Haley Wright of Paper + Ink is a freelance illustrator and skateboard designer known for her mesmerizing, magic-realism art. From paper, skateboards, and pocketwatches to large-scale murals, Wright’s work has graced a variety of surfaces and publications since graduating from Vancouver College of Art and Design in 2013. She has also worked with some pretty major brands and companies like La Maison Simons, Lululemon, Urban Decay, Starbucks, Fido Mobile, and Anthropologie, just to name a few. But her largest project to date can be found in Kingswall Mall’s centre court. CHROMA — an ongoing series of installations curated by PARK in collaboration with Oxford Properties — features new work from returning favourites Tyler Lemermeyer, Rhys Farrell, and Michelle Hoogveld. Wright has joined the Edmonton lineup of artists to create an immersive experience of abstract lines, reflective shapes, and colour for an altogether alluring, cosmic installation.

Hayley recently took the time to sit down with us and give us some insight into her experience with #CHROMAYEG and as a creative living in Alberta.

Can you tell us about the process of joining the #CHROMAYEG team and creating your piece?

I designed a piece of art for a PARK invite a few years ago and kept in touch with Kara and Jessie ever since. They reached out to me 3 weeks before the install date and I was immediately onboard. I kind of had an idea of what I wanted to do — I knew the other artists were working with bright colours and geometric shapes, and I wanted to play on that. I didn’t understand the scale of the project until the day the pillars were installed. Even with the measurements and 3D renderings, it didn’t hit me until I saw the space. I approached the design the same way as I approach my skateboards. I can see the design coming together in my mind before I lay it out, which was how I looked at these pillars. I must have stared at them for like an hour before I could start to see the swirls and colours come to life. This was also my first mural and the biggest project I have ever done. It took a total of 6 days and approximately 90 hours, but it was so worth it.

How would you explain the concept of CHROMA and your piece?

CHROMA is an interactive art space and by that I mean instead of going to a gallery to view art, it brings art to the people. It almost interrupts your daily life because you have to be part of it. For my installation, people have to walk through it which is what I love most about it. CHROMA allows people to experience something that they might not have otherwise found themselves — you might not even have an interest in it until you are there. My CHROMA pillars change from every single direction. You can’t experience the whole space of it without walking around the entire thing. Even going to the second level and seeing it from above changes the way it looks.

At what point in your life did you decide you were going to pursue art as a career?

I’ve been making art since I could hold a pencil. I used to paint watercolours of Berenstain Bears. As I got older, I knew I wanted to pursue art but I had this belief that it was an unrealistic goal. I went to university to pursue a bachelor of fine arts but I started to get really nervous and wasn’t sure if it was very practical. After three years, I transferred to fashion marketing and merchandising. While I was there, we had to take a class in fashion illustration and it was the first time I learned that two things I loved so much could be combined. Before I had been painting landscapes and still-life — which was honestly really boring — but tackling portraiture made me fall in love with art again. No matter what happens, I’m always going to have art. It’s a constant in my life, even if there comes a day when I no longer pursue it professionally.

What was it like when you realized there were so many opportunities available to you?

I had no idea so many opportunities existed. I always pictured the career of an artist as having paintings in a gallery. I haven’t achieved that, but there is so much more out there. You can work on smaller-scales projects with local businesses, and a lot of larger companies are realizing that working with creative people adds a different element to their branding and can lead to more innovative ideas. I’m so thankful that I’ve been able to work with a lot of different brands who have seen the value in collaborating with artists.

What is your routine like when working on a project?

My routine changes depending on the project. If it is a larger collaborative piece with a brand and company, than I will make and follow guidelines and deadlines for myself. When it’s just me in my studio, it is more of a relaxed experience. I need to feel inspired before I can get excited to work on a piece, so I usually spend a few hours during the day doing that.

How did you get inspired for CHROMA?

I was inspired as soon as I got off the initial call with Kara. I didn’t need any motivation to say yes. I have gotten good at understanding what will be a productive use of my time or result in a great finished product, and I knew it was an opportunity I couldn’t say no to. I’ve followed PARK for a long time and I know the level of quality that goes into their work and events, so I knew CHROMA wouldn’t disappoint. The first few days of being in the space were overwhelming but I had a lot of coffee to keep me going. It was around day three that everything had been painted and I started to focus on the details. I was able to see where it was all going and knew everything would work out in the end. Opening night was the first time I saw the pillars and floor altogether without any equipment or curtains in the way. I’m so proud of how it turned out, especially in the short amount of time I had to work on it.

How did you create all of the detailing on the pillars?

I approached the detailing the same way as my skateboards. My favourite thing is working with mixed materials and techniques that you might not normally find. It’s why the Skateboard Collective was so successful when it first began. There is paint marbling and paint drips, which I’ve always loved, and all the colours are pulled from the four main, contrasting colours on the floor — which Rhys designed. Everything ties back to those four colours in as many ways as possible. To give the space some opulence, I brought in opal vinyl which I’ve used before a lot. I think it adds a whole other dimension to the piece.

Can you tell us more about the Skateboard Collective?

I started it in the summer of 2016. I was 25 at the time and in a funny place in my art career. I enjoyed what I was doing but a painting just lives on a wall. I wanted to bring my work out of the 2D world and into the 3D world. I had been searching for ideas and nothing was really clicking. When I was in Kelowna on a vacation, I saw so many cool skateboarders hanging out downtown. I was watching them move around and after a quick look at their decks, I got really inspired. There used to be a big focus on having custom skateboards, and a lot of importance was placed on the artwork at the bottom of your board. But as skateboards started to become mass-produced, the focus on the artwork faded into the background. I wanted to bring that creativity back. After I came home from that trip, I made my first skateboard and a hundred more after that.

How has your artwork evolved as you’ve grown over the years?

I’ve noticed that my artwork adapts to the phase of life I’m in. When I look back at my past artwork, I can tell what I was going through. Some periods are more somber or peaceful or curious than others. I’ve always been interested in pushing my limits and experimenting. As soon as I get an idea, I put 100% into it. Whether it is skateboards, which turned into a whole business or experimenting on a series of pocketwatch paintings. Experimenting with different surfaces and tools has definitely helped me grow a lot. While my subject matter hasn’t really changed that much, I like to keep it fresh in other ways.

Is your artwork inspired by Alberta’s creative art scene?

Definitely! I moved here from Toronto about seven years ago, and I had no idea how big and supportive the art scene and creators were going to be here. What is nice about Edmonton specifically is you can be noticed and celebrated for what you are doing — you don’t get lost amongst the crowd as you would in Toronto or Montreal or Vancouver. Alberta has such a good and strong focus on the art community, and there are always tons of markets, shows, and events happening. I think it’s really evolved a lot in the past few years.

If there a project you haven’t made that you really want to make? Or an artist you would love to collaborate with?

There are definitely more people and brands that I want to work with than single projects. Emily Jeffords is an American artist who creates these abstract, watercolour landscapes and I would love to collaborate with her to do some portraiture over one of her pieces. I think the best projects are the ones you don’t see coming — like CHROMA. I’ll just see what comes my way and I’m sure it will be great.