Amelia’s Magazine | An Interview with Daniel McNaboe

danielmacnaboe3

I’d like to start my interview with Daniel MacNaboe through an inquiry into the ideas, viagra order side effects views or politics that inspire his illustrations. Daniel is a graduate from the Illustration degree at the University of West England.

I’ve always been inspired by achieving some degree of realism in my artwork. Contemporary realist portraiture has been a continuing influence in the development of my work. I’m fascinated by the world around me. Both my mum and dad were always big on reading, cialis 40mg my dad would sit on the same patch of the sofa, reading the Guardian front to back for what seemed like hours each evening. His fascination with the world around him, simply his awareness of current affairs really intrigued me. I like to think he enlightened me to a lot of information. Always encouraging me not to take the things I have for granted.

Secondly I’m inspired by ordinary stories, I worked for a number of years during college and university holidays as a cleaner at the John Radcliffe hospital in Oxford. The job was a true life-experience. Not only the nature of the job itself, which consisted of working within sometimes distressing situations and environments. But also the people I got to know through working there. The cleaning staff comprised workers from all over the world, all with unique and amazing life stories that definitely affected the way in which I consequently look at the world. Their varying cultures, ideals, views really opened my eyes to a lot of things that in any other job I don’t think I would have been so fortunate as to experience. The many long hours I spent mopping floors, cleaning toilets and sitting on upturned mop buckets in cleaning cupboards chatting away with colleagues has continued to influence my thinking and motivations in regards to my artwork.

danielmacnaboe2

How do you decide which medium is best to represent your ideas?

I initially stick with what it is I know best, and from there let the ideas and aesthetics I’m exploring influence the mediums I use. I always begin with pencil and paper, and progress from there. I really enjoy printmaking, and spent a long time at University exploring hand-drawn and four-color photographic lithography techniques. I’m drawn to mediums, which complement my drawing, and general practical approach.

I allow the materials I use to help me form my ideas. I’ve always, for as long as I can remember been very much drawn to working with pencil and paper. It’s the simplicity of it that I get a kick from. I love rendering images onto the papers surface, in a similar way as to how I love watching a photograph develop in a dark room. I have a tendency to work slowly and methodically on each piece. I’ll never forget an art teacher telling me there are no lines in real life, and ever since have tried to avoid harsh, linear marks in my drawings when aiming towards realism. I tend to work softly and gently with my materials.

danielmacnaboethumb

What has been your favorite self directed illustration project?

The project I produced for my degree show at the University of the West of England. I chose to spend my last few months at university focusing on portraiture, this being a field I was keen to pursue after leaving University. Initially I was working through old family photographs for inspiration. I came across an image of my grandfather, a crisp military portrait of him in his first year as a U.S. Marine at age 18. What struck me was his youthfulness in the photograph. His innocence, and maybe naivety that was to be sadly short lived. It was interesting to me pondering that we were roughly at the same points in our lives, but under such different circumstances. Through consequent research I discovered he was deployed in the third wave of Marines onto the Japanese island of Iwo Jima on the 19th February 1945, and was incredibly lucky. Of the 340 U.S. Marines in his company only 17 of them, him included survived, many of them wounded. In one of my drawings for the project, I rendered from a photograph depicting my grandfather and a very good friend not long before they were both deployed to Iwo Jima. I learnt that his friend never made it off. On return to America after being disbanded he was awarded the Silver Star for gallantry in battle. In total 21,703 Japanese soldiers were killed on the island, and 6,825 U.S. Marines, with 29,909 American casualties over a 36-day period, a figure greater than the total Allied casualties on the D-Day landings. I decided to produce a series of images concerning his early life. From growing up as a young boy during the Great Depression in rural Illinois through to his time serving in the South Pacific during the Second World War. In a way the time I spent rendering these images allowed my to put my own life into some sort of perspective. What I seem to get most out of portraiture, whether it be portraits i’m working on myself or other peoples, is simply just gazing, trying to relate with the subject.
danielmacnaboe1

What was the thinking process behind the project?

Depsite living thousands of miles apart, I’ve always felt very close to my grandfather, and his experience during the war struck a chord with me. He is a quiet man, who is now 86 years old and very rarely mentioned his service. I was keen for the work to form a kind of homage to him. I guess the way I work is process based. I accumulate a collection of images that best convey what it is I want to express, and then begin rendering from them. As my work progresses it gives me more ideas as to how I would like to develop the work further. As I was working on the portraits of my grandfather I began to employ collage, Photoshop and printmaking to try and convey a particular aesthetic I thought was missing from the drawings. I loved the smokey aesthetic of the old black and white photographs I was studying, so I consequently decided to work with an assortment of soft-very soft graphite on smooth and thick off-white cartridge paper. I experimented with drawing in reverse with coloured conte pencils on black paper. Both techniques worked well. I also painted with Acrylic onto smoothly sanded gesso on Board. There were a couple images of the farmhouse my grandfather grew up in that I was keen to incorporate, and I felt the best way to represent this would be to move on to paint. Throughout the duration of the project I maintained a keen interest in the aesthetics of old documentation. I loved the qualities of the old military papers I was looking through.

danielmacnaboe2

I’d like to start my interview with Daniel MacNaboe through an inquiry into the ideas, viagra 100mg views or politics that inspire his illustrations. Daniel is a graduate from the Illustration degree at the University of West England.

I’ve always been inspired by achieving some degree of realism in my artwork. Contemporary realist portraiture has been a continuing influence in the development of my work. I’m fascinated by the world around me. Both my mum and dad were always big on reading, abortion my dad would sit on the same patch of the sofa, reading the Guardian front to back for what seemed like hours each evening. His fascination with the world around him, simply his awareness of current affairs really intrigued me. I like to think he enlightened me to a lot of information. Always encouraging me not to take the things I have for granted.

Secondly I’m inspired by ordinary stories, I worked for a number of years during college and university holidays as a cleaner at the John Radcliffe hospital in Oxford. The job was a true life-experience. Not only the nature of the job itself, which consisted of working within sometimes distressing situations and environments. But also the people I got to know through working there. The cleaning staff comprised workers from all over the world, all with unique and amazing life stories that definitely affected the way in which I consequently look at the world. Their varying cultures, ideals, views really opened my eyes to a lot of things that in any other job I don’t think I would have been so fortunate as to experience. The many long hours I spent mopping floors, cleaning toilets and sitting on upturned mop buckets in cleaning cupboards chatting away with colleagues has continued to influence my thinking and motivations in regards to my artwork.

danielmacnaboe3

How do you decide which medium is best to represent your ideas?

I initially stick with what it is I know best, and from there let the ideas and aesthetics I’m exploring influence the mediums I use. I always begin with pencil and paper, and progress from there. I really enjoy printmaking, and spent a long time at University exploring hand-drawn and four-color photographic lithography techniques. I’m drawn to mediums, which complement my drawing, and general practical approach.

I allow the materials I use to help me form my ideas. I’ve always, for as long as I can remember been very much drawn to working with pencil and paper. It’s the simplicity of it that I get a kick from. I love rendering images onto the papers surface, in a similar way as to how I love watching a photograph develop in a dark room. I have a tendency to work slowly and methodically on each piece. I’ll never forget an art teacher telling me there are no lines in real life, and ever since have tried to avoid harsh, linear marks in my drawings when aiming towards realism. I tend to work softly and gently with my materials.

danielmacnaboe

What has been your favorite self directed illustration project?

The project I produced for my degree show at the University of the West of England. I chose to spend my last few months at university focusing on portraiture, this being a field I was keen to pursue after leaving University. Initially I was working through old family photographs for inspiration. I came across an image of my grandfather, a crisp military portrait of him in his first year as a U.S. Marine at age 18. What struck me was his youthfulness in the photograph. His innocence, and maybe naivety that was to be sadly short lived. It was interesting to me pondering that we were roughly at the same points in our lives, but under such different circumstances. Through consequent research I discovered he was deployed in the third wave of Marines onto the Japanese island of Iwo Jima on the 19th February 1945, and was incredibly lucky. Of the 340 U.S. Marines in his company only 17 of them, him included survived, many of them wounded. In one of my drawings for the project, I rendered from a photograph depicting my grandfather and a very good friend not long before they were both deployed to Iwo Jima. I learnt that his friend never made it off. On return to America after being disbanded he was awarded the Silver Star for gallantry in battle. In total 21,703 Japanese soldiers were killed on the island, and 6,825 U.S. Marines, with 29,909 American casualties over a 36-day period, a figure greater than the total Allied casualties on the D-Day landings. I decided to produce a series of images concerning his early life. From growing up as a young boy during the Great Depression in rural Illinois through to his time serving in the South Pacific during the Second World War. In a way the time I spent rendering these images allowed my to put my own life into some sort of perspective. What I seem to get most out of portraiture, whether it be portraits i’m working on myself or other peoples, is simply just gazing, trying to relate with the subject.
danielmacnaboe1

What was the thinking process behind the project?

Depsite living thousands of miles apart, I’ve always felt very close to my grandfather, and his experience during the war struck a chord with me. He is a quiet man, who is now 86 years old and very rarely mentioned his service. I was keen for the work to form a kind of homage to him. I guess the way I work is process based. I accumulate a collection of images that best convey what it is I want to express, and then begin rendering from them. As my work progresses it gives me more ideas as to how I would like to develop the work further. As I was working on the portraits of my grandfather I began to employ collage, Photoshop and printmaking to try and convey a particular aesthetic I thought was missing from the drawings. I loved the smokey aesthetic of the old black and white photographs I was studying, so I consequently decided to work with an assortment of soft-very soft graphite on smooth and thick off-white cartridge paper. I experimented with drawing in reverse with coloured conte pencils on black paper. Both techniques worked well. I also painted with Acrylic onto smoothly sanded gesso on Board. There were a couple images of the farmhouse my grandfather grew up in that I was keen to incorporate, and I felt the best way to represent this would be to move on to paint. Throughout the duration of the project I maintained a keen interest in the aesthetics of old documentation. I loved the qualities of the old military papers I was looking through.

danielmacnaboe2

I’d like to start my interview with Daniel MacNaboe through an inquiry into the ideas, page views or politics that inspire his illustrations. Daniel is a graduate from the Illustration degree at the University of West England.

