Johanna Olk’s fine line illustrations are eye-catching in their simplicity. Representing mostly women, her illustrations have an ethereal quality to them.
“It’s easier to draw what you know,” explained the French artist in an interview with wertn. “So when I want to illustrate an emotion, it’s natural for me to portray it in a way that looks like me: a woman. That seems more realistic to me. I had a complex about my body for a long time, and drawing women has been a kind of way out of that. I also find women bodies easier to draw, I like their curves. Men have more angles, it’s harder for me to represent them.”
“I used to draw women looking very different and dressing very differently but I am now more interested in emotions and very minimalist images,” she added. “My personal emotions are very linked to my paintings and my characters can look a bit like me.”
She also tattoos some of her work. “I started tattooing my friends for fun and posted it on my Instagram,” she said. “Unknowns then started to want a tattoo as well. That was a bit crazy.”
Take a look at some of her work below.
