Artist Showcase : ♥ @OAKANDBINDI

When we first discovered Lydia of @Oakandbindi, we couldn't believe our luck!

A Visual Design Communication graduate from Temasek Poly, we were drawn to her clean, colourful and playful illustrations and became immediate fans. We just knew she had to be our next spotlighted Artist Showcase. So we got in touch with her on her interest in doing up a wall mural at Orchard 22, received a very positive "YES OF COURSE", and a month and 4 long nights later, our dreams became a reality.

Earlier this week, we invited Lydia down to our studio for first dibs from our upcoming online collection (yes - we're finally coming online!), and also for a little interview...




First off - AWESOME tan! How'd you get that?

Hi Rockstar! I got it from swimming! I do that quite a lot. There was a period of time I used to BAKE in the sun. Anytime I was free I would just go tanning...


How did you get started on illustration? Were there any big influences in your life?

I've been drawing since I was a kid and it was just my thing. I loved doing it and it was what I did best so I just stuck with it.

Lazy Oaf is my absolute favorite illustration led brand. Jon Knox does really great work - I am ashamed of not having owned any of his sculpts yet. @TRIPPERD on Instagram has killer style as well.




Tell us more us your painting process at Rockstar.

The entire mural took about 28 hours to finish. (Rockstar : She took 4 days!)

It went on layer by layer - so base color of the wall, then base color of the graphics, finished with black outlines.

The whole painting process was super smooth though. I was just generally very excited about doing it because it’s not everyday you get to paint a mural right… (laughs). Plus the wall was literally an open brief, there was no guideline or theme I had to follow. If you’re an artist or designer you’d TOTALLY know what it feels like when a client gives you a free reign on a project — it’s pure joy.

I had a lot of help with the mural too - Jabez, Elie & Deon were my extra hands! I told them I'd mention them - so there!

I was too concentrated on my painting most of the time to notice if anyone was really checking out my work, but my namecards were gone super fast. I had to top up everyday! A couple of kind people came up to me and said good things about the mural, too. It was nice.




Any new doors opened since your mural session with us?

My instagram doors opened. @oakandbindi #follow4follow #jk


Describe your everyday style and your current style obsession.

Recently I’ve been getting the memo to wear black. Otherwise it’s usually denim shorts, a white top, a necklace with a small gold pendant, rings, a watch and AF1s. My current style obsession is @Krystalboydpriest. She is cool. Australians are cool.


Which was your favorite piece of clothing from us?

The white top with jersey-striped sleeves! It’s clean & fresh. Super easy to match.





What can we expect to see from you next?

A couple of murals lined up next month and more projects with Tell Your Children - It's an illustration collective I’m part of with 3 of my amazing artist friends — Russell, Kevin & Deon. We've got upcoming collaborations with Chijmes and The Redundant Shop and we're gonna be holding our second exhibition soon so it’s all super exciting and fun. YAY.


Thanks for being such a sport, Lydia!

If you haven't already, head down to Rockstar at Orchard 22 to check out our ARTIST SHOWCASE featuring Lydia's tropical illustrations.