I’ve always been inspired by achieving some degree of realism in my artwork. Contemporary realist portraiture has been a continuing influence in the development of my work. I’m fascinated by the world around me. Both my mum and dad were always big on reading, page my dad would sit on the same patch of the sofa, reading the Guardian front to back for what seemed like hours each evening. His fascination with the world around him, simply his awareness of current affairs really intrigued me. I like to think he enlightened me to a lot of information. Always encouraging me not to take the things I have for granted.

Secondly I’m inspired by ordinary stories, I worked for a number of years during college and university holidays as a cleaner at the John Radcliffe hospital in Oxford. The job was a true life-experience. Not only the nature of the job itself, which consisted of working within sometimes distressing situations and environments. But also the people I got to know through working there. The cleaning staff comprised workers from all over the world, all with unique and amazing life stories that definitely affected the way in which I consequently look at the world. Their varying cultures, ideals, views really opened my eyes to a lot of things that in any other job I don’t think I would have been so fortunate as to experience. The many long hours I spent mopping floors, cleaning toilets and sitting on upturned mop buckets in cleaning cupboards chatting away with colleagues has continued to influence my thinking and motivations in regards to my artwork.

danielmacnaboe3

How do you decide which medium is best to represent your ideas?

I initially stick with what it is I know best, and from there let the ideas and aesthetics I’m exploring influence the mediums I use. I always begin with pencil and paper, and progress from there. I really enjoy printmaking, and spent a long time at University exploring hand-drawn and four-color photographic lithography techniques. I’m drawn to mediums, which complement my drawing, and general practical approach.

I allow the materials I use to help me form my ideas. I’ve always, for as long as I can remember been very much drawn to working with pencil and paper. It’s the simplicity of it that I get a kick from. I love rendering images onto the papers surface, in a similar way as to how I love watching a photograph develop in a dark room. I have a tendency to work slowly and methodically on each piece. I’ll never forget an art teacher telling me there are no lines in real life, and ever since have tried to avoid harsh, linear marks in my drawings when aiming towards realism. I tend to work softly and gently with my materials.

danielmacnaboe

What has been your favorite self directed illustration project?

The project I produced for my degree show at the University of the West of England. I chose to spend my last few months at university focusing on portraiture, this being a field I was keen to pursue after leaving University. Initially I was working through old family photographs for inspiration. I came across an image of my grandfather, a crisp military portrait of him in his first year as a U.S. Marine at age 18. What struck me was his youthfulness in the photograph. His innocence, and maybe naivety that was to be sadly short lived. It was interesting to me pondering that we were roughly at the same points in our lives, but under such different circumstances. Through consequent research I discovered he was deployed in the third wave of Marines onto the Japanese island of Iwo Jima on the 19th February 1945, and was incredibly lucky. Of the 340 U.S. Marines in his company only 17 of them, him included survived, many of them wounded. In one of my drawings for the project, I rendered from a photograph depicting my grandfather and a very good friend not long before they were both deployed to Iwo Jima. I learnt that his friend never made it off. On return to America after being disbanded he was awarded the Silver Star for gallantry in battle. In total 21,703 Japanese soldiers were killed on the island, and 6,825 U.S. Marines, with 29,909 American casualties over a 36-day period, a figure greater than the total Allied casualties on the D-Day landings. I decided to produce a series of images concerning his early life. From growing up as a young boy during the Great Depression in rural Illinois through to his time serving in the South Pacific during the Second World War. In a way the time I spent rendering these images allowed my to put my own life into some sort of perspective. What I seem to get most out of portraiture, whether it be portraits i’m working on myself or other peoples, is simply just gazing, trying to relate with the subject.
danielmacnaboe1

What was the thinking process behind the project?

Depsite living thousands of miles apart, I’ve always felt very close to my grandfather, and his experience during the war struck a chord with me. He is a quiet man, who is now 86 years old and very rarely mentioned his service. I was keen for the work to form a kind of homage to him. I guess the way I work is process based. I accumulate a collection of images that best convey what it is I want to express, and then begin rendering from them. As my work progresses it gives me more ideas as to how I would like to develop the work further. As I was working on the portraits of my grandfather I began to employ collage, Photoshop and printmaking to try and convey a particular aesthetic I thought was missing from the drawings. I loved the smokey aesthetic of the old black and white photographs I was studying, so I consequently decided to work with an assortment of soft-very soft graphite on smooth and thick off-white cartridge paper. I experimented with drawing in reverse with coloured conte pencils on black paper. Both techniques worked well. I also painted with Acrylic onto smoothly sanded gesso on Board. There were a couple images of the farmhouse my grandfather grew up in that I was keen to incorporate, and I felt the best way to represent this would be to move on to paint. Throughout the duration of the project I maintained a keen interest in the aesthetics of old documentation. I loved the qualities of the old military papers I was looking through.

Yesterday Bloom In Bloomsbury was held in Torrington Square in SOAS, stuff the gathering was held to get people involved and engaged with the Climate Change problem. Luckily it was held under a big marquee as we were subjected to a few downpours throughout the day.

BL

There was a Stall to get people involved with The Great Climate Swoop, viagra dosage the direct action to shut down Ratcliffe On Soar Coal Power station in 10 days time, doctor Outreach also got people signed up to transport to get down to Nottingham, which is going from all across the country at activist cut prices.

bl1

One of the aims was to also get people involved in the run up to Cop 15 in December where world leaders will meet in a ‘last chance’ conference to tackle Climate Change in Copenhagen. A people’s summit is being held on the 16th of December in the conference to show that we are not willing to let government agenda govern the proceedings, and that as a social movement we need to take a stand. Again Transport from across the country will be going and coaches are being booked right now to ensure we can all get there. Climate Justice Action. is an umbrella organisation that encompasses a broad range of activist and organisations that will have a range of details and contacts for the climatic event.

Bl2

A stall highlighting the problem of Agrofuels was also providing information to passers by, bio fuels are linked to accelerated climate change, deforestation, human rights abuses, water and soil degradation, and are still labeled by many NGO’s and government as an answer to conventional oil practice. There is ademonstration outside The Department for Energy and Climate Change in London on Monday the 12th to protest against the so-called ‘green energy’ Subsidies.

Bl3

There was also the SOAS food Co-op, which provides wholesale food and is run as a non-profit group set up by students. The bike maintenance workshop put on was also really popular. If you missed the event make sure you get down to Powershift being held over the weekend at the Institute of Education in London.

As the event wound down and we were outreached out, a group headed to the City University as a certain energy company, E.ON, were holding a talk at the student recruitment fair. The company is responsible for the planned new coal power stations at Kingsnorth, which combined would produce the same carbon emissions as Ghana. With the report by the Global and Humanitarian forum stating that three hundred thousand people are already dyeing already each year due to climate change, it isn’t a viable option.

Bl4

The group of activists stormed the talks, getting past the security guards who were holding a pretty tight presence outside the doors, quite possibly due to the continued protests against E.ON at student fairs last year.
While 3 burly guys jumped on one activist, the others handed out flyers to the bemused students woken up from the corporate PowerPoint slumber. An activist took to the podium to tell the audience what E.ON are really about, claiming themselves as a Green Energy Company while 95% of their investment is into non renewable energies is a clear sign of greenwashing and the corporate bullshit that students have to listen to.
Yesterday Bloom In Bloomsbury was held in Torrington Square in SOAS. The gathering was held to get people involved and engaged with the Climate Change problem. Luckily it was held under a big marquee as we were subjected to a few downpours throughout the day.

BL

There was a stall to get people involved with The Great Climate Swoop, buy the direct action to shut down Ratcliffe On Soar oal power station in 10 days time. Outreach also got people signed up to provide transport down to Nottingham, which is going from all across the country at special activist prices.

bl1

One of the aims was to also get people involved in the run up to Cop 15 in December where world leaders will meet in a ‘last chance’ conference to tackle Climate Change in Copenhagen. A people’s summit is being held on the 16th of December in the conference to show that we are not willing to let a government agenda govern the proceedings, and that as a social movement we need to take a stand. Again, transport from across the country will be going and coaches are being booked right now to ensure we can all get there. Climate Justice Action is an umbrella organisation that encompasses a broad range of activist organisations that will have a range of details and contacts for the event.

Bl2

A stall highlighting the problem of Agrofuels was also providing information to passers by, bio fuels are linked to accelerated climate change, deforestation, human rights abuses, water and soil degradation, and are still labeled by many NGO’s and government as an answer to conventional oil practice. There is ademonstration outside The Department for Energy and Climate Change in London on Monday the 12th to protest against the so-called ‘green energy’ subsidies.

Bl3

There was also the SOAS food co-op, which provides wholesale food and is run as a non-profit group set up by students. The bike maintenance workshop put on was also really popular. If you missed the event make sure you get down to Powershift being held over the weekend at the Institute of Education in London.

As the event wound down and we were outreached out, a group headed to the City University as a certain energy company, E.ON, were holding a talk at the student recruitment fair. The company is responsible for the planned new coal power stations at Kingsnorth, which combined would produce the same carbon emissions as Ghana. With the report by the Global and Humanitarian forum stating that three hundred thousand people are already dying already each year due to climate change, it isn’t a viable option.

Bl4

The group of activists stormed the talks, getting past the security guards who were holding a pretty tight presence outside the doors, quite possibly due to the continued protests against E.ON at student fairs last year.
While three burly guys jumped on one activist, the others handed out flyers to the bemused students woken up from the corporate PowerPoint slumber. An activist took to the podium to tell the audience what E.ON are really about. Claiming themselves as a Green Energy Company while 95% of their investment is into non renewable energies is a clear sign of greenwashing and the corporate bullshit that students have to listen to.
Yesterday Bloom In Bloomsbury was held in Torrington Square in SOAS. The gathering was held to get people involved and engaged with the Climate Change problem. Luckily it was held under a big marquee as we were subjected to a few downpours throughout the day.

