Drawings so incredible you won't believe they aren't photographs.

Hayley Johnson’s drawings are the next big thing. And when you see them, you’ll know why.

“I instantly envision how I would use this muse within a piece, who she will be, what she will say. I often think that my drawings are waiting within me, for the right face to come along and bring them to life.”

Welcome to Mamamia’s art endeavour, the Voulez-Vous Project. Every week we celebrate emerging artists, designers, illustrators, creators and cats who dress like their owners (not joking). Our aim: to help the internet become a slightly more beautiful, captivating, or thought-provoking place by making art accessible.

To find out more about the Voulez-Vous project, click here. Click here to see all the previous Voulez-Vous posts.

Hayley Johnson’s latest collection of drawings are quickly gaining a very large, and very loyal, following on Instagram. And for good reason.

Putting pencil to paper, Johnson sketches of women are so intricate and detailed that they come alive. And her followers can’t get enough, many of whom connect with the themes of femininity, strength and resilience that she explores throughout her work.

Johnson, who lives in Phillip Island, tells me she has always had a passion for drawing, her earliest memory of which was when she was just seven years old.

“My Uncle visited and I showed him a drawing I had just finished. I only had three coloured pencils, so he showed me how pressure on the pencil could alter the way the colours went down onto the page. What was for him just a tiny moment, has  impacted me greatly. That day opened doors for me and I learned I could create beauty with just a few pencils.”

Johnson continued to draw throughout her teenage years, but as many artists do, she struggled with self-doubt. After taking a break, she returned to her passion 18 months ago.

“I have had a continuous struggle with believing that I have something unique and beautiful to share with the world and just pushing through to try to bring those lifelong dreams to fruition. But something just clicked and I allowed myself to believe that I had the abilities and passion to make it something special.” Johnson says.

That something special has resulted in her latest collection of works, intricate sketchings of women, created with the medium her Uncle brought into her life, pencil, and she has begun to introduce pastels.

“I am inspired by what it means, for me, to be a woman…I believe as women we have far more in common than we often realise. Our life experiences and emotions can connect us in ways that are beyond words. I know that often a piece of my art will touch someone because it speaks of their own emotions, like a mirror to what they are feeling or thinking of themselves at that time. I like to think it goes far beyond a “pretty drawing”.”

Johnson finds inspiration in other artists, including photographers Elizabeth Messina and Jose Villa, as well as photographs of women that she comes across.

“I instantly envision how I would use this muse within a piece, who she will be, what she will say. I often think that my drawings are waiting within me, for the right face to come along and bring them to life.” Johnson says.

One such work is Breathe, which is also the work that Johnson is most proud of to date.

“It represents a turning point for me. For so long I knew intuitively there was something inside me that I was unable to unlock, a certain style and level of ability that I just wasn’t quite able to tap into, and that drawing was the very first where I sat back and said to myself “Yes, I got it” and I have been creating much more unapologetically and without fear ever since.”

Johnson has also started a collaboration with company, The iTailors, who sell her incredible designs as prints, phone cases and clothing. You can find Johnson on Instagram as well as Facebook.

See a few of Johnson’s incredible drawings below.

Hayley Michelle

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Do you know an artist (or are YOU an artist) who creates beautiful or thought-provoking work and whom you think should be featured on Mamamia’s Voulez-Vous Project? Send an email to lizzie.marton@mamamia.com.au.