A local artist lets us in on her creative process...
This is a digital illustration I created a few months ago for the cover of The Fourth Trimester magazine, which is about life after birth, empowering women and new mothers, and promoting a sense of community through motherhood and sisterhood. This piece is my favourite to date, created with my iPad Pro and Apple Pencil. It’s such a great tool to use. I’ve been able to work efficiently, play with different techniques and work on my lettering.
What touched me the most was the reaction from magazine readers. The illustration was shared on Instagram, through a tight-knit motherhood community, and they related to the honesty of the image. I also created some temporary tattoos for the magazine based on the woman’s tattoos on the cover. Seeing them used and shared online was pretty cool.
Being a mother has influenced my work and my motivation greatly. My life has flipped inside out since having a kid. We moved back to England after living in Barcelona for a few years and I became a freelance designer and illustrator. Learning to juggle childcare and freelance work was tricky, but I got the hang of it. I have a good sense of priorities, and I create efficiently, finding working on a tight deadline very productive.
If I had the luxury of time, I would create more prints to sell. I made a couple of posters, just before Christmas, inspired by Wes Anderson and the Royal Tenenbaums, printed as Risographs by print wizards, Dizzy Ink. I hope to be able to do more of these kind of illustrations inspired by pop culture and strong, powerful women. I’m hoping to work on a range of prints for kids, birthday parties, posters and birth announcements which will hopefully be happening later this year.
This year has started well so far. Myself and the ultra-talented Amy Blackwell will be sharing a studio space at Backlit, and will be collaborating on some projects. I’m also using the space to develop my sign painting skills. Working in a creative environment surrounded by interesting people is something I’m really looking forward to.
I’ve met some inspiring people through Instagram, including a lot of creative women that led to me being featured on a couple of influential directories, including The Women Who Draw, which has been featured by The Times, and on The Creative Ladies Directory.
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