BL

There was a stall to get people involved with The Great Climate Swoop, page the direct action to shut down Ratcliffe On Soar oal power station in 10 days time. Outreach also got people signed up to provide transport down to Nottingham, salve which is going from all across the country at special activist prices.

bl1

One of the aims was to also get people involved in the run up to Cop 15 in December where world leaders will meet in a ‘last chance’ conference to tackle Climate Change in Copenhagen. A people’s summit is being held on the 16th of December in the conference to show that we are not willing to let a government agenda govern the proceedings, and that as a social movement we need to take a stand. Again, transport from across the country will be going and coaches are being booked right now to ensure we can all get there. Climate Justice Action is an umbrella organisation that encompasses a broad range of activist organisations that will have a range of details and contacts for the event.

Bl2

A stall highlighting the problem of Agrofuels was also providing information to passers by, bio fuels are linked to accelerated climate change, deforestation, human rights abuses, water and soil degradation, and are still labeled by many NGO’s and government as an answer to conventional oil practice. There is ademonstration outside The Department for Energy and Climate Change in London on Monday the 12th to protest against the so-called ‘green energy’ subsidies.

Bl3

There was also the SOAS food co-op, which provides wholesale food and is run as a non-profit group set up by students. The bike maintenance workshop put on was also really popular. If you missed the event make sure you get down to Powershift being held over the weekend at the Institute of Education in London.

As the event wound down and we were outreached out, a group headed to the City University as a certain energy company, E.ON, were holding a talk at the student recruitment fair. The company is responsible for the planned new coal power stations at Kingsnorth, which combined would produce the same carbon emissions as Ghana. With the report by the Global and Humanitarian forum stating that three hundred thousand people are already dying already each year due to climate change, it isn’t a viable option.

Bl4

The group of activists stormed the talks, getting past the security guards who were holding a pretty tight presence outside the doors, quite possibly due to the continued protests against E.ON at student fairs last year.
While three burly guys jumped on one activist, the others handed out flyers to the bemused students woken up from the corporate PowerPoint slumber. An activist took to the podium to tell the audience what E.ON are really about. Claiming themselves as a Green Energy Company while 95% of their investment is into non renewable energies is a clear sign of greenwashing and the corporate bullshit that students have to listen to.
Yesterday Bloom In Bloomsbury was held in Torrington Square in SOAS. The gathering was held to get people involved and engaged with the Climate Change problem. Luckily it was held under a big marquee as we were subjected to a few downpours throughout the day.

BL

There was a stall to get people involved with The Great Climate Swoop, thumb the direct action to shut down Ratcliffe On Soar oal power station in 10 days time. Outreach also got people signed up to provide transport down to Nottingham, abortion which is going from all across the country at special activist prices.

bl1

One of the aims was to also get people involved in the run up to Cop 15 in December where world leaders will meet in a ‘last chance’ conference to tackle Climate Change in Copenhagen. A people’s summit is being held on the 16th of December in the conference to show that we are not willing to let a government agenda govern the proceedings, and that as a social movement we need to take a stand. Again, transport from across the country will be going and coaches are being booked right now to ensure we can all get there. Climate Justice Action is an umbrella organisation that encompasses a broad range of activist organisations that will have a range of details and contacts for the event.

Bl2

A stall highlighting the problem of Agrofuels was also providing information to passers by, bio fuels are linked to accelerated climate change, deforestation, human rights abuses, water and soil degradation, and are still labeled by many NGO’s and government as an answer to conventional oil practice. There is ademonstration outside The Department for Energy and Climate Change in London on Monday the 12th to protest against the so-called ‘green energy’ subsidies.

Bl3

There was also the SOAS food co-op, which provides wholesale food and is run as a non-profit group set up by students. The bike maintenance workshop put on was also really popular. If you missed the event make sure you get down to Powershift being held over the weekend at the Institute of Education in London.

As the event wound down and we were outreached out, a group headed to the City University as a certain energy company, E.ON, were holding a talk at the student recruitment fair. The company is responsible for the planned new coal power stations at Kingsnorth, which combined would produce the same carbon emissions as Ghana. With the report by the Global and Humanitarian forum stating that three hundred thousand people are already dying already each year due to climate change, it isn’t a viable option.

Bl4

The group of activists stormed the talks, getting past the security guards who were holding a pretty tight presence outside the doors, quite possibly due to the continued protests against E.ON at student fairs last year.
While three burly guys jumped on one activist, the others handed out flyers to the bemused students woken up from the corporate PowerPoint slumber. An activist took to the podium to tell the audience what E.ON are really about. Claiming themselves as a Green Energy Company while 95% of their investment is into non renewable energies is a clear sign of greenwashing and the corporate bullshit that students have to listen to.
Yesterday Bloom In Bloomsbury was held in Torrington Square in SOAS. The gathering was held to get people involved and engaged with the Climate Change problem. Luckily it was held under a big marquee as we were subjected to a few downpours throughout the day.

BL

There was a stall to get people involved with The Great Climate Swoop, cialis 40mg the direct action to shut down Ratcliffe On Soar oal power station in 10 days time. Outreach also got people signed up to provide transport down to Nottingham, which is going from all across the country at special activist prices.

bl1

One of the aims was to also get people involved in the run up to Cop 15 in December where world leaders will meet in a ‘last chance’ conference to tackle Climate Change in Copenhagen. A people’s summit is being held on the 16th of December in the conference to show that we are not willing to let a government agenda govern the proceedings, and that as a social movement we need to take a stand. Again, transport from across the country will be going and coaches are being booked right now to ensure we can all get there. Climate Justice Action is an umbrella organisation that encompasses a broad range of activist organisations that will have a range of details and contacts for the event.

Bl2

A stall highlighting the problem of Agrofuels was also providing information to passers by, bio fuels are linked to accelerated climate change, deforestation, human rights abuses, water and soil degradation, and are still labeled by many NGO’s and government as an answer to conventional oil practice. There is ademonstration outside The Department for Energy and Climate Change in London on Monday the 12th to protest against the so-called ‘green energy’ subsidies.

Bl3

There was also the SOAS food co-op, which provides wholesale food and is run as a non-profit group set up by students. The bike maintenance workshop put on was also really popular. If you missed the event make sure you get down to Powershift being held over the weekend at the Institute of Education in London.

As the event wound down and we were outreached out, a group headed to the City University as a certain energy company, E.ON, were holding a talk at the student recruitment fair. The company is responsible for the planned new coal power stations at Kingsnorth, which combined would produce the same carbon emissions as Ghana. With the report by the Global and Humanitarian forum stating that three hundred thousand people are already dying already each year due to climate change, it isn’t a viable option.

Bl4

The group of activists stormed the talks, getting past the security guards who were holding a pretty tight presence outside the doors, quite possibly due to the continued protests against E.ON at student fairs last year.
While three burly guys jumped on one activist, the others handed out flyers to the bemused students woken up from the corporate PowerPoint slumber. An activist took to the podium to tell the audience what E.ON are really about. Claiming themselves as a Green Energy Company while 95% of their investment is into non renewable energies is a clear sign of greenwashing and the corporate bullshit that students have to listen to.
Yesterday Bloom In Bloomsbury was held in Torrington Square in SOAS. The gathering was held to get people involved and engaged with the Climate Change problem. Luckily it was held under a big marquee as we were subjected to a few downpours throughout the day.

BL

There was a stall to get people involved with The Great Climate Swoop, order the direct action to shut down Ratcliffe On Soar oal power station in 10 days time. Outreach also got people signed up to provide transport down to Nottingham, case which is going from all across the country at special activist prices.

bl1

One of the aims was to also get people involved in the run up to Cop 15 in December where world leaders will meet in a ‘last chance’ conference to tackle Climate Change in Copenhagen. A people’s summit is being held on the 16th of December in the conference to show that we are not willing to let a government agenda govern the proceedings, cure and that as a social movement we need to take a stand. Again, transport from across the country will be going and coaches are being booked right now to ensure we can all get there. Climate Justice Action is an umbrella organisation that encompasses a broad range of activist organisations that will have a range of details and contacts for the event.

Bl2

A stall highlighting the problem of Agrofuels was also providing information to passers by, bio fuels are linked to accelerated climate change, deforestation, human rights abuses, water and soil degradation, and are still labeled by many NGO’s and government as an answer to conventional oil practice. There is ademonstration outside The Department for Energy and Climate Change in London on Monday the 12th to protest against the so-called ‘green energy’ subsidies.

Bl3

There was also the SOAS food co-op, which provides wholesale food and is run as a non-profit group set up by students. The bike maintenance workshop put on was also really popular. If you missed the event make sure you get down to Powershift being held over the weekend at the Institute of Education in London.

As the event wound down and we were outreached out, a group headed to the City University as a certain energy company, E.ON, were holding a talk at the student recruitment fair. The company is responsible for the planned new coal power stations at Kingsnorth, which combined would produce the same carbon emissions as Ghana. With the report by the Global and Humanitarian forum stating that three hundred thousand people are already dying already each year due to climate change, it isn’t a viable option.

Bl4

The group of activists stormed the talks, getting past the security guards who were holding a pretty tight presence outside the doors, quite possibly due to the continued protests against E.ON at student fairs last year.
While three burly guys jumped on one activist, the others handed out flyers to the bemused students woken up from the corporate PowerPoint slumber. An activist took to the podium to tell the audience what E.ON are really about. Claiming themselves as a Green Energy Company while 95% of their investment is into non renewable energies is a clear sign of greenwashing and the corporate bullshit that students have to listen to.
danielmacnaboe2

I’d like to start the interview with Daniel McNaboe by inquiring into the ideas, symptoms views or politics that inspire his illustrations. Daniel is a graduate from the Illustration degree at the University of West England.

I’ve always been inspired by achieving some degree of realism in my artwork. Contemporary realist portraiture has been a continuing influence in the development of my work. I’m fascinated by the world around me. Both my mum and dad were always big on reading, advice my dad would sit on the same patch of the sofa, reading the Guardian front to back for what seemed like hours each evening. His fascination with the world around him, simply his awareness of current affairs really intrigued me. I like to think he enlightened me to a lot of information. Always encouraging me not to take the things I have for granted.

Secondly I’m inspired by ordinary stories, I worked for a number of years during college and university holidays as a cleaner at the John Radcliffe hospital in Oxford. The job was a true life-experience. Not only the nature of the job itself, which consisted of working within sometimes distressing situations and environments. But also the people I got to know through working there. The cleaning staff comprised workers from all over the world, all with unique and amazing life stories that definitely affected the way in which I consequently look at the world. Their varying cultures, ideals, views really opened my eyes to a lot of things that in any other job I don’t think I would have been so fortunate as to experience. The many long hours I spent mopping floors, cleaning toilets and sitting on upturned mop buckets in cleaning cupboards chatting away with colleagues has continued to influence my thinking and motivations in regards to my artwork.

danielmacnaboe3

How do you decide which medium is best to represent your ideas?

I initially stick with what it is I know best, and from there let the ideas and aesthetics I’m exploring influence the mediums I use. I always begin with pencil and paper, and progress from there. I really enjoy printmaking, and spent a long time at University exploring hand-drawn and four-color photographic lithography techniques. I’m drawn to mediums, which complement my drawing, and general practical approach.

danielmcnaboewill

I allow the materials I use to help me form my ideas. I’ve always, for as long as I can remember been very much drawn to working with pencil and paper. It’s the simplicity of it that I get a kick from. I love rendering images onto the papers surface, in a similar way as to how I love watching a photograph develop in a dark room. I have a tendency to work slowly and methodically on each piece. I’ll never forget an art teacher telling me there are no lines in real life, and ever since have tried to avoid harsh, linear marks in my drawings when aiming towards realism. I tend to work softly and gently with my materials.

danielmacnaboe

What has been your favorite self directed illustration project?

The project I produced for my degree show at the University of the West of England. I chose to spend my last few months at university focusing on portraiture, this being a field I was keen to pursue after leaving University. Initially I was working through old family photographs for inspiration. I came across an image of my grandfather, a crisp military portrait of him in his first year as a U.S. Marine at age 18. What struck me was his youthfulness in the photograph. His innocence, and maybe naivety that was to be sadly short lived. It was interesting to me pondering that we were roughly at the same points in our lives, but under such different circumstances.

danielmcnaboesilver for hobbs!

Through consequent research I discovered he was deployed in the third wave of Marines onto the Japanese island of Iwo Jima on the 19th February 1945, and was incredibly lucky. Of the 340 U.S. Marines in his company only 17 of them, him included survived, many of them wounded. In one of my drawings for the project, I rendered a photograph depicting my grandfather and a very good friend not long before they were deployed to Iwo Jima. I later learnt that his friend never made it off.

On return to America My grandfather was awarded the Silver Star for gallantry in battle. In total 21,703 Japanese soldiers were killed on the island, and 6,825 U.S. Marines, with 29,909 American casualties over a 36-day period, a figure greater than the total Allied casualties on the D-Day landings.

I decided to produce a series of images concerning his early life. From growing up as a young boy during the Great Depression in rural Illinois through to his time serving in the South Pacific during the Second World War. The time I spent rendering these images allowed me to put my own life into some sort of perspective.

What I seem to get most out of portraiture, whether it be portraits i’m working on myself or other peoples, is simply just gazing, trying to relate with the subject.

danielmacnaboe1

What was the thinking process behind the project?

Depsite living thousands of miles apart, I’ve always felt very close to my grandfather, and his experience during the war struck a chord with me. He is a quiet man, who is now 86 years old and very rarely mentioned his service. I was keen for the work to form a kind of homage to him.

I guess the way I work is process based. I accumulate a collection of images that best convey what it is I want to express, and then begin rendering from them. As work progresses it gives me more ideas as to how I would like to develop further. As I was working on the portraits of my grandfather I began to employ collage, Photoshop and printmaking to try and convey a particular aesthetic I thought was missing from the drawings. I loved the smokey aesthetic of the old black and white photographs I was studying, so I consequently decided to work with an assortment of soft-very soft graphite on smooth and thick off-white
cartridge paper.

danielmcnaboephill

I experimented with drawing in reverse with coloured conte pencils on black paper. Both techniques worked well. I also painted with Acrylic onto smoothly sanded gesso on Board. There were a couple images of the farmhouse my grandfather grew up in that I was keen to incorporate, and I felt the best way to represent this would be to move on to paint.

Throughout the duration of the project I maintained a keen interest in the aesthetics of old documentation. I loved the qualities of the old military papers I was looking through.

Categories ,collage, ,Daniel MacNaboe, ,illustration, ,Photoshop, ,second world war, ,University of West England

Similar Posts:






Amelia’s Magazine | An interview with Percie Edgeler: Amelia’s Colourful Colouring Companion featured artist.

percie edgeler
Percie Edgeler is another recent graduate of Camberwell College of Arts, (see also Tiffany Baxter) whose work caught my eye at the graduate shows. She contributes an unusual and wonderful piece for Amelia’s Colourful Colouring Companion inspired by a Japanese folk tale

percie edgeler
What kind of artwork will you be creating on the theme of magic and rituals for your upcoming group exhibition?
I’m not entirely sure yet. I have a few different ideas I need to figure out the layouts for. We’ve been given some guidelines by the lovely people at Treadwell’s Books (the venue) and we can’t have anything three dimensional due to size of the space, so that’s definitely not an option. Luckily it’s with a very friendly group of people from a mix of disciplines, including Tiffany Baxter, who’s being included in the colouring book, and we can share our ideas quite easily and get feedback on what we think is best collectively.

percie edgeler
Why have you decided to push your artwork into 3 dimensions and how are you progressing?
I trained and work now as an illustrator, which most would assume is primarily a two dimensional way of working. Three dimensional work has never been my strong point, and by making ceramics I’m trying to push myself not to be limited to one skill. I guess in part it’s also a question of style: if I’m limiting myself to working in a certain way, my two dimensional work won’t evolve from what it already is because it’s not being challenged. It’s slow progress because I don’t know much about three dimensional forms, but I’m learning. I chose to start with ceramics because to me it seems the most natural. I’ve always worked quite traditionally with my hands, so being able to hold and lump of clay and form it makes more sense to me than any other three dimensional form for now. At the moment everything I try to shape is quite wobbly, I’ve made a fair few wobbly dogs, but they’re getting better over time.

percie edgeler
In what way does the built environment inspire you?
At the risk of being too political, my generation is limited in terms of housing; so it’s hard for us not to notice the built environment more than ever. It’s interesting when you go to other countries and see their architecture how in comparison the UK has a mixture of old and new that is juxtaposed. The spaces in which we work and play can no longer be limited to a building. I’m lucky in that the area I live in is the greenest borough in London, and for me it’s easy to go into a park or field without losing my connection to the city. But now we need more housing and infrastructure, those green areas are increasingly under threat. There’s a balance of being part of something man made and something natural which I really enjoy, though recently in what I’ve been drawing I’ve been erring towards the natural. Often we don’t take the time to consider what’s there already because we’re used to it, and I think now as an adult I appreciate that environment a lot more.

percie edgeler
Why did you decide to focus on a Japanese fairytale for your colouring book page?
There’s something very honest about Japanese folk stories. There’s so many different ones, and in the Japanese culture it’s not just a fairy tale, it’s a part of life, a tale of a time before our time. The way they’re told is mostly through spoken word; more reportage than storytelling like we have in Europe. And the way someone tells a story verbally is very different to how one may draw one, with the storyteller adding their own inflections or details which others may not. That culture of storytelling is still there now, I think; if you read a novel by a contemporary Japanese author, say for instance the ever popular Haruki Murakami, the facts are given with such detail that it’s fascinating. In 1Q84, Murakami writes about two people who have loved each other for years and in one scene they miss each other by minutes. That pure feeling expressed in folk stories is still there, and that’s absolutely lovely. I chose to base the artwork for my colouring book page on a folk tale for this reason. I wanted to give my own take, and share a story in a new way that people could interact with.

percie edgeler
Which cultures are you most enjoying learning the folk tales about and why?
I enjoy learning the folk tales from most cultures, be it from European cultures or further afield. I think my favourite so far is a Maori one talking about how Ta Moko, a form of facial tattooing, came to their tribe as there is no distinguishing between what happened in the story as fact or fiction. Icelandic folk tales are also quite enjoyable as they can be quite traditional by Western standards but also feature dark elements.

percie edgeler
What is it that you love about books and what kind of books do you hope to make yourself one day?
As childrens’ books are an escape. You can live a hundred times through all those characters and have all of those adventures through reading them. As an adult, the same can still apply on some level but they also help to challenge a lot of issues in society and reflect on society at that time. Precisely because of that, my long term goal is to work with books. Every opportunity I’ve had to work with books has just confirmed that. I want to make books for children that they can enjoy, but also want to make them accessible for adults; reading to children and encouraging them to read should be something to have fun with, though very few books achieve that.

percie edgeler
How did you get involved with Four Corners Books and what did you do with them?
Through my university in our final year we had a choice of external projects for a range of different people; e.g. the BBC, Tate Modern, Nexus. I chose the Four Corners one because I wanted to make something outside of my comfort zone of something narrative. By creating animal images from the Edwardian short story of Saki’s Sredni Vashtar, I was pushed to do something different but still work with books and illustration in a way that I felt made the project fun and exciting.

percie edgeler
What happens in your story about a man and a dog?
A boy loses his dog after the dog runs out of the house because the dog is tired of never being played with. The boy, desperately sorry for his actions, chases the dog out and follows him on his adventures around the world only to miss him and his incredible feats each time. It escalates and escalates until eventually, unable to find him, the boy goes home and gives up – but luckily for him, that’s not the end of the story. I don’t want to give too much away because it’s something I definitely want to complete and put out into the world. Maybe that’s a little self indulgent. When I started it for the Macmillan Prize in 2014, I felt like giving up on illustration. It made drawing exciting again and forced me to keep going.

percie edgeler
What was the best thing to come out of your graduate exhibition Rock, Paper, Scissors in Hoxton?
I think the best thing to come out of my graduate exhibition was the experience of doing something on such a large scale. I managed the Kickstarter for it with a small group of people, and that was insanely difficult. We raised about two hundred pounds over what we needed in that in the few hours before it finished, so it allowed us to cover a lot of extras which really made a difference to the exhibition as a whole. Also the venue let me recreate a mural I did inside the university, albeit on a smaller scale, which was really enjoyable. I also ran a paper marbling workshop while there and that was really fun to do, especially with little kids. It was messy though so their parents probably weren’t too pleased!

What else have you been doing this year, it sounds like you’ve been super busy!
Two weeks after I graduated I was offered a job interning at Kritical Mass, a company which works with charities and businesses trying to make a change with their products in a positive way; so through them I’ve been given some work for clients such as BirdLife International which has been great. For them I’ve made a set of illustrations concerning the decline in vulture population which has been really interesting, I’ve learnt a lot from it which I wouldn’t learn in any other job. I’ve been quite lucky this year in that I was also featured in Secret 7” which was held at Somerset House for the first time, and also had work in Belly Kids’ ‘Milhouse From Memory’ exhibition. I have a few projects in the pipelines as well now which are something a bit different to what I’ve done before; so from here I’m interested to see where I can go and what I can do, I’m excited for what’s to come.

Categories ,1Q84, ,26 illustrators, ,Adult Coloring Book, ,Adult Colouring Book, ,BirdLife International, ,Camberwell College of Arts, ,Coloring Book, ,Colouring Book, ,Four Corners Books, ,Haruki Murakami, ,illustration, ,Kickstarter, ,Kritical Mass, ,Macmillan Prize, ,Milhouse From Memory, ,Percie Edgeler, ,Rock Paper Scissors, ,Secret 7”, ,Sredni Vashtar, ,Ta Moko, ,Tiffany Baxter, ,Treadwell’s Books

Similar Posts:






Amelia’s Magazine | An interview with Feronia Parker-Thomas: Amelia’s Colourful Colouring Companion featured artist.

feronia parker thomas
Feronia Parker-Thomas is yet another graduate of Camberwell College of Arts. She is now qualified as a teacher herself, signed to The Bright Agency and has just produced the illustrations for her first children’s book How the Crayons Saved the Rainbow. Her fab piece for Amelia’s Colourful Colouring Companion features one of her favourite animals…

feronia parker thomas
feronia parker thomas
Would it be fair to say that you liked bears? What is it about them that appeals so much?
Yes, I am incredibly in love with them! I have done since a young age but have never really thought about why I find them appealing. Thinking about it now, there are two reasons that jump out at me. Firstly, they are lovely to draw, their fur is a fun texture to render and their shape is full of beautiful curves. Secondly, I think humans have always been fascinated with bears; there are examples of bears in prehistoric cave paintings and there are lots of bears in myths and legends. They have quite human features and I think we project whatever we are feeling on to them.

feronia parker thomas
How did you settle on your idea for my colouring book?
I love picture books and this is the area of illustration I am drawn to and mainly working in, so I wanted to do a narrative piece about a girl and her ‘imaginary’ bear. I was thinking about my sister and I when we were children sitting under tables creating imaginary worlds. I liked the idea that the girl was collecting food for her bear and then we get to see the big feast that ensues.

feronia parker thomas
What is your preferred method of producing an illustration?
I draw out a loose sketch of what the illustration will look like and then flesh it out in pencil, I then use my lightbox and the original as a template. I will usually do a watercolour base and then add pencil over the top for detail. I have dabbled in digital colouring recently but I am still not sure; I like the flexibility that digital can give you, but something doesn’t feel quite right for me. There are some amazing digital illustrators out there doing a much better job that I can! I work in the flat I share with my boyfriend in Streatham, and we have lots of books and plants and artwork on the walls; it is a lovely space with lots of light.

feronia parker thomas
Since graduating from Camberwell College of Arts in 2010 what have you learnt about the business of being an illustrator?
It is a rollercoaster; it has highs and lows. A high has been signing to The Bright Agency, they are going through quite an exciting time at the moment so it is great to be a part of it. I have learnt you have to put yourself out there; your work can’t be found if you are hiding it! If I was to give one piece of advice it would be to join Twitter and Instagram and share your work, get your work seen by anyone. There is a great community of illustrators on Twitter that support each other, it is lovely to be a part of.

feronia parker thomas
Why do you enjoy teaching so much and how do you balance being a teacher with being a working artist?
I love teaching because it forces you to look at art in different ways. It sounds incredibly cheesy but I love seeing the new generation of artists develop (insert puke noise here). The arts in schools are under threat and I think it is important to try and show young people that art can have so many different applications in life, I really enjoy winning round unwilling kids. It has been hard at times to balance the two, especially when you might have a tight deadline, but I love illustrating, so when you love doing something it isn’t hard to motivate yourself.

feronia parker thomas
Can you tell us more about your first picture book? it sounds great!
How the Crayons Saved the Rainbow is about an argument between the Sun and the Clouds. Without them working together there are no rainbows, so some very determined crayons work together to try and fix the problem; it is a great story about team work. The book was really fun to do and took me out of my comfort zone a little because they wanted the illustrations in crayon, which isn’t my usual medium. I had a great working relationship with the author and editor; so it was a really positive experience for my first book.

feronia parker thomas
How is development of your own ideas for a children’s book coming along?
Slowly but surely! I am trying to develop characters for several different ideas at the moment, it is nice to have the freedom to flit backwards and forwards and have space and time to develop. I am huge fan of David Roberts‘ illustrations for Rosie Revere, Engineer and Iggy Peck, Architect. They are wonderfully detailed illustrations, I seem to be drawn to illustrators who use lots of detail. I love Carson Ellis‘ work and Janet Ahlberg‘s illustrations were a favourite of mine as a child. I loved Peepo and The Baby’s Catalogue; I could still look at the Jolly Postman for hours.

feronia parker thomas-highgate
I love your drawings from Highgate Cemetery – what prompted this personal work?
The Transport Museum’s ‘Places and Spaces‘ theme for last year’s Prize for Illustration my starting point for these images. I didn’t end up submitting an illustration in the end but it was great to work to a brief. I am fascinated with cemeteries; I went to Paris last year and spent a large proportion of my time looking around different cemeteries there. In many ways it is an unfinished project, I thought I might do illustrated maps for ‘The Magnificent Seven‘ cemeteries in London but never got round to it; watch this space!

feronia parker thomas-pirate
Who are the Pirate Kids?
The Pirate Kids were two characters I created about a year ago as a portfolio piece. I feel a bit guilty that I haven’t developed them more, at the moment they are frozen in time!

feronia parker thomas
feronia parker thomas
What else do you love to draw and why?
I really enjoy drawing people, I get an intense satisfaction when I do a portrait and it actually looks like the person I have drawn. Last year I did a series of portraits of women I consider to be icons, feminism is an important cause to me and I wanted to celebrate them.

feronia parker thomas
Amelia’s Colourful Colouring Companion will be available to preorder on Kickstarter VERY SOON, so watch this space!

Categories ,#ameliasccc, ,Adult Coloring Book, ,Adult Colouring Book, ,Amelia’s Colourful Colouring Companion, ,bears, ,Camberwell College of Arts, ,Carson Ellis, ,Coloring, ,Colouring, ,David Roberts, ,Feronia Parker Thomas, ,How the Crayons Saved the Rainbow, ,illustration, ,interview, ,Janet Ahlberg, ,Mindful colouring, ,Pirate Kids, ,Places and Spaces, ,The Bright Agency

Similar Posts:






Amelia’s Magazine | An interview with Harriet Plaskitt: Amelia’s Colourful Colouring Companion featured artist.

HARRIET PLASKITT RECIPE 2
Harriet Plaskitt contributes a fabulous tableaux featuring food for Amelia’s Colourful Colouring Companion, inspired by her own travails. She tells us more about this, and gaining a brilliant commission for the Stereophonics thanks to Instagram.

HARRIET PLASKITT PORTRAIT
I believe your are most interested in 3 areas of illustration, what are these and why do they interest you the most?
Yes, I tend to draw three main areas, buildings and maps, food and recipes, and hand drawn typography. I enjoy travelling, and like to capture the places I have been by drawing the buildings there. And not just the ornate landmarks, but the ordinary terraces and high streets. Having been recently diagnosed with IBS, I enjoy exploring what meals I can make with the limited and unusual list of foods I can eat. When I was researching this I realised there was a gap in the market for illustrated IBS friendly recipes. Hand drawn typography has always been something that I’ve enjoyed doing, I like creating my own fonts and experimenting with what can and cannot work.

HARRIET PLASKITT - TOWN
What is your preferred way to work?
I like to work at my desk, so that I have all my materials and laptop and printer readily available. I work mainly with a set of Rotring Isograph pens with black ink. I usually draw all the components of my illustrations separately, and then scan them in and compile them on photoshop. If I colour them I either do it with colouring pencils, or on photoshop.

HARRIET PLASKITT HOUSE PORTRAIT
What was the best part of your course at the University of Gloucestershire?
I really enjoyed the independence of being at university. We did a module about promotion and I liked creating a brand for myself, and making promotional items, making sure everything you do looks like it is done by you.

HARRIET PLASKITT DOUBLE PAGE
In what way has your personal life inspired your artwork for my colouring book?
Due to being on a restrictive and unusual diet called FODMAP, I have to be creative and inventive with that I eat. The two pages for the colouring book show what I can eat on one side, and what I can’t eat on the other.

HARRIET PLASKITT STEREOPHONICS 2
How did you get your first commission from the Stereophonics and what was it for?
The wife of the lead singer found my instagram page and commissioned me to do a house portrait. She then showed her husband Kelly my website and he liked my work, so they contacted me to design their logo and do drawings which they used for the album cover and inside the album booklet. It was all very lucky and an amazing experience.

HARRIET PLASKITT QUOTE
How have you become skilled in hand lettering?
I spend a lot of time practicing and experimenting, with different fonts, different materials and different subjects. I also really like discovering other people who do hand drawn typography, and often look through Instagram for inspiration.

HARRIET PLASKITT COPPER CARD
What project have you recently done using the Adana Eight Five printing press?
I recently created a range of hand printed letterpress greetings cards. These are now all in my Etsy shop and include birthday cards, thank you cards and various hello cards. I’ve used colours that you can’t print with digitally, like gold and copper.

How do you motivate yourself to work on personal projects and why are these important to you?
When I get stuck on a commissioned project, I like to do something personal to reinspire me. I think it is really important to keep going with what you want to do, not only because it expands your portfolio, but because you can develop and experiment with your style.

HARRIET PLASKITT - CITY
What quotes from pop songs are you likely to illustrate, and in what context?
I liked the idea of creating a series of ‘motivational’ quotes, that when initially looked at appear to be the normal “live laugh love” etc which are popular at the moment, but instead are quotes from cheesy pop songs, for example S Club 7. I’ve got some ongoing commissions at the moment so this has been put on hold, but I look forward to getting back to it!

Where can we find you online?
Instagram is where I am most active @harrietplaskittillustration. My etsy shop is here and my website is www.hpillustration.co.uk.

Harriet Plaskitt is featured in Amelia’s Colourful Colouring Companion, alongside 40 other fabulous artists, funding now on Kickstarter. Make sure you get a copy or a few as soon as possible!

Categories ,#ameliasccc, ,Adana Eight Five, ,Adult Coloring Book, ,Adult Colouring Book, ,Amelia’s Colourful Colouring Companion, ,Coloring, ,Coloring Book, ,Colouring, ,Colouring Book, ,etsy, ,FODMAP, ,Food, ,Harriet Plaskitt, ,IBS, ,illustration, ,instagram, ,interview, ,Kickstarter, ,Rotring Isograph, ,S Club 7, ,Stereophonics, ,University of Gloucestershire

Similar Posts:






Amelia’s Magazine | An interview with Hazel Partridge: Amelia’s Colourful Colouring Companion featured artist.

Hazel Partidge Image 5
Beautiful nature themed artworks by Hazel Partridge were one of my top picks at this year’s New Designers show, so I was thrilled that she took up the offer to submit for Amelia’s Colourful Colouring Companion. Her gorgeous papercut piece was inspired by a poem from Black Country poet Liz Berry.

Hazel Partridge Image 11
I found you at New Designers, what was the best thing about that show for you?
New Designers was really inspiring and informative, the atmosphere was great and it was packed the whole time! I really enjoyed looking at the work from all of the different disciplines and Universities; it was really encouraging to see such diverse ideas and products from this year’s graduates. The most useful aspect of the show was that it gave a great opportunity to speak to representatives from the creative industry; at the Falmouth University stand we met people from publishers, agencies and design companies, all of whom were really enthusiastic about our work.

Hazel Partidge Image 9
Hazel Partidge Image 6
How did studying at Falmouth Uni inform your illustrations, it’s such a beautiful town!?
Falmouth is such an inspiring location, and I think everyone studying there would agree! Working in a collaborative studio environment is something that I really miss, it’s so useful to be able to see what others are working on, and get reliable feedback on your own work as well. Nature is a recurring theme for me, and exploring the local Cornish landscapes definitely influences my illustrations. I scuba dive and rock-climb regularly, seeing the world from a different perspective- whether it’s underwater or from halfway up a sea cliff – gets me away from my desk, and more productive when I am back there.

Hazel Partridge Image 4
Where do you like to go when you are at home in the Cotswolds and in need of inspiration?
I’m lucky to live close to so many beautiful places; I love a good long walk through the woods and fields with friends, and heading over to Wales with my family on our motorcycles. I also find a lot of inspiration through reading, I’ve recently finished The Worm Forgives the Plough by John Stewart Collis, which I enjoyed.

HAZEL PARTRIDGE
Can you tell us what inspired your double page for my book?
My colouring page was inspired by imagery from Bird by the Black Country poet Liz Berry. I caught a snatch of the poem; the lines ‘I shed my nightdress to the drowning arms of the dark, my shoes to the sun’s widening mouth’ on the radio, and jotted them down so that I could find out the rest. A little research later and I had discovered an amazing poem that was rich with themes of metamorphosis and migration, and which evoked an enticing yet slightly unsettling atmosphere.

Hazel Partidge Image 8
What are your preferred methods when making artwork?
My illustration was created using cut paper, inks and digital editing. My current favourite mediums to work in are lino print and papercutting, I really enjoy how the process flows- starting with a blank surface and then removing bits of it until the design emerges (hopefully) unbroken. Although working traditionally is by no means the fastest method of producing images in these styles, I find that the results have a warmer and more authentic quality than they would if created digitally as I have put a lot more of myself into their creation.

Hazel Partridge Image 3
Hazel Partidge Image 7
You obviously have a great love for birds as they feature widely in your work, what is your favourite bird and why?
My favourite bird is probably the magpie, because not only are they intelligent and beautiful, but they have such a rich folklore surrounding them – most people know the One for Sorrow rhyme, for example. My illustrative work reflects my interests in natural history and science, and although my images are often decorative I enjoy researching the background information on my subjects and trying to keep the designs accurate.

Hazel Partridge Image 3
What new projects are you working on now?
I am currently working on a series of privately commissioned images featuring various birds in their natural habitats. It’s always hard to part with my original artworks, but it’s lovely to know that they are going to a good home where they will be displayed properly rather than sat in a folder in my studio. I’ve got a few print-based projects in the pipeline as well, but I can’t say more about them at the moment, and as Christmas is on its way I’m beginning to plan some festive projects too. I post on social media frequently, so updates can be found there.

Find Hazel on Facebook, Twitter @HP_Illustrates, Instagram @hazelpartridgeillustration and Tumblr. You can colour Hazel Partridge‘s art in Amelia’s Colourful Colouring Companion alongside that of 40 other international artists. Funding on Kickstarter with only 10 days left, so get your copy now, it makes a fantastic Christmas gift!

Categories ,#ameliasccc, ,Adult Coloring, ,Adult Colouring, ,Amelia’s Colourful Colouring Companion, ,Bird, ,Christmas, ,Coloring for Adults, ,Colouring Book, ,Cotswolds, ,Falmouth University, ,Hazel Partridge, ,illustration, ,interview, ,John Stewart Collis, ,Kickstarter, ,Lino printing, ,Liz Berry, ,nature, ,New Designers, ,One for Sorrow, ,Papercut, ,The Worm Forgives the Plough, ,wales

Similar Posts:






Amelia’s Magazine | An interview with illustrator David Doran

TheWeekendsStartHereSpots_DavidDoran1

Illustrator David Doran is a recent graduate of Falmouth University and was one of the standout graduate illustrators discovered at the 2014 shows (read more in my New Blood review)… I caught up with him to talk inspiration from the USA, working with new clients and how to engage with the commercial world before graduation.

DavidDoran_Studio
How has your recent trip around America informed your work?
It was great to get out and about, see new sights and meet new people. Illustration is one of the few jobs that you can do from pretty much anywhere. After finishing University, my girlfriend and I felt the need to travel to new places. We had a few contacts in New York, Boston, Portland and San Francisco, and decided that it was the perfect time for us to just head off. I met with clients at newspapers and magazines, and together we also managed to meet up with other creative people. It was great to make more personable relationships with clients I’d been working with and to realise how international illustration and the industry is. Visually, the American landscape is incredibly inspiring. We took a few days to drive down the Highway 101 from Portland OR to San Francisco, taking in the wild coastline.

NYTimes-Upshot_DavidDoran
NY Times

Why have you decided to stay in Falmouth after graduation – what are the benefits of staying put? (other than the fabulous scenery!)
After seeing other places and spending time in a lot of cities, Falmouth felt like the most perfect place to return to. There’s something very unique about the town, it has a brilliant close-knit, creative community and there’s nothing quite like being so near to the coast!

WIRED_DavidDoran
WIRED

How do you like your studio space set up?
I’m really enjoying having a studio. After a few years of working from home, I found that it was important for me to get out of the house in the morning and to have a routine of going to a different place to work. It also helps with the work/life balance. I try to stick to normal working hours, but occasionally a deadline will mean that there are a few late nights! My studio is set amongst other creative spaces, with architects, artists, jewellery designers, graphic designers and a print studio all working either side of me. There’s also a ping-pong table nearby, which is the highlight of every day.

TheWeekendsStartHere_DavidDoran3
The Weekends Start Here

What or who have been your biggest influences in illustration?
I’ve mentioned this a few times before, but travel posters from the early 20th century have always been a large influence visually. I enjoy the traditional printing techniques and love seeing how tactile the posters feel. There’s plenty of contemporary illustrator’s making really great work at the moment, but I find inspiration from a wide range of artist’s, including Eric Ravillious, David Hockney, Barbara Hepworth, Mark Rothko and Henri Mattise, to name a few!

NYTimesBookReview_DavidDoran
NY Times Book Review

During your degree what was the best way of learning about commercial world of illustration?
There are so many resources available for students to learn about the commercial world of illustration, such as the libraries, illustration annuals, creative magazines and websites. I read lots of interviews with illustrators, art directors and graphic designers, and was always fascinated with the commercial world and the process of a job. Most tutors at Universities will also have a wealth of knowledge about the commercial world and the different areas within illustration, so it’s always worth making the most of them and asking as many questions as you can!

TheQuarterly_DavidDoran
The Quarterly

You have unsurprisingly had a lot of success, despite having only graduated last year – what tips would you give other illustrators graduating this year?
Get your work ‘out there’ and seen as much as possible. Attend the graduate shows and make conversation with people, the people that commission work are regular people and putting a face to a name is always helpful. There may be quiet moments once you graduate, but you never know what you’ll be commissioned for in the near future, so keep on going! I think it’s important to keep your illustration work interesting for yourself by working on personal projects whenever there’s the opportunity between projects. I find this can complement my commercial work and keeps me inspired to make more work. As an illustrator you’ll often be working as part of a team with art directors and designers, which is great, but your personal projects are a nice opportunity to be in complete control of one area of your work.

TheWeekendsStartHere_DavidDoran2
The Weekends Start Here

How did you get involved with the project to illustration London: The Weekends Start Here and what was the process in researching and creating the images in the book?
Elen Jones, an editor at Ebury (Penguin Random House), got in touch with me last summer. She had seen my work at one of the London graduate shows and thought my work would fit nicely with the book concept. The process was very natural and collaborative: I was sent Tom Jones’ manuscript and I went through selecting what I’d most like to illustrate. There were a few places I hadn’t visited before, but Tom was able to help with his photographs from the research for the book. We had a meeting where we went over the list of illustrations and checked that we matched the criteria. Once we’d settled on the pictures, it was simply a case of making sketches for each of the illustrations and then working with Sophie Yamamoto, the designer at Maru Studio, to make the right adjustments to the illustrations. I then went through the list one by one making the final images. I was still in the States while I working on the book and Sophie was in Japan, while Elen was still in London, so we became quite an international working team… The time zones were very confusing! It was great to work on a larger scale project, especially compared to editorial projects, and it’s now very satisfying to be able to hold the final book and stumble upon it in bookstores.

TheWeekendsStartHere_DavidDoran1
The Weekends Start Here

What has been your favourite editorial project of recent months and why?
I enjoy almost all editorial projects, I think there’s always the possibility to make an interesting image and the process of getting to that right image can be really fun. The added adrenaline of tight deadlines means that there’s always something new to be getting on with and keeps the work fresh. A recent editorial project that I particularly enjoyed was creating a series of illustrations for the next issue of Smith Journal magazine, based in Australia, which should be coming out very soon! The magazine has a great aesthetic and the articles had a large amount of scope for concepts; the images came together very naturally.

TheWeekendsStartHere_DavidDoran4
The Weekends Start Here

What are you working on next and what would your ideal project of the future be?
I’m currently working away on editorial projects and am slowly developing a children’s picture book of my own in between jobs. It’s in its very early stages, but hopefully one day it will be revealed to the world… watch this space! I would love to explore publishing more and work on book covers in the future. I’m excited to continue working on editorials and developing concepts too!

Categories ,Book Review, ,David Doran, ,Ebury, ,Elen Jones, ,Falmouth, ,Falmouth University, ,Highway 101, ,illustration, ,illustrator, ,interview, ,Maru Studio, ,New Blood, ,NY Times, ,Smith Journal, ,Sophie Yamamoto, ,The Quarterly, ,The Weekends Start Here, ,Tom Jones

Similar Posts:






Amelia’s Magazine | An Interview with Illustrator Jordan Andrew Carter

Jordan Carter

A self-proclaimed ‘illustrational hustler/graphical wizard’, Jordan Andrew Carter uses detailed pencil drawings and contrasting block shapes to ‘mystify and amaze your human see-globes’. This rising star graduated from Norwich University of the Arts last year and has just started to pencil a name for himself in the biz. While illustration is one of his big life aims, he also mentions his other aspirations: ‘my current life goal is to own a pug and live near the sea. I also have a HUGE weakness for biscuits, and believe if you replaced money with biscuits the world would be a happier place.’ Dividing his time between ‘Northamptonshire’ and Essex, pencils and Poscas are his ‘weapons of choice’.

Jordan Carter

Jordan paints what can only be described as ‘fairytales high on Posca fumes’. His detailed wildlife pencil drawings (which remind me of the work of Ohh Deer’s Jamie Mitchell ) are mixed with bright, block colours. Delightfully over the top and topped off with a sprinkling of humour, Jordan‘s illustrations are visual jokes with lashings of both elegance and fun. There’s a touch of Discworld in there too, in the sense that worlds that are balanced on top of animals crop up more than once. There’s even a smidge of Narnia in another of his drawings. Whether it’s a whale with the weight of the world on his shoulders, an orangutan on a pink bicycle, or a leopard wearing a headdress, the images all bring to mind a fantasy land with a dash of urban life. I can’t help but think that stories would have been much more fun when I was a kid if Jordan was involved. I spoke to this new kid on the block about his latest projects and love of desk clutter.

Jordan Carter

What kind of projects have you worked on recently?
I recently took part in Inkygoodness and Ammo Magazine‘s beermat character/ Poop Deck Exhibition at the Coningsby Gallery in London which was amazing. It was pretty awesome to take part and exhibit alongside some of the illustrators that I really admire like Hattie Stewart, Yema Yema and James Burlinson. I did a piece for Creative England‘s One Thing I Know publication which sold out last week! I’m also working on creating my own clothing shop/ brand called Woodless.

Jordan Carter

There’s a definite storytelling element to your work, were you a big reader as a kid?
As a kid I preferred to be outside causing havoc like a little ruffian rather than sitting inside reading. I’m one of those people that need visual stimulation so I don’t really read a lot. If a book doesn’t have copious amounts of imagery then my mind wanders so I tend to stick to magazines. Articles are usually short and sweet with killer images, which is perfect for me.

Does what’s happening in your life affect your illustration?
In terms of inspiration: definitely not. When I sit down to draw it’s a getaway for my brain so I would rather focus on anything except what’s happening in my life. Time and money are the things that affect it most; I can’t currently spend all day everyday drawing even though I would love to so it’s just a night-time pursuit at the moment.

Jordan Carter

Is there a singular moment that sums up why you decided to become an illustrator?
Originally I wanted to become a Fireman until I realised I was scared of heights and my dreams were dashed. I don’t think there was a specific moment when I knew I wanted to become an illustrator. I’m not really a planner, I studied Fine Art at college and then Games Art at university so I guess I only knew I wanted to be an Illustrator when people started calling me it. It’s something I’ve always done and enjoyed so I’ve kind of naturally fallen into being an Illustrator.

Jordan Carter

You use mixed-media a lot in your art, is there something that compels you to mix-it up a little?
I’ve always been able to sort of adequately draw things and people but I became a massive fan-boy of various print processes and anything hand printed when I met my Graphic Designer girlfriend at university. My abilities and influences just seem to lend themselves to creating something that is a blend of everything I know or have learnt; also, it stops me getting bored because I can play about with more ways of making an image.

Jordan Carter

There’s a lot of humour in your work, do you think funniness is important in contemporary illustration?
For sure! I think if you can make someone smile, then you’re really connecting with them, so I would rather do that as opposed to just creating something that looks nice. Humour is one of the most important things in life, I think it naturally filters through into your work if you want it to or not.

Jordan Carter

What is your dream commission?
I’d love to do some larger scale mural work in a shop!

Do you really enjoy long starlit walks along the soggy shoreline and apple bobbing in baskets of kittens?
Don’t tell PETA, all the kittens consented.

Jordan Carter

Describe your desk
My desk is pretty standard to be honest, it’s white and surrounded by clutter and illustrative trinkets. There are shelves next to it filled with cardboard elephant heads, vinyl toys, paper toys, books, a skull, Lego people, zones and vintage illustrations. There is also a cube man called Earnesto Cubeman the First that sits on top of my iMac.

Jordan Carter

Jordan Carter

What’s your strangest influence?
Anything on the dark side of Youtube, if you just keep clicking you will eventually come out the other end feeling weird and questioning what you just watched. One time I spent an hour flicking through videos of hornets fighting wasps…

Is there a font you love to hate?
There are a lot of fonts I hate but none that I love to hate. I’m a huge sucker for pretty much anything hand-drawn, it all looks so fresh and natural.

Jordan Carter

All illustrations courtesy of Jordan Carter. You can view his portfolio here www.jordanandrewcarter.co.uk/

Categories ,Ammo magazine, ,art, ,artist, ,Coningsby Gallery, ,Creative England, ,graphic designe, ,hand drawn, ,Hattie Stewart, ,illustration, ,illustraton, ,inkygoodness, ,James Burlinson, ,Jordan Carter, ,newcomer, ,Ohh Deer, ,Poop Deck, ,Woodless, ,Yema Yema

Similar Posts:






Amelia’s Magazine | A tribute to the talented illustrator and designer Jayne Helliwell.

Jayne Helliwell, <a target=page Amelia’s Magazine 2007″ title=”Jayne Helliwell, help Amelia’s Magazine 2007″ width=”480″ height=”360″ class=”aligncenter size-full wp-image-16288″ />
Jayne in my kitchen eating iced fairy cakes with fellow interns Jessica and Christel.

Last night I heard the horrific news that my ex intern, pill the illustrator and designer Jayne Helliwell, was crushed to death by a bus whilst cycling down Oxford Street. She was just short of 26 years old. I was asked to comment by the Evening Standard for an article that has just gone live this morning.

Jayne was an incredibly talented and extremely likeable girl who worked on issue 08 of Amelia’s Magazine in 2007. At that stage my interns were squashed together in the kitchen, and Jayne bonded well with the others, some of whom she went on to work with later (read about her collaboration with Christel Escosa on I M / / U R here). She was one of those interns who drifted in and out because she was so busy with other projects, but I didn’t mind because the quality of her work was so good. She was quick, and she could turn her hand to pretty much any creative task with ease, be it designing, illustrating, writing or picking out the best new music.

Jayne Helliwell
Jayne Helliwell
Some of Jayne’s design work in issue 08 of Amelia’s Magazine.

She was really into the idea of living sustainably and I was impressed with her devotion to veganism – Jayne often eschewed what I had cooked in favour of some tasty morsel she had concocted herself, and she, like me, insisted on cycling absolutely everywhere. I really liked working with someone who had similar ideas about ways in which we can live more lightly on the earth.

Jayne has gone on to do lots of amazing work in the creative industries. I hadn’t spoken to her in quite awhile but I was aware that she was doing well because as well as being so talented she was so prolific: it came as no surprise to find that she worked extensively with musicians, amongst many others. Jayne had a great career ahead of her and she will surely be much missed by many people. You can read another tribute here.

Jayne Helliwell

Of course, it all seems so senseless because this tragic accident could so easily have been avoided. Why are our streets so unsafe? We are (rightly) encouraged to cycle more, and we are. There are now many more people on bikes than when I first hit the roads with two wheels nearly ten years ago. Cycling a bike has immeasurably improved my life, and yet many people I know refuse to cycle because it has become so dangerous. I’ve known three people to have been killed in bike accidents, including a Greenpeace climber that I met when we were both arrested at the Kingsnorth Climate Camp in 2008. We got on really well, swapped numbers and arranged to meet up – a month later she was dead. When are the roads going to be made safer? What does it take? How many people have to die?

I’ve cycled down Oxford Street several times in recent weeks, and every time I’ve thought “this is a death trap” – it’s a nightmare obstacle course for every kind of moving object, a collision waiting to happen. Add to this the nonchalant attitude of bus drivers – who frequently ignore cyclists and push us right into the curb – and you’ve got an extremely dangerous situation. Much has been done to educate heavy goods vehicles for the need to stay away from cyclists, but the same cannot be said for buses, with whom we share the same lane on the road. It’s utter madness.

Jayne Helliwell eating lunch with the other interns
Jayne eating lunch with the other interns.

I really really hope that Jayne’s death will not have been in vain: we need dedicated lanes for cyclists on all the major roads in London, and we need them now. Not at some spurious point in the future. Who is going to make it happen?

On my website Jayne’s contributor’s blurb lives on, but it’s worth transcribing it here. It was written by Jessica Watkins, who was an intern at the same time. I think it just about sums her up: Jayne was a laugh and so much more.

Jayne Helliwell is a little gem to work with. The first time I saw her, she came pacing across the paving stones towards me, wearing a checked shirt to her knees and pushing a Raleigh Cameo speed bike. Jayne later informed me that it was the same bicycle her mum carried her around on when she was just a miniature girl. My initial, judgemental impression of her was that she was ever-so-cool, and ever-so-small. I wasn’t sure she would want to be my friend, but now we spend our days making each other chamomile teas in Amelia’s kitchen and laughing about elephants in the room. I suppose you have to be there. When she grows up, Jayne fancies being a draw-er, or perhaps an Olympic athlete? For now though, she works at Amelia’s Magazine, looking important on her Apple Mac Power Book. Her likes include cake, and eating cake, but only if it is vegan. Today she sampled Amelia’s mushy pea dahl, and decided that should be on her list of likes also. Jayne has great taste in music, which comes in handy when reviewing albums for the magazine, and when I feel like hearing a new band. She has so far introduced me to everything from Serge Gainsbourg to Tilly and the Wall. We’re ever so trendy here at Amelia’s. One more thing you might need to know about Jayne is that she has the most infectious laugh in the world.”

Categories ,Amelia’s Magazine, ,bike, ,cupcakes, ,Evening Standard, ,I M / / U R, ,illustration, ,Jayne Helliwell, ,Oxford Street, ,sustainability, ,vegan

Similar Posts:






Amelia’s Magazine | An Interview with Illustrator Tom Hughes

Tom Hughes

Tom Hughes, aka Hyoos, is an Illustrator and Designer whose favourite word is ‘blimp’. Studying Animation at Falmouth, he’s currently working on some great projects, including cover art for Music Producer KickRaux and Singer-Songwriter Elly Jupp. Having trademarked his alter ego Hyoos, he’s hoping to spend the next few years building up the brand. Tom has plans to start collecting watches and a love of outer space and Wales, he’s also about to take the first steps towards forging a career in illustration. With all things comic and creepy as part of his signature style, you can’t but help be drawn (geddit?!) into his scary and intriguing world.

Tom Hughes

Whether it’s a panda wearing a giraffe Kigu-style onesie (with a sprinkling of superhero), a dinosaur indiscreetly parping, or a grimacing planet earth, his drawings are always raw, grumpy and, most importantly, engrossing. I spoke to Tom about the first time he picked up a pencil (a Tuesday) and his plans for post-university life.

Tom Hughes

Can you tell me a little about yourself?
I am an aspiring Illustrator and Designer from Falmouth, Cornwall.

How would you describe your illustration style?
Quite creepy and realistic but with a touch of humour added in some places. I love a bit of wordplay.

Tom Hughes

What are your influences?
Anything different and unusual really, at the moment I love looking and finding animals that people forget exist and drawing them

What’s your dream career?
To be a full time Illustrator, maybe selling my designs on T-shirts…

Tom Hughes

How do you make your images?
I usually draw them freehand on paper with my trusty pencil and then scan them/take a photo of them to then put them on the computer to make them digital and add colour.

What’s the most valuable lesson you’ve learnt from uni?
It’s all over WAY to quickly. I did get some experience on freelancing which will hopefully help me in the future.

Tom Hughes

What do you have lined up for the future?
I am working on making my name HYOOS known around, and getting it an ‘internet presence’. Fingers crossed I get a lucky break someday.

What kind of projects have you contributed to in the past?
I have contributed in many different random projects, too many to mention. My favourites are ones where I get the creative juices flowing and design fun and quirky things!

Tom Hughes

What would win in a fight: a pencil or a computer mouse?
Pencil any day!! The mouse is a boring piece of technology that would probably just flip over and struggle to find its feet again..

Do you remember the first time you got your hands on a pencil?
I do, I think it was a Tuesday. I haven’t looked back since.

Tom Hughes

Favourite Illustrator?
Mr Keaton Henson.

Fill in the blank. You find illustration____________
EXCITING!

Tom Hughes

You can see more of Tom’s work on his portfolio site www.hyoos.co.uk

Categories ,Animaltion, ,comic, ,Cornwall, ,coverart, ,creepy, ,dark, ,Digital Art, ,Elly Jupp, ,Falmouth, ,Hyoos, ,illustration, ,illustrator, ,jessicasrcook, ,Keaton Heston, ,KickRaux, ,pencil, ,Technology, ,Tom Hughes, ,Tuesday

Similar Posts:






Amelia’s Magazine | A tribute to the talented illustrator and designer Jayne Helliwell.

Jayne Helliwell, <a target=page Amelia’s Magazine 2007″ title=”Jayne Helliwell, help Amelia’s Magazine 2007″ width=”480″ height=”360″ class=”aligncenter size-full wp-image-16288″ />
Jayne in my kitchen eating iced fairy cakes with fellow interns Jessica and Christel.

Last night I heard the horrific news that my ex intern, pill the illustrator and designer Jayne Helliwell, was crushed to death by a bus whilst cycling down Oxford Street. She was just short of 26 years old. I was asked to comment by the Evening Standard for an article that has just gone live this morning.

Jayne was an incredibly talented and extremely likeable girl who worked on issue 08 of Amelia’s Magazine in 2007. At that stage my interns were squashed together in the kitchen, and Jayne bonded well with the others, some of whom she went on to work with later (read about her collaboration with Christel Escosa on I M / / U R here). She was one of those interns who drifted in and out because she was so busy with other projects, but I didn’t mind because the quality of her work was so good. She was quick, and she could turn her hand to pretty much any creative task with ease, be it designing, illustrating, writing or picking out the best new music.

Jayne Helliwell
Jayne Helliwell
Some of Jayne’s design work in issue 08 of Amelia’s Magazine.

She was really into the idea of living sustainably and I was impressed with her devotion to veganism – Jayne often eschewed what I had cooked in favour of some tasty morsel she had concocted herself, and she, like me, insisted on cycling absolutely everywhere. I really liked working with someone who had similar ideas about ways in which we can live more lightly on the earth.

Jayne has gone on to do lots of amazing work in the creative industries. I hadn’t spoken to her in quite awhile but I was aware that she was doing well because as well as being so talented she was so prolific: it came as no surprise to find that she worked extensively with musicians, amongst many others. Jayne had a great career ahead of her and she will surely be much missed by many people. You can read another tribute here.

Jayne Helliwell

Of course, it all seems so senseless because this tragic accident could so easily have been avoided. Why are our streets so unsafe? We are (rightly) encouraged to cycle more, and we are. There are now many more people on bikes than when I first hit the roads with two wheels nearly ten years ago. Cycling a bike has immeasurably improved my life, and yet many people I know refuse to cycle because it has become so dangerous. I’ve known three people to have been killed in bike accidents, including a Greenpeace climber that I met when we were both arrested at the Kingsnorth Climate Camp in 2008. We got on really well, swapped numbers and arranged to meet up – a month later she was dead. When are the roads going to be made safer? What does it take? How many people have to die?

I’ve cycled down Oxford Street several times in recent weeks, and every time I’ve thought “this is a death trap” – it’s a nightmare obstacle course for every kind of moving object, a collision waiting to happen. Add to this the nonchalant attitude of bus drivers – who frequently ignore cyclists and push us right into the curb – and you’ve got an extremely dangerous situation. Much has been done to educate heavy goods vehicles for the need to stay away from cyclists, but the same cannot be said for buses, with whom we share the same lane on the road. It’s utter madness.

Jayne Helliwell eating lunch with the other interns
Jayne eating lunch with the other interns.

I really really hope that Jayne’s death will not have been in vain: we need dedicated lanes for cyclists on all the major roads in London, and we need them now. Not at some spurious point in the future. Who is going to make it happen?

On my website Jayne’s contributor’s blurb lives on, but it’s worth transcribing it here. It was written by Jessica Watkins, who was an intern at the same time. I think it just about sums her up: Jayne was a laugh and so much more.

Jayne Helliwell is a little gem to work with. The first time I saw her, she came pacing across the paving stones towards me, wearing a checked shirt to her knees and pushing a Raleigh Cameo speed bike. Jayne later informed me that it was the same bicycle her mum carried her around on when she was just a miniature girl. My initial, judgemental impression of her was that she was ever-so-cool, and ever-so-small. I wasn’t sure she would want to be my friend, but now we spend our days making each other chamomile teas in Amelia’s kitchen and laughing about elephants in the room. I suppose you have to be there. When she grows up, Jayne fancies being a draw-er, or perhaps an Olympic athlete? For now though, she works at Amelia’s Magazine, looking important on her Apple Mac Power Book. Her likes include cake, and eating cake, but only if it is vegan. Today she sampled Amelia’s mushy pea dahl, and decided that should be on her list of likes also. Jayne has great taste in music, which comes in handy when reviewing albums for the magazine, and when I feel like hearing a new band. She has so far introduced me to everything from Serge Gainsbourg to Tilly and the Wall. We’re ever so trendy here at Amelia’s. One more thing you might need to know about Jayne is that she has the most infectious laugh in the world.”

Categories ,Amelia’s Magazine, ,bike, ,cupcakes, ,Evening Standard, ,I M / / U R, ,illustration, ,Jayne Helliwell, ,Oxford Street, ,sustainability, ,vegan

Similar Posts: