousy represented by the colour green. The second picture in blues and purples depicts depression. And lastly the third drawing shows passionate desperation represented by the colours red and orange.  (For these the drawings I used a mix of Copic markers and coloured pencils.) Sometimes a head sketch inspires a full body character as you can see below: (For these the drawings I used a mix of Copic markers and coloured pencils.)

This sketch is called " Arrow Head". I t depicts a boy with, as the title suggests, an arrow through his head. His expression though isn't one of pain, but rather of joy. This is supposed to show how people learn to mask how they really feel rather than being honest for fear of being an outcast in society. (I only used a pencil for this sketch.)

This fawn girl is a visualisation of my character in the role-playing game "Dungeons and Dragons". We both have pink hair but that is where the similarity ends! (i used Copic markers and coloured pencil for this drawing.)

I probably spend most of my creative time drawing but I also enjoy designing and making jewellery and clothes. When I wear my art I can experience the effect it has on people.  Also when I have made pieces for friends it has been exciting for me to see my art being combined with their looks giving my art a new life.

This piece started as an absentminded scribble on one of my maths worksheets in class.  One of my best friends liked it so much she requested it as a birthday present.  I obviously couldn't give her my school work and as I had just got a tablet for digital art this piece became my very first photoshop illustration.  My friend named her birthday present " Bad Trip" .

I designed this "Pink Succubus" for the web comic "Lore Olympus" which depicts greek gods in modern day life.  For this I tried a new technique shading first of all in grey and only adding the colour after the shading was completed.  (Made in photoshop.)

In many ways my customisation of dolls incorporates all my current art forms: illustration, costume and jewellery design and characterisation. I grew up with a now discontinued line of dolls called "Monster High".  I reimagine and redesign the original characters but go further than just giving them a facelift or character update.  I sew new costumes, restyle their hair and paint entirely new faces on them.  Below you can see the original Clawdeen, above her new style including facial piercings for which I used gold wire. I used acrylic paints and clear gloss for her expression and make-up. Clawdeen before cutomising. image source:  https://i.pinimg.com/originals/8b/3c/b8/8b3cb8a37b7c16ddc648f26bf5cf0ffc.jpg

This is what the doll looked like before. image source:  https://media.mattel.com/root/Images/MainImage/bjm19_monster_high_creepateria_draculaura_doll_xxx.jpg To me customising dolls isn't just changing the dolls look, it is also about going against the norm. We are all used to seeing the cute, sparkling pink Barbie dolls. This cookie cutter view of women is not representative of all women. We come in so many different shapes and styles. We're more than just happy, social butterflies... So I gave the doll an entirely new vibe. She now embodies all things grunge and goth. Although the doll line already took a lot of inspiration from goth culture, I took it to the next level. With this doll I sewed the outfit, made the jewellery, made the shoes, painted her face on and styled her hair. (Fabric, sewing supplies, chains and acrylic paint were used.) THIS BEST DEMONSTRATES WHY I WANT TO DO A FOUNDATION COURSE AT MMU. This piece incorporates...