As part of her dissertation research Holly has been interviewing artists and practitioners (including those that are students), and discussing this lead to a lot of personal reflection.
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What or who are your biggest influences? How did
you discover them? What’s the big deal?
Of course I have my big favourites in
illustration, but it’s been beneficial to look beyond this too- to exhibition,
to sculpture etc. Looking elsewhere so there’s something else feeding into the
cycle of illustration. I find a lot of it online!
I’m interested a lot in practitioners
that edge on that, really quite fictitious, border of fine art/ exhibition and
illustration- such as Mogu Takahashi, Misaki Kawai, Laura Carlin and Miroco
Machiko. It’s something I admire, and aspire to.
How many of your influences come from childhood? // In what ways do they surface in your work?
So, so much.
I had a lot of my dad’s picture books
from when he was small, so 60s illustrations by Richard Scarry, Margaret Bloy
Graham etc. There were the video games- Animal Crossing, Vib Ribbon, Parappa
the Rapper, and the films, notably Spirited Away and Olive the Other Reindeer.
What I note about all these pieces of
media, are not so much them being aesthetically interesting and no doubt
influencing me that way- but the tone of voice. Everything feels a bit wonky, a
little bit self aware, funny at times, but ultimately sincere.
In what ways do the materials you use inform your
way of working? Do you purposefully use materials/techniques that prevent you
from editing/erasing?
When working personally I’ll work
straight into a piece with no inhibitions, maybe no sketch at all. So gouache,
pen, pencils. I notice people like these things more, but I can’t quite bring
myself yet to approach a commission or piece of work with more value like that-
the fear kicks in.
Do you consider what you do to be a craft?
It could be, but I haven’t invested the
time or skill in it to be considered a craftsman.
What sorts of formal/informal training have you
received? // And from that training, what
skills did you learn? Is there anything you decided to ignore? Why?
I’m about to graduate from an
Illustration degree, and did a Foundation Diploma prior to that as well as the
usual school time art learning… but! Looking back I have had an incredibly
small amount of technical training. I’ve never been taught perspective, colour
theories, any real drawing skills at least in depth etc, which is a lot of why
I don’t consider what I do as a craft. Does my image making suffer as a result
of this? Yes? No? But it would certainly be different if I had.
Art education for me has mostly been
about learning to think in different ways, and whilst we have been pushed to
experiment with different things, there’s never been a point of sitting down
and really learning a process. I mean, there has been opportunity, and I could
have done that myself, but I’ve not had the care to. It hasn’t seemed
important, so far. Maybe it will. But the thinking has been the big thing. Art
education, for me, is assisted thinking.
A lot of your drawings (particularly from images
I’ve see of your sketchbooks) feel very immediate, are you a conscious drawer
or somebody who works instinctively/without thinking?
I don’t think about it, and then when I
get too careless I make myself think again. I feel the fear of stagnation, and
maybe fear more than I should that things should be more varied.
The slightly wonky, idiosyncratic feeling to your
work is pretty charming, kind of folky too! You play a lot with anatomy (big
hands!), why does doing that appeal to you more than something more true to
life?
Drawing, in theory, gives the opportunity
to do anything. Why anyone would want to replicate real life is above me, when
you could be having a lot more fun with sausage fingers.
Do you ever purposefully under-exploit skill in
your work?
I don’t think I have skills to
under-exploit!
I’ve noticed you use visual shorthand quite often,
there are some recognisable motifs through your work. As a stylistic choice,
where does that come from? Is it at all a practicality/time-saving device?
It mostly comes naturally; I just
consider it to be the way I draw. Conscious decisions are made sometimes. I’ve
always been someone who works fast, so there’s not much time to think.
There are too many points in that piece
to even start right now!!
What is your opinion on the idea of stylistic
trends and fashion in illustration? Have you noticed any? Are you participating
in a trend?
Sanctity of originality is a weird,
contentious and spiralling concept, but really, I just see it as much more fun
to have your own thing. It’s impossible to not absorb everything you see and
have it appear in your work- which is fine! I’m not suggesting that we all do a
David Bowie and consume no other art whilst working on our own projects. But it’s
obvious when it’s more than that.
Besides, making art and developing a
visual language, I think at least, is a very personal process- informed by
things that you probably can’t even conceive just looking at a piece but, for
the artist, remains a very personal thing. Looking at it and feeling that way,
it seems rude to infringe on that by mimicking. That’s why I feel very self
conscious if I feel I am imitating something else by mistake.
Your choice to bring those discussions about
style and process on to social media is interesting too, have you found it
useful as an image-maker to have that space to explore (for want of a better
term) illustration discourse?
I’ll talk about it to anyone who is
listening. Social media has been a great place to get in touch with other
practitioners though, like yourself.
