Meni Chatzipanagiotou, or Menis Art as she's known, is a full-time illustrator and graphic design graduate based in Northern Greece. She specialises in fully hand-drawn pieces, mainly using black pen, but she loves experimenting with different techniques and materials. Meni's artwork features a range of botanical aesthetics to form elements of surrealism.

Q: When did you know that you would be an artist?

A: My interest in art started when I was very little but I never imagined being an artist.

Only when I was studying Graphic Design, I found my way to illustration and through different art projects, lead me to realize that this is what I wanted to do for the rest of my life.

Q: Who are your inspirations, not just artists?

A: Life, people, nature in general and everything that is around us, both good and bad.

Books and poems hold great inspiration for me, as they open different worlds for me to dive in and spark up new thoughts and ideas.

Concerning artists, I am really fascinated by the Renaissance period, both painters and sculptors. The list is quite long.

Q: What's your favourite part of working with this medium?

A: There are two things that I am most grateful (favourite) for:

One, is patience. As much as time-consuming inking may be. It has taught me to have patience with my art, my clients and generally in my every day life.

Secondly, I am grateful to say that I do a profession that I love and admire. That each project and artwork is different, unique and interesting. That my work is not a routine of tasks and that has allowed me to grow conceptually as a person.

Q: A genie springs from a bottle, what are your three wishes?

A: More autumn and winter please. Health and happiness. More time to create and enjoy life.

Q: You aren't an artist, what are you doing instead?

A: I can’t even imagine not being an artist, but I think it would have something to do with nature.

Q: Finally, any advice for aspiring artists?

A: Be original and innovative. Create the work you want to create and not the work you think will please others. Remember that no one is born perfect, with practice, lots of effort and hard work you can reach your dreams. But most of all have fun!