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Alexia Hemingway and the Original SelfClicker Series

By Dawn Dubriel

Alexia Hemingway has such style! I came across her works during the days of MySpace, and just fell in love with her eye-popping colors, organic line work, and artistic manner in which she draws people. After complimenting her on her work via MySpace, she invited me to her SelfClicker series exhibit in Delray Beach, hosted by Neil Ramsay aka ArtMouth. Alexia is even more of a sweetheart in person, and we became good friends. Looking back to her SelfClicker show, it is now apparent she just may have been the inventive predecessor for the concept of the “Selfie” as her artworks are of people snapping their own photos.

Interestingly, she uses sharpie markers and watercolor pencils to create such innovative art! Her SelfClickers series started back in 1997 since she always was fascinated with how people enjoy taking pictures of themselves. “SelfClicker is a word I made up prior to the word "selfie" becoming a term!” says Hemingway. When asked how she goes about selecting the people to draw, she replies, “I look at many pictures and one will pop out and I must capture it! Not all photos of people are art but when I find one that is, I use patterns and bright colors to accentuate my subject.”

Hemingway received formal training at Arizona State University for drawing, but is self-taught as a painter. Her favorite, influential painters are Paul Gauguin, Vincent VanGogh, Toulouse Lautrec, and Picasso. She loves the colors from Gauguin and VanGogh, the graphic design of Lautrec, and composition of Picasso. Yet, clearly she has found and developed her own style. Her pallet is bright and bold and often full of patterns.

Since the days of SelfClicker, she has returned to college full time for graphic and web design. This changed her direction from only showing her work in galleries. Yet, she knew she needed training to better showcase her art by creating her own books and websites. She moved to Dallas to sell to private collectors, and then moved to Connecticut where she currently resides. Recently, she created a piece of art for the Hartford Bushnell, a venue for performing arts.

She sells her paintings and drawings via her new screen-printing business and offers t-shirts, tote bags, paper, and wood with her designs and art. She is also currently working on children's books - one is in 3D! Art is always part of her daily life yet she is never certain what will be next, but is happy as long as she is sharing her work, her passion. The internet is a place that expands the world so artists like Alexia can have collectors anywhere, and that is exciting to her. For more information about the art of Alexia Hemingway, please visit her website: www.alexiahemingwaydesign.com