Artist Interview - Sasha Lupine (Pt.1)

Welcome to our newest delightful, and mysterious artist friend, Sasha Lupine who has well and truly turned the fairy lights ON for Flick Solitaire. Sasha, a 20-year old student from Russia is a super experimental and driven artist in love with illustration. Currently studying Industrial Design at Uni we all love her cute and cheery Christmas Deck. We think our Sasha and her deck are splendidly unique! Find out what Sasha had to say when she took part in our very festive interview.

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Congratulations!  You are the creator of the first ever Flick Solitaire Christmas Deck! Do tell us all, you must be a MASSIVE fan of Christmas?  What does Christmas mean to you? 🎄
-Thanks! Christmas actually means to me a lot. It is a kind of starting point after which I can take stock of my year, analyse my life and set goals for the coming year. It is also an incredibly cozy and cute holiday when you spend time with the whole family. In Russia we celebrate New Year a lot more than Christmas (which is celebrated on 7th January and is a more religious holiday), so our New Year is a way more close to your Christmas :-)

Have you started any Christmas shopping? 🛍️
- I have! It's kinda a ritual for me! All the garlands, Christmas trees and cute socks drive me crazy in a good way haha. I can't stop from buying festive goodies.

What is your least favourite part about Christmas? 🎁
- Hmm, I think it's the weather - it can be really cold, like -30 degrees outside (not every year, but sometimes), and I am a fan of more warmer winters. Also this year there will be almost no Christmas events in my city because of the pandemic, so it's sad too. 

Any favourite Christmas song? 🎶
- I really love the song "Last Christmas" - it instantly transfers me to the Christmas atmosphere!

You call Russia home - what are the favourite parts about your country?
- I am madly in love with the nature of my country - Russia is so huge that here you can visit the warm sea, climb the mountains, and visit the taiga, and on glaciers, and in many other places. For example, not far from my city are the Ural Mountains - an insanely beautiful territory where gems were once mined. Russia is a huge territory for research, and despite the fact that I do not really share the policy of Russia as a state now, I will always love the nature of this country.

What is the most unique thing about yourself? 👩‍🎨
- Hmm I don't think there is something unique about me haha.. But maybe I can do more than three things at the same time - for example, read a book, listen to a lecture and draw, while remembering the meaning of everything I saw and heard. I can also sleep more than 15 hours a day and still not get enough sleep. I'm a big fan of sleep ahahah.

When did you stop believing in Father Christmas? 🎅
- In Russia Father Christmas is called "Ded Moroz" which means Grandfather Frost and I stopped believing in him at the age of six when I found my letter to him in my mom's closet (which she said she had already sent by post right to him haha!)

Tell us about the traditional ways you celebrate Christmas in Russia? 😃
- In Russia, we have a very strong tradition of visiting, so for the New Year we usually gather with families or friends, prepare a huge table on which there are usually an insane amount of salads and snacks (dressed herring, and others). And for the whole week of holidays, we eat up everything that we have cooked, and also go to visit others and help them eat up too (haha).

- We don't have a tradition of cooking turkey or put gifts in socks. We just put them under the Christmas tree :-)

What does a cosy night-in look like in your world? 🌎
- I think it's a warm summer night, perhaps on the seashore or on the water. Warm light wind, singing of crickets and a starry sky that will soon be replaced by a bright pink dawn.

What is your wish for Christmas this year? 💖
- I will wish not to give up and always go towards my goals. Next year, I would like to develop more as an illustrator and be sure to visit new places. I would love to visit Europe, because of the amazing architecture and huge history.

Is it too early for New Year resolutions?  Surely Not?!  Have you made any yet? 🌟
- I think my New Year's resolutions will be to learn Spanish and improve my English, especially speaking. I would also like to travel at least three times a year and probably buy a new iPad :-)

Bath or shower? 🚿
- Definitely bath. I can spend hours there just thinking about my life and listening to music haha.

Thank you for helping us make the best Solitaire game out there! How did you find working with the team?  Were there any challenges in creating your very Christmassy festive deck? 🎊
- I really enjoyed working on this project! The funny thing is that I was thinking about creating a Christmas series of illustrations and just a couple of days later I received an offer to draw a deck. I won't say that I had serious difficulties, but the style in which I drew was close to children's illustration - and I tried a lot for the first time, since I don't draw animals very often. It was a very big step towards development and it will help me in the future.

What part of your own drawings do you want to work on for 2021? 🎨
- I would like to expand the topic and do web, book illustration, create more full-body illustrations with several characters, perhaps do object illustration - draw not only people, but also plants, animals, décor, patterns.

Real or fake Christmas tree? 🎄
- Oh, both have their advantages and disadvantages, but I would probably go with the fake one which will last for many years. Despite all the beauty of real trees, it is better to pick a couple of branches for the scent than ruin an entire tree for one holiday week. It is very sad to look at the fallen Christmas Trees that dozens of them are thrown out into the street after the New Year. I can enjoy the beauty of real trees just by going to the forest :-)

Coloured or white fairy lights? ✨
- I used to love coloured ones, but now I you made me think and I  would probably choose white lights, now they seem to me more aesthetic and minimalist

Get FLICKING festive and download Sasha’s Christmas Deck

Part II of our interview out in early 2021!