Amelia’s Colourful Colouring Companion

Amelia’s Magazine | An interview with Johan Lindström: Amelia’s Colourful Colouring Companion featured artist.

by

DudeLove_Lila
Swedish illustrator Johan Lindström is a multi-talented father of three who trained in animation but also draws, knits and sews. For Amelia’s Colourful Colouring Companion he was inspired by varied modes of transport to create a fantastical road full of people from all walks of life.

Johan Lindström
Johan Lindström
I believe you only came to illustration relatively recently – why only now and what were you doing beforehand?
I´ve always done creative things like drawing, painting, knitting and sewing, and when I was little I wanted to be a fine artist. But during art school I discovered computer graphics and wanted to learn more so I went to a 3D graphics program at the university and fell in love with animation. After graduation I worked as a character animator in the games industry for several years and when I one day found myself without a job I decided to start freelancing as an animator. Being a freelancer made my creativity explode and I started to draw and paint again for the first time in years and I realised that what I had really wanted when I was little wasn’t to be a fine artist but an illustrator!

Johan Lindström
Tourists_JohanLindström
How do you juggle your commitments to your family with being an illustrator?
I have always considered it a great advantage for me to have children in my life. I became a dad in my early twenties and that influenced me to become more structured than I was before and definitely more focused on what ever I take on. One of my biggest inspirations are my children, they remind me of what´s important in life and I try to spend as much time as I can with them and since I’m freelancing I now got the freedom to do that.

Malesport_JohanLindström
Man_JohanLindström
Who taught you to knit and is this a common thing in Sweden? what kind of things do you make?
Haha, no I don’t think it´s that common in Sweden to knit, not for guys at least. My mom taught me when I was in my teens, I just thought it was cool to be able to design my own winter clothes. Since it´s cold and snowy for six months a year here in the north, warm hats, gloves, and scarves are kind of a big deal.

Johan Lindström
What is it about the handmade touch and happy accidents that you think make a good outcome?
When I was younger I could spend hours and days on remaking my drawings and paintings, I was never satisfied with the result. It was a big turning point to realize that (for me) it´s the imperfection that tells the story and makes art interesting. I try to keep my work as handmade as possible, I love the happy accidents and wonky feeling of a not-so-perfect drawing. So I usually draw and paint everything by hand and scan it and then put it together digitally.

Astronauts_JohanLindström
I discovered your work on instagram and invited you to take part in this open brief, what is your favourite thing about using instagram?
I guess it´s for the same reason that I love illustration and animation – using images to tell stories. Instagram is a great place to meet new people around the world that share the same passions in life and it has become my number one source of daily inspiration.

FourBirds_JohanLindström
What kind of animated videos do you make?
I mainly do motion design and explainer videos for companies and advertising agencies. A long term goal is to start doing more personal work within animation too, and further integrating my illustration style in my animations.

Johan Lindström
Who do you design patterns for?
I hope to design patterns for companies to be used for fabrics and home decor in the future, but at the moment you can find my patterns at Spoonflower and Society6.

Men_JohanLindström
You have said that you like to explore the roles of gender in your illustrations, why is this important to you and how do you set about doing this in your personal work?
We live in a society that still wrestles with inequality, which is quite apparent in visual language where men and women are often portrayed differently. I try to break these stereotyped patterns in my illustrations to challenge the norm of genders. As a man it also feels relevant to challenge the idea of masculinity that I think can be harmful to both society and people in many ways, but also (the lack of) fatherhood in art is something that interests me a lot.

Emotions_JohanLindström
Why have you decided to portray men as reptiles and lizards in your series about the way men deal with their feelings?
Well I wanted to do illustrations about the absurd notion that men can’t express their feelings by nature or that we don’t have the same need for them as women do. I thought portraying us as lizard men with our lizard brains made the absurdity even more obvious.

DoubleSpread_JohanLindström
Who is featured in your artwork for my colouring book and where did you find your source material?
I love drawing real life people doing real life stuff and I think it´s funny how different ways people choose to get from one place to another, so I did an illustration where different people uses different ways of transport. My references and inspirations are a mishmash of my own photos, library book and the good old internet.

Mopeds_JohanLindström
Enjoy Johan Lindström‘s work and that of so many other talented artists in my upcoming colouring book Amelia’s Colourful Colouring Companion, available soon from Kickstarter!

Written by Amelia Gregory on Friday October 2nd, 2015 8:49 am

Categories ,#ameliasccc, ,Adult Colouring Book, ,Amelia’s Colourful Colouring Companion, ,Coloring, ,Coloring Book, ,Colouring, ,Colouring Book, ,Fatherhood, ,Gender, ,illustrator, ,instagram, ,Johan Lindström, ,Kickstarter, ,Parenting, ,pattern, ,Society6, ,Spoonflower, ,surface design, ,Swedish

Similar Posts:






Amelia’s Magazine | An interview with Becky Dinnage: Amelia’s Colourful Colouring Companion featured artist.

by

Becky Dinnage Terranium 72
Becky Dinnage of Ludicrous Prints is a remarkably talented illustrator and surface designer, infusing her fantastical designs with incredible detail despite her imperfect eyesight. Here she shares her story and her jungle reef artwork for Amelia’s Colourful Colouring Companion.

Becky Dinnage Portrait
I first encountered you as graduate from the surface pattern design course at LCC, what have you been up to since then?
I started work as a graphic designer shortly after graduating, with a designer I had interned with during my degree. I loved being in such a creative challenging environment until health issues meant I had to stop. I learnt so much about how the design world worked, and how to run a small design company – which made me all the more determined to work for myself.

Becky Dinnage
Becky Dinnage
How would you describe your style, and how does your love of pattern infuse your illustrations?
I’ve always loved pattern and found that I couldn’t let it go as I moved from working with textiles to paper. I would describe my illustrative style as intricate, slightly surreal and kind of quirky! I find if I don’t fill my drawings with a ludicrous amount of detailed patterns and doodles I can’t connect with my work… I want it to be crammed with interesting things that people keep discovering every time they view it.

Becky Dinnage
What have been your biggest challenges in producing work as an illustrator?
My biggest challenge in producing illustrations has been my vision. I developed an eye condition just before university and have since had to have my cornea replaced. This set me back quite a bit and unfortunately didn’t help improve my sight. I am now partially sighted but awaiting a special contact lens which I am hoping will give me my eyes back!! It’s been an interesting journey, my illustrative style being so intricate and battling with my vision; there are days where my eyes want to hide away behind my sunglasses but I know I have to keep pushing to get where I want to be.

Becky Dinnage Avocet Screen Print 72
What other jobs keep you going?
Alongside illustrating I work part time in a Ceramic Painting studio. Most of our customers are kids and I love working with them, they’re so fun and imaginative and extremely inspiring, so every day at work is just one big creative bubble of joy! It’s also a great job to give my eyes a rest, which makes me fresh for my days off to illustrate.

Becky Dinnage
You have already produced a series of images for an adult colouring book, how did you get this commission?
A few months back I showed my designs at a local Pop Up Art Gallery and the Senior Editorial Director of a well known book company was there (incognito of course) and we got to chatting about how my work would look great in a colouring book, something I had always wanted to do. We exchanged details and it went from there. It was such a fun project, and I would love to work on my own intricately detailed colouring book in the future. I completely believe in putting yourself out there and talking to everyone, you never know who they are or what they could bring to your life!

Becky Dinnage
What kind of landscapes inspire you the most?
Anywhere with water is an inspiration to me; I am happiest when I’m near the sea, or by a lake or meandering along the side of a stream. I love the force water brings to completely change a landscape, its look, the emotions, the colour. A little while ago we bought a camper van, and it completely changed my life. I adored being out in the wild amongst nature, discovering new places that we could ‘live in’ for a day or two before moving on to the next adventure. It bought out the ancestral gypsy in me.

Becky Dinnage Sealife Colouring in Original Draft
Where did you get the idea for your jungle reef seascape?
With my desire to be close to water, I set out to create my own pattern-filled, bold and graphic underwater jungle, full of all my favourite rainbow colours and quirky and imaginative shapes and animals. I’ve been inspired by the Great Barrier Reef and London Aquarium, that are both filled to the brim with unusual magical creatures. With my poor vision I’m sensitive to light, and enjoy the night, the stars and the moon… and how these connect so importantly to our oceans to keep them moving and growing. All hand drawn, I’ve created a repeat pattern out of the image that should flow horizontally like the ocean currents around earth.

