Sharlene’s curious creative Croydon

This week we chat with our social media cover artist Sharlene Moodley. Sharlene is a graphic designer, illustrator and mixed media artist of South African and Indian heritage. Inspired by comic art, graphic novels, Croydon’s people and creative spirit, and hip hop culture, she creates bold illustrations with a playful graphic style.

Croydonist: First of all, Croydon native or convert, and what area do you call home?

Sharlene: I’m a Croydon convert rather than a native. I’m originally from Durban, South Africa, and now call Coulsdon, on the southern edge of the borough, home. Having grown up in such a culturally rich city, Croydon’s own mix of cultures, architecture and identities feels familiar to me – it has the kind of visual and human variety that naturally feeds my creativity.

Croydonist: You’re a graphic designer, illustrator and mixed media artist – how did you get to where you are today, and do you see those different parts of your creative practice as separate or do they tend to overlap?

Sharlene: I’ve been drawing for as long as I can remember. One of my earliest memories is drawing a rocket at around four years old, which probably says something about the curiosity that still drives my work. The ocean, space, nature, people and the sheer variety of life have always fascinated me. Art became both an outlet and a form of escapism, as well as a way of expressing my delight in beautiful and interesting things.

My route into graphic design was partly instinct and partly serendipity. I applied to study both hair and beauty and graphic design, but the graphic design opportunity arrived first. My mother encouraged me to pursue it because the field was rapidly expanding in the late 1990s. Choosing a creative career also meant trusting my instincts at a time when I saw very few people from my own community taking that path.

I’ve never experienced graphic design, illustration and mixed-media art as separate practices. Graphic design gives me structure and teaches me how to communicate; illustration allows me to tell stories; and tactile materials bring texture, light and physical presence. They are all parts of the same visual language, with the balance shifting according to what each idea requires. At heart, it is all storytelling and creative expression. That now extends into writing too: I’ve written poetry and am currently bringing the stories that have lived in my head for years onto the page.

Croydonist: Your work draws inspiration from comic art and graphic novels. Where did that love begin, and are there particular artists or illustrators who have influenced your visual style?

Sharlene: My love of comic art began very young, with Disney characters and cartoons such as Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. I also loved Archie Comics – especially Betty and Veronica – and the pin-up quality of Dan DeCarlo’s illustrations. When I was around eight or nine, I copied a tiny image of Ariel and Sebastian and enlarged it to nearly ten times its original size. That was the first time I realised I could really draw.

Another formative moment came when I discovered a book of Alphonse Mucha’s work in the library. I was so obsessed with his Art Nouveau illustrations that my mother photocopied practically the entire book for me so I could redraw them. His flowing lines, intricate detail and ethereal figures still influence me.

Then ’90s hip-hop brought a completely different visual energy: bold album covers, typography and strong graphic identities, including Joe Cool’s illustrated cover for Snoop Dogg’s Doggystyle. As I grew older, I was drawn to Jamie Hewlett’s Gorillaz characters, Stephen Bliss’s artwork for Grand Theft Auto and the striking yellow-and-black design of Empire Design’s Kill Bill campaign. Studying Andy Warhol and Roy Lichtenstein further deepened my love of Pop Art and transforming familiar cultural imagery.

What connects all these influences is their ability to create character, attitude and an entire visual world through line, colour and composition.

Croydonist: Hip hop culture is another influence on your work. How does that find its way into what you create?

Sharlene: Hip-hop finds its way into my work less through literal imagery and more through attitude. I’ve always loved how it turns lived experience into bold, unapologetic storytelling. It can be raw, vulnerable and relatable while still being incredibly cool. That gives me permission to create instinctively, combining memories, feelings and references that may appear mismatched but make complete emotional sense to me.

In my portraits, I want people to have presence. I’m drawn to direct, challenging gazes and expressions of strength, fearlessness and attitude – not aggression, but a sense that the subject refuses to shrink themselves. I use strong outlines and simple colour palettes, then create impact through layering, gold and silver leaf, reflective finishes and light. There is a deliberate showiness to it – a visual swagger that I associate with ’90s hip-hop and its album artwork.

I also listen to hip-hop while I work. To me, it is poetry and storytelling, and its rhythm and energy inevitably enter whatever I create.

Croydonist: Your South African and Indian heritage also informs your work. Can you tell us a little about how your heritage influences your subject matter or visual language?

Sharlene: My family’s South African roots stretch back to the 1860s, when my Indian ancestors arrived there, so my identity is very specifically Indian South African. I grew up in Durban during apartheid and the years of change that followed. Although the country was forcibly divided, people expressed their cultures strongly, and those different visual languages surrounded and shaped me.

Some motifs feel like visual shorthand for home: mandala-like forms and intricate mehndi from my Indian heritage, alongside stylised guinea fowl built from bold colour, repeated lines and dotwork. Anyone familiar with South African visual culture during the 1980s and ’90s may recognise that guinea fowl imagery immediately. I created a great deal of African-inspired art at high school and found the rhythmic repetition of the marks incredibly therapeutic. Later, I worked as a henna artist at weddings and loved hiding little messages within my designs. Both taught me that pattern can carry culture, intimacy and story.

That cultural layering is also why I connected with Croydon. Its distinctive energy comes from people bringing different traditions and identities together; at its best, it allows each culture to express itself while also creating something shared.

I see my art in much the same way. It is an amalgamation of my heritage, memories, passions and everything that has shaped me – translated through colour, pattern and symbolism into something recognisably mine.

Croydonist: For your Croydonist social media header you’ve brought together portraiture with some very recognisable Croydon architecture. Can you tell us a bit about the piece, who we’re looking at and how you decided what to include?

Sharlene: I wanted the header to feel like a portrait of Croydon rather than simply a collection of landmarks. The female portrait is based on a model friend who was photographed wearing a sari. I was captivated by how beautiful she looked and immediately wanted to reinterpret the image. For me, she represents my Indian heritage and the cultural beauty and self-expression that are also such important parts of Croydon.

The male portrait is of my son, who is one of my greatest inspirations and a recurring muse in my work. As a single mother, he gives me an extra reason to go the extra mile every day and to live authentically; I like to think we inspire one another. He also represents the young Croydon I see around me: stylish and confident, with far more depth and resilience than people might see at first glance. The broken-shard pattern on his shirt symbolises pieces being brought back together – resilience, rebuilding and strength.

The Water Tower, Croydon Clocktower and Saffron Tower anchor those personal portraits within the borough. I chose them because their silhouettes are distinctive enough to be recognised even when reduced to simple lines – they are unmistakably Croydon. Bringing the people and architecture together allowed me to portray Croydon as both a place and a community. I hope people recognise something of themselves within it and feel a sense of kinship.

Croydonist: Your work moves between digital illustration and more tactile materials, including gold leaf and reflective finishes. What draws you to combining the two, and how do you decide which medium best suits an idea?

Sharlene: I’m drawn to combining digital illustration with tactile materials because each offers something different. Digital drawing allows me to translate a person, place or object into my own visual language, often using exaggerated lines, simplified colour and strong graphic shapes. Once the illustration exists, it sometimes feels as though it wants to become something more physical.

The original spark usually determines what I add. I might highlight jewellery with gold or silver leaf, use reflective materials to make someone’s eyes catch the light, or introduce holographic paper where I want movement and changing colour. Sometimes the effect is subtle; other times I want the piece to make an immediate impact.

For one artwork featuring a starry sky, I pierced the canvas and installed colour-changing LEDs behind it so the stars actually glowed. I love finding ways to bring light, texture and surprise into a flat image. Some ideas feel complete as digital illustrations, but when a subject suggests shimmer, dimension or illumination, I enjoy letting the artwork take on a physical life of its own.

Croydonist: Where do you create your work, and what does your usual creative process look like – do you begin by sketching, researching, collecting references, or something else entirely?

