How I got into illustration

EARLY CREATIVITY

Some of my earliest creative memories involve my grandad, a keen amateur painter, teaching me how to draw a cartoon clown with a clever sequence of lines and shapes.

I’ve always been creative my parents have told me they were once called in to see my teachers when I was quite young and shown a drawing I had done that was apparently a really good copy of an illustration from Roald Dahls the witches!

I also remember my first commission, I was probably about 10 or 11 and my teacher paid me £1 to draw a floral card for another teacher.

A bit later in senior school my IT class had a project to create a CD cover, I believe I made a design with flames for ‘hot hits’ (how clever), I think perhaps this then put me on to the path of being a graphic designer.

Through the final years of school to college, university and employment I have pursued working in the creative industry working for some high-profile clients as a designer along the way.


CREATIVE CAREER

Graduating from a Graphic Design degree in 2010 I have built up a broad experience in print and digital design, for a wide variety of companies and clients of different sizes including some high-profile companies.

For about 6 years I focussed my creativity on design employment during which times I was only occasionally picking up a pencil before giving up telling myself I wasn’t good enough so why bother. But creating art continued calling to me, despite me pushing down that desire. So I had to start creating art regularly again.

Whilst I enjoy design there is something special about creating art, because it is so tangible compared to designing on a computer, whether it is the feel of soft pencil marks on paper or luxurious thick strokes of oil paint. It is a much needed quiet practice where I can recharge from the day and get into the flow of creation, it’s almost meditative.

In personal work there is also the freedom to depict what I want without client constraints, to be playful or try to express something.


ART PROCESS

My style developed over time, whilst I had been at university my illustrations were primarily in pen and ink or occasionally heavy watercolour. Now in my artwork I primarily use pencil to create realistic drawings in a delicate, illustrative style often then working with watercolour, pencils and sometimes digitally to add colour.

When I have more time I enjoy using oil paints and the layering technique that it takes to help shape and bring depth to the piece.

Predominantly I focus on portraiture and figurative art with themes of fashion, beauty and nature. I have always been fascinated by how people choose to present and express themselves so in choosing photo references I often look for something that captivates me in their expressions or style.

I reflect a lot on topics of feminism, equality, beauty standards, gender stereotypes and also how I fit into this world. So in my portraits of women I think that perhaps I am exploring what it means to be female and also aim for my art to connect with other women.

Related Posts

More updates from the home studio.