P// SARAH EMMA SMITH
Last but by no means least in our awesome line up of artists for this year’s VC X BELL helmets custom project and raffle is the amazing artist Eloise Dorr!
A long time friend and collaborator of VC, Eloise Dorr is one of the skate world’s most loved and well known artists, with her awesome artwork gracing everything from her very own Vans shoe to Stance Socks.
This year’s intricately painted Bell Eliminator helmet by Eloise is absolutely incredible annnnnnnnd if you fancy seeing Eloise live in action we’re so stoked that she’ll coming along to this years CAMP VC event where she’ll be teaching some skateboard painting classes and painting up a giant moto mural in collaboration with DEVITT INSURANCE!
Go follow Eloise on Instagram or check out her website for more of her amazing skills and read on to check out her killer custom paint job on the Bell eliminator helmet and how it was created!
AND DON’T FORGET!…
All 4 of the Bell custom painted helmets are up for grabs at this years sold out Camp VC event where we’ll be raffling them off! So make sure you grab a ticket onsite to be in with a chance to bag one!!!
Where are you from originally and where do you live now?
I was born in Oxford and lived there until I was 18 when I moved to London, been here ever since! Just over 7 years now.
What first got you into painting?
Painting and art in general have always played a part in my life. My dad went to art school when he has younger, I don’t think he ever finished but there’s definitely arty roots in my family. I always had sketchbooks as a kid and loved arts and crafts (pipe cleaners and glitter glue for life). It’s always been about, can’t remember life without painting!
Did you study art?
No qualifications here, just winging it! Haha! I was planning on going to Uni for one of the sciences or maybe maths, but I ended up having to quit my a-levels about a month in because of an illness. Not long after I started a blog for my art to pass the time and I guess the rest is history haha!
How would you describe your style of work?
I’d like to say playful, calm at times and occasionally auto-biographical. I’m not sure what genre it would be so to speak, abstract maybe? I shamefully have no idea haha.
How does your life inspire your work?
My life and experiences heavily inspire and dictate the themes of my work. Most of my pieces are captured from experiences, events or moments I’ve had and wanted to replicate.
Where do you most get your inspiration from?
Skateboarding is my biggest inspiration and I think that shows in my work. Ever since I started skateboarding about 8 years ago I’ve wanted to capture and document the experiences. Although skateboarding is the most prominent, many outdoor activities provide me with inspiration. Nature inspires me immensely, I love love love swimming and being in water, cycling, walking etc. These all contribute to the inspiration pot. Just love being outside!
What do you love the most about having such a hands on job?
I have a lot of energy and I’m pretty fidgety and restless, so I’ve always struggled with a mundane same-every-day kind of job. Being hands on and crafts-y for a career is just a dream. I love to create stuff from scratch, so if I have to sand something down or cut it out with a jigsaw to paint it that’s my favourite kind of work. Love to get my hands dirty!
What object would you love the opportunity to paint that you haven’t painted before?
Maybe a building, a stupidly massive wall would be so fun.
What has been your favourite project you’ve worked on and why?
Maybe painting the mini-ramp at house of vans for a women’s night they had there in 2018, I’d never painted a ramp before and haven’t since, I bloody loved it. Or The Art Camp in 2019, a group of us artists went and painted in South of France at a beautiful resort. We had cocktails and a swim every evening, we all got on really well, it was amazing to connect with so many amazing artists. I’m usually by myself in the studio so it was such a great experience to be around other artists.
What has been the biggest project you’ve ever worked on?
That’s a toughy!! Maybe the Vans global campaign I was involved in recently! That was in the works for about 7 months before it came out if I remember correctly! It was a lot of fun, I’m so stoked on that project.
Tell us all about your awesome Bell Moto 3 helmet design!
Last year for my design I did one image/piece spanning over the whole helmet, so this year I wanted to go in a different direction. I went with an abstract, almost pattern, design. It features lots of little colourful objects scattered over the helmet. I wanted to paint a series of objects that loosely relate to me – like skateboards, plants, my characters etc.
What materials did you use to create the helmet?
I used one shot enamel paints and some thinner, and my usual brushes.
P// SARAH EMMA SMITH
What was the process you used to paint the helmet?
I vaguely planned out which objects I wanted to include before I started, but I mostly freestyled it. First thing I painted was one of the characters, then some plants, and just built from there! I’m still trying to get the hang of enamel paints 4 helmets in haha, they can be tricky!
How long did it take you to create?
It took about 3 or 4 days all in all!
P// SARAH EMMA SMITH