Sharlene: My process usually begins with a spark of inspiration – or sometimes simply boredom and creative energy that needs somewhere to go. There is beauty and inspiration everywhere, both in real life and across social media. It might begin with a person, a building, a phrase, a colour combination or even something I’ve dreamed. Something catches my attention and my mind begins turning it into an image or story, which is one of the reasons I’ve recently started writing too.

Once I have an idea, I collect reference images to help me get as close as possible to what I can picture in my head. I usually have a fairly clear vision of the finished piece, although I can sometimes spend so long thinking about it that I delay actually making it! To avoid that, I make myself do a quick sketch and write down the feeling, meaning and visual elements I want to include, whether it eventually becomes a digital illustration or a physical piece.

I can create almost anywhere. Sometimes I’ll sketch in a coffee shop or among the beautiful greenery near my home; other times I’m working from bed while listening to music or catching up on a favourite series. I don’t have one rigid routine – the important thing is capturing the idea while it still feels exciting.

Croydonist: Classic interview question – if you had to invite three artists or creatives to a drinks party (dead or alive), who would they be?

Sharlene: Choosing only three people is probably the hardest question to answer, simply because there are so many. So, for now, I’ll choose the three people currently influencing and inspiring me most, both as a person and an artist: Frida Kahlo, Kid Cudi and Tupac Shakur.

Frida Kahlo was unapologetically herself. Her vibrant paintings, personal style, politics and life all seemed to become part of the same creative expression. I deeply admire how she challenged social expectations and stereotypes while turning her identity and experiences into art. I’d love to experience her mind and discover what it felt like to see the world through her eyes.

Kid Cudi fascinates me because he refuses to confine himself to one discipline. Alongside his music, acting and fashion work, he now paints under the name Scotty Ramon. I’d want to talk to him about moving between different forms of expression and having the courage to begin a new artistic practice after already becoming known for another.

I’d invite Tupac for his extraordinary creative mind – his rap, poetry, acting and social beliefs. He contained so many contrasts: strength and sensitivity, anger and hope. I’d want to understand the person behind the public image and hear about everything else he might have gone on to create.

It would probably be a very intense party, but the conversation would be unforgettable!

Croydonist: What are you working on at the moment, and what’s next for you?

Sharlene: The honest answer is: what am I not working on? At the moment, I have a few commissions following a mixed-media portrait I created of my son incorporating mirrored shards. The response to that piece has encouraged me to explore more ways of combining portraiture with tactile and reflective materials.

I’m also writing a fantasy story, which is inspiring a great deal of ethereal artwork involving the sea, mythology and folklore. I grew up near the beach in Durban, so the ocean is especially close to my heart – it brings me joy, peace and calm, while also holding so much mystery. I would say the ocean is my muse at the moment. I’m writing poetry too, so words and visual art are beginning to overlap more within my work.

Alongside that, I’m developing a ceramics and homeware range and redesigning my own space with new, interactive pieces using gold leaf, mirrors and LEDs. As a single mother, it is a busy life, but I’m grateful to have found a balance that allows me to care for my family while continuing to create. What comes next is bringing all these different strands together without feeling that I have to limit myself to one medium.

Croydonist: And finally, where’s your favourite spot in Croydon for inspiration?

Sharlene: Croydon has so many hidden gems, but if I had to choose one favourite view, it would be from the top level of Centrale at sunset. When the light catches the buildings in just the right way, the whole town seems transformed – it can look genuinely magical.

Croydon is sometimes reduced to its problems, but if you only look for the bad, that is all you will see. I try to approach places with curiosity and empathy and pay attention to their beauty. For me, inspiration is often found while wandering rather than at one particular destination. I love following the river through Wandle Park, walking through the market at lunchtime and seeing its incredible mixture of people, food and cultures, or discovering art tucked around underpasses and buildings near the High Street. I also enjoy visiting exhibitions at Turf Projects and the library.

Sometimes all it takes is sitting on the top deck of a bus when the sunlight hits Croydon just right. Wherever the Wandle goes, I like to wander.