Local artist and LeftLion regular Kate Sharp was kind enough to take a crack at our October cover, and I’m sure you’ll agree that she did a beautiful job. Here’s what inspired it...
Tell us a bit about yourself…
I’m an illustrator and children’s book maker from Nottingham who loves to draw animals, especially goats! I create my work using a brush pen and fineliners. I then create textures using a range of materials and scan it all in and create my illustrations. My dream is to have one of my books published but I’d also love to own a shop one day.
What was the inspiration behind the cover?
Autumn! It’s my favourite time of year. Everything about it is great: the colours, the sounds of the leaves under your feet and even the feel of a crisp morning.
How does it compare with some other projects you’ve worked on?
I’ve never done a magazine cover so it was pretty exciting. I like to include a narrative in my illustrations wherever possible and I tried to do this with the fox peering over the pumpkin at the mouse and hedgehog.
What was the biggest challenge that you faced in creating the piece?
Creating textures that would work on the leaves. To make this texture I scrunched up a piece of paper then flattened it out and painted on it to make the dried leaf effect.
Tell us about some projects you’ve worked on in the past…
My first self-published children’s book Lions Hate Pigeons is a story about Nottingham’s favourite lions getting their own back on the pesky pigeons. My most recent children’s book was written for my newborn sister and it was called Florence’s First Friend. I had bought her a dragon toy and the story was about how the dragon and Florence first met and how they grew to love each other.
What have you got planned for the future?
I’m currently in the early stages of creating a new children’s book about two friends who are unable to see each other but learn to connect through writing letters. I plan to keep adding to my Etsy shop and also do my first craft fair around Christmas time if possible.
Is there anything else you’d like to tell the LeftLion readers?
Welcome back to all the students! I hope you can enjoy this year despite it being pretty different from previous years.
We have a favour to ask
LeftLion is Nottingham’s meeting point for information about what’s going on in our city, from the established organisations to the grassroots. We want to keep what we do free to all to access, but increasingly we are relying on revenue from our readers to continue. Can you spare a few quid each month to support us?
