If you consider yourself a true Melbournian then you've probably been fortunate enough to have caught a glimpse of one of the many chromatic pieces executed by the madly talented artist known as Mishap.

Expression through art is just second nature to the graff veteran, applying inspiration from Hip Hop influences and everyday realness to form pieces where each and every individual creation is genuinely made with nothing but love.

Between painting, crafting custom jewellery, conduction workshops and hosting an upcoming solo exhibition, Mishap may just be one of the hardest working Honeys in the game, plus she even had time to do a collab with us here at Sole Finess, so read up and make sure to get to know the leading lady behind your favourite pieces around the way.

Can you please tell us a little bit about your background and what drives your creativity?

I was born in boring suburban bayside town called Mount Eliza (next to Frankston), and I guess the lack of stimulation, realness and creativity that I felt surrounded me, turned out to be the one driving force that made me go out and get more. In my early twenties I travelled the world and while in India I started sketching graffiti characters and writing Mishap. Using art to express a feeling of discontentment was huge for me growing up. I still use it in the same way. It’s my therapy.

Was art something that came naturally or has it just kind of evolved with you?

It came naturally, and has evolved. I was always a crafty kid, but when I painted my first canvas when I was an early teenager… that changed my life.

Did you find that getting into graffiti, especially as a female to be challenging at any point?

I think a lot of people would assume so. I hear a lot of girls talk about how they find it difficult to get involved in any male dominated scene, but from my experience I would say most male writers are generally supportive if you get along and are into the same thing. Everything I know about spray painting I learnt either on my own or from a dude teaching me their tricks so I thought that was pretty gracious of them.

Do you think that there’s still some hesitation from females out there who want to make it into the graffiti world?

Yeah I’d say so because graffiti appears to be such a masculine thing at first, and it’s hard to know where to start or even where to paint if you don’t know anyone else doing it. A lot of boys grow up tagging walls so they already have that foundation and people they can go out and paint with so maybe it’s not such a big transition into doing murals if they want to go that route.

The characters in your work are often the main feature, would you consider this somewhat your style?

It wasn’t my intention but I guess yeah, it has become that a bit. I’m also doing more illustrative and portrait stuff these days to push myself and break out of just that one style though.

Do you remember one of the first pieces you did?

Yup! It was on the rooftop of Rose Street Market in Fitzroy with Simz. It was my first big legal mural and and I had to use a brush for the outlines because I couldn’t spray it!

What’s been your most memorable?

The one that comes to mind was at the mandrills enclosure at Melbourne Zoo. The zookeeper was so overwhelmed that she burst into tears when she saw the waterfall/sunset/rainforest I painted over the grey wall. When the animals came back in and they just sat back and stared at it for a long time like they were staring out into nature. So cool.

We love that Hip Hop has such an influence in your work, could we assume this about your life too?

Yeah I guess so. Hip Hop head through and through. I guess this is what got me from doing art to doing graff in the first place.

Tell us how Def Lab came about and what made you want to expand further into jewellery?

I’m just constantly getting bored and wanting to try new mediums. I had some dope ideas for high quality jewellery that was really Hip Hop oriented so I just started trying to make them.

You taught yourself how to make jewellery; this must have taken a lot patience to master on your own?

I learnt some techniques through doing a short jewellery course, but for the most part am self taught. I just treated it like learning any other medium. It was often frustrating and hard but it’s all part of the fun of trying something new.

When you have time to chill from work, how is it usually spent?

Playing with my dog Dilla, gardening, chilling with mates, drinking beer, drinking coffee, eating, procrastinating.

Are there any upcoming projects that you would like to share with us?

I have a solo show coming up in November where I’ll be painting and decking out a whole warehouse space in Fitzroy. In conjunction with that, I’m running a workshop there where I’ll show techniques I use for making canvases (such as spray painting, stencilling etc)

What would say is the best thing about being able to do what you love?

Being able to sleep in and manage my time how I want and listen to music all day every day.

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