Local to Global: Statement

“I cannot rest, I must draw, however poor the result, and when I have a bad time come over me it is a stronger desire than ever.” 
― Beatrix Potter

 

In my current illustrative practice, I am looking closely at the art of the English illustrator Beatrix Potter whose classic children’s books describe a romanticised farm and forest world where animals have anthropomorphic characteristics.
Potter grew up in the country, in the start of the industrial revolution, which was her nostalgia and affected her whole life and her artistic talent and interest in animals. Being a child in social solitude, animals were her company and so, being a child, she anthropomorphised them.
My nostalgia is closely linked to Potter’s as I lived on a farm when I was younger, the childhood that doesn’t exist anymore, where I made friends with rabbits my Dad caught for me, or ducks that roamed our farm named ‘Ridge Farm’. There were also pigs, lots of chickens, and a pet dog so I made friends with all the animals. My country life was one of the best memories I have, and therefore it has influenced my practice to this date.
The concept I have behind my illustrations is to create a magical imaginative world of animals dressed in clothes, or animals with symbolic images to enhance their power or influence.
My art medium includes watercolour paints and Indian inks.
The reason I am using watercolours is because I feel it creates a beautiful depth of field by overlapping and layering colours. The majority of my paintings/illustrations are done on an A4 watercolour strength paper in portrait.
Some of my research has included watching documentaries of Potters life, and reading ‘A Beatrix Potter Treasury’ published by the Penguin Group in 2007.
Some of my images I have used to draw my artworks are by drafting ideas in Photoshop using layers so I can visualise what my final artwork will be. This enables me to have an image to observationally draw from which I finish is visually easier to produce paintings or drawings.

 

These are a couple examples of my draft ideas.

This is a successful painting (which is featured in one of my previous posts).

 

I felt like the cat collage didn’t quite work when it came to producing it in watercolour, but I would like to develop the idea.

Working with the idea of rabbits and Potter’s use of anthropomorphism, I attempted to paint myself an example of my own interpretation.

 

I feel as though my skills and understanding for proportions and scale need to be developed to be where I would like to be visually and conceptually.

Interview With Karl Kwasny:

Before the weekend, I sent an email to my favourite artist ‘Karl Kwasny’ who also goes by ‘Monaux’ (I have done a previous post on him a couple years ago), in the hope that he would answer. Today I logged into my email, and surely enough, he had replied. It was a huge boost of confidence, and I want to share his email with you all.

 

Hi Meg,

Thanks very much for the flattering email! Sorry for the short delay in getting back to you. Here are some quick answers:

When did you start getting serious about your art work?
Towards the end of my graphic design degree I decided that illustration was what I really wanted to be doing, and that I needed to give it a shot otherwise I’d always regret it. So I started emailing art directors at various companies looking for work. I didn’t get many replies initially, but gradually I got a few jobs and then it just sort of snowballed.

What media do you mostly use?
I try to keep my work mostly traditional, although there is a fair bit of Photoshop work involved in getting things to look how I want once I scan everything in. I use a variety of traditional media though – pencils, brushes (#2 – #7 sable), gouache and watercolour mostly.

If you could give advice to a fellow art student, what would it be?
Don’t give up. Being a professional artist in any capacity can be very discouraging, but you’ve got to keep going.

What was your first big time break?
Getting commissioned for Jason Segel’s first book was a pretty big deal for me. The deadline was pretty tight, so Random House had me come into their New York office and work on the illustrations in-house, which sped the process up.

Did you study? If so, where?
Yes, I studied graphic design at QCA in Brisbane, Australia.

Who are some artists that inspire you?
There are always too many to list, so I’ll just mention a few off the top of my head. Shaun Tan, Arthur Rackham, Charles Burns, Edward Gorey, Maurice Sendak, Aubrey Beardsley.

 

Where do you want to be career wise in the future?
I’d like to start producing my own books. It’s something I’ve wanted to do for years, but it hasn’t fallen together in the right way just yet. Being a freelance illustrator for other people’s intellectual property isn’t an ideal situation, because publishers will always want to pay flat fees and won’t give you royalties. So over the next few years I want to come up with a couple of books that deal with subjects that are close to my heart.

What is your favourite piece/project you have completed and why?
Nightmares, because it’s the most ambitious project I’ve actually finished.

What is your latest piece/working on?
I’m working on the second Nightmares book at the moment, which again has a pretty tight deadline so I’ve got to manage my time carefully for the next few months.

First attempt at realism

I was on camp over the Easter break, and for my homework task I was asked to draw some realism/people, so I drew my brother. I got my Dad to rate the likeness out of ten, and he thought 7-8 out of 10. The likeness was well, but it was too cartoony.

My second try after my brother, was drawing my sister. This time the picture came out more human, and less cartoon-like, but much less than what she actually looked like. My Dad rated the likeness 4-5 out of 10.

After my two attempts at drawing my two siblings, I decided to draw my own free hand drawing. It still looks like a cartoon or illustration, so I have a long way to go with practicing to get to the stage where it resembles an actual human. I titled my drawing ‘Clarabelle’ because my Amma (grandmother) was named that, and I’m going to start naming my drawings or artworks from now on, so they are easily found, and I can reference them easier.

Things I would like to work on to become better at realism are noses, as I find them the hardest to draw and facial feature proportions.

Some of my polymer clay charms

I love to create charms from clay. Most are all my design, or inspired from others. I have a shop on Etsy but am yet to sell anything. Mostly sold through friends and family.