Eloise Dörr, just 18 and originally from Oxfordshire, likes drawing and skating, in case you couldn’t tell from her awesome skate-laced artwork [check the full gallery at the end of the feature]. She’s currently got a show going on at Tom’s Skate Shop in Stoke Newington; here’s her story

As a kid I was pretty quiet and weird, probably still the same now haha. I always liked drawing and painting. Before I properly started drawing music was my main hobby, especially piano which I still play but art kind of took over everything else.

I can’t really remember a time when I wasn’t painting and drawing. I’ve always had sketchbooks I would work through since I was a tiny. But I only properly starting doing it as something I wanted to pursue for the long term around three years ago.

Art was always the subject I invested most of my time into and I guess I excelled in it more than other subjects in school. I always did it because I enjoyed it though so it was never painful, only paint-ful hahaha (sorry).

I used to get artist’s block quite a lot but I haven’t had it in about a year or so. I hate having a blank piece of paper with a blank brain, it’s really frustrating, but recently I got to know my brain and the way it works pretty well so I don’t really have an issue with it anymore. Keeping a stock of books on my favourite artists and favourite video parts is a good tool if I find myself a bit lost.

I listen to music most of the time when I’m drawing. I’m a bit of a die-hard Blondie fan, but I listen to a lot of different music when I draw. I really like drawing to Jill Scott and Lauryn Hill or Tribe Called Quest. Something easy to help the thought process!

I’m a ye olde artist, I don’t like drawing on the computer. All my stuff is hand drawn and scanned in, I like doing it that way, it feels more personal. I do like a few digital artists but just not me as one haha. I want to make things like t-shirts and maybe board graphics and the like in the future, and I don’t want to learn all the computer drawing stuff to be able to do that. Ideally I want to do it mostly in crayon so I’m gonna try to find a way to make that work haha.

I’ve been skating for coming up to a year or so, so not long. What drew me in is how edgeless it is. I don’t really like doing things that have a strict right and wrong way of doing them for too long, I get bored too easily. But in skateboarding it’s like a whole different thing to each skater, everyone has their own way of doing it and can decide exactly what their own version of it is and I like that a lot, it’s personal and just feels very innocent. And a bit of concrete to the butt every now and again is good for the soul.

The show at Tom’s Skateshop is thanks to fellow artist Leon Karssen who knows Tom. He sent Tom a link to my blog and my email address then Tom emailed me asking if I wanted to exhibit there, and a week later it’s all up and running! I’m so stoked about it. I’ve always wanted to do an art show, I think I’m gonna be stoked about it forever haha. So shout out to those guys! I really like the store it’s got a real friendly vibe to it, Tom’s done a five star job. It’s my new local since I moved and I’m chuffed that it is.

I moved to East London around two weeks ago and I am so happy that I did! I’ve always loved London and always wanted to live here. It’s very difficult to get bored here which I like!

I’d also like to mention my dog. His name’s Ralph and he’s a lil shit. Love him though. Thanks!

Here’s a gallery of Eloise’s rad ass work: