Liamme juggles his days and nights between working in retail, studying, and creating art. One of many artists trying to balance his professional and creative lifestyle, Liamme elaborates on the process.

When did you first start drawing?

I first started drawing when I was 7 years old. My earliest memory was my uncle showing me Dragon Ball Z drawings that my cousin did and wanted to give to me. From that age onwards until my early teens I was obsessed with drawing anime characters. I spent a significant amount of time drawing Yugi-Oh and Full Metal Alchemist characters.

An artist’s chosen medium says a lot about their work; what is it about pen and paper that speaks to you?

I love how simple pen and paper is, but I also enjoy how even though it’s simple you can observe a natural progression throughout your artworks. It’s a type of art that is very immediate in nature, but can be very complex at the same time.

The subject matter of your work ranges from figurative female forms to sneakers. What would you say are your biggest influences artistically?

People always ask me why I gravitate towards drawing figurative female forms. I suppose it’s always because I’ve always valued the idea of females being badasses who do their own thing. I’m also heavily influenced by music cover art—specifically what Jason Jagel did on MF DOOM’s albums. I think it’s really cool that he created a cover that very much suited DOOM’s raw organic but cartoon sound. I also have the biggest appreciation for basketball and NBA culture. That’s how I first started getting into drawing sneakers, I was drawing my favorite basketball players shoes.

You draw sneakers but do you collect them as well? 

Yeah I do. For now my favourite would have to be the silver bullets because I’ve wanted them for such a long time. I also enjoy my Chrome 8’s. I love how the shoe looks with the bunny ears and it looks so clean with the chrome colourway.

What sneaker would you love to get your hands on to sketch?

That’s a tough one but I’d have to say the Nike x Atmos, Free/Free Traill 5.0. The reptilian textures on the upper look so good. I’d go crazy on that!

Do current trends in street culture impact how you approach your art?

You could say that. I specifically enjoy how music, art, and fashion can all be paired to complement each other. I feel like I gravitate towards how multiple artists from all three fields can develop a product that can highlight everyone’s own form of expressiveness.

You’re a young artist, do you find yourself in a situation where there  are two sides your life? Like a professional to get by and then the creative?

I’m currently in the process of finishing my university degree. I’m studying something that is completely unrelated to my art, so it makes it difficult when you want your creative hustle to eventually turn into your professional hustle. Time management and really dedicating certain hours to certain things helps me get things done. I like to knock out the projects that are not related to my art out of the way first, so that I can ensure that I spend most of my time trying to be creative.

So what’s next? Do you have any new projects in the pipeline for the future?

At this stage, I’m in the process of trying to brainstorm ideas for my first solo show. I’d also love to launch my own apparel line sometime this year and further get into the artistic side of the music industry.

Follow Liamme Cardinal:
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This feature originally appeared in the April issue of Limit’d.
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• Photography: Jae Besorio
• Photography: Max Hopkins