Becky Dinnage
What are your biggest hopes for the future?
I want to start my shop, selling my prints and products, and to expand my brand. I hope I can continue to be creative for the rest of my life, it’s what keeps me happy and is all I can think of being. I would love to work on more commercial briefs and projects, as they shake up my imagination and push me out of my comfort zone, into a more challenging exciting world.

Thank you so much to Becky Dinnage for being so candid about her life as an artist, an inspiration to us all! Find her artwork in Amelia’s Colourful Colouring Companion very soon!

Written by Amelia Gregory on Thursday October 15th, 2015 11:32 am

Categories ,#ameliasccc, ,Adult Coloring Book, ,Adult Colouring Book, ,Amelia’s Colourful Colouring Companion, ,Becky Dinnage, ,Coloring, ,Coloring Book, ,Colouring, ,Colouring Book, ,Great Barrier Reef, ,interview, ,Jungle Reef, ,LCC, ,London Aquarium, ,Ludicrous Prints, ,Surface Pattern

Similar Posts:






Amelia’s Magazine | An interview with Josh Patterson: Amelia’s Colourful Colouring Companion featured artist.

by

Josh_Patterson
Birmingham City University graduate Josh Patterson creates intense fantastical images in a distinctive colour palette that immediately caught my eye at New Designers this year. His artwork for Amelia’s Colourful Colouring Companion was inspired by the super pretty Wilderness Festival, but will surely appeal to festival lovers anywhere. I am also super pleased to announce that Josh is creating the cover for my book… and it’s already looking absolutely fabulous.

Josh_Patterson
You’ve already done exceptionally well for a graduate, how did Birmingham City Uni set you up for your career?
BCU was a great place for me to go to. The course and facilities on campus were top notch; although, I almost wish I had made more use of them during my time there. As I’m sure with most creative courses, the tutors really push you to extend the boundaries of your creative thinking. But what I found really useful about BCU was their focus on preparing us for what the industry would be like. With talks from the AOI, agents and top illustrators, I think the majority of my year left with the necessary knowledge to do well in this competitive industry.

Josh_Patterson
What awards have you won?
I won two awards at the Lara Vis Com Awards ceremony this year. The first was called, ‘The Illustration Award’ and was sponsored by the AOI. I believe this was to go to the most promising new illustrator, so that was very encouraging! The prize for this was a 3-month internship with the AOI. But I’ll talk more about that a bit later. The second award was the ‘Illustration Using Print Award’ – which was sponsored by Nobrow. The prize for this one was a portfolio review with Sam Arthur, the Managing Director and Founder of Nobrow. This was a great opportunity to get some professional advise on my work, and being a huge fan of Nobrow myself, it was great to simply have a one on one chat with him.

Josh_Patterson
How have you found commissions for work to date?
The majority of my commissions at the moment have been from people/companies contacting me via email. Most of them having stumbled across my website or seen my stuff advertised on various social media sites. I’ve actually just been approached by an architectural company in Guatemala, Mexico – about potentially doing some illustrations for an up and coming project they’re working on. I guess that goes to show the power of the Internet and social media in today’s society! However, I do still send out samples to magazines and newspapers – that’s how I got the Computer Arts job.

Josh_Patterson
What inspires your style and colour palette?
Anything and everything really… I try to document the inspirational things I see, whether it’s a quick sketch or taking a photo. Usually the latter if I’m on the move! For example, I was on the train the other day and noticed the colours in the pattern on the floor so I whipped my phone out and started snapping away. I did get a few strange looks mind you… I try to keep up to date with what is current in the industry and see how I can interpret certain aesthetics or concepts in my own way. I’ve always enjoyed drawing people with small heads and elongated figures as I find this almost adds personality to the characters in my drawings yet, allows me to maintain a strange sense of anonymity throughout an illustration.

Josh_Patterson
How do you create your artworks?
I’ll sketch the roughs and scan them into Adobe Illustrator. Once the vector drawing is built up on a grayscale I’ll start to think about a colour scheme for the illustration. I like working in grayscale initially as this allows me to establish the correct tone and shading in an image. It also makes it easier when working with gradients too. After all this I superimpose the textures into the final coloured illustration.

Josh_Patterson
What kind of atmosphere best suits you when working?
At the moment I work in my studio from home. I’m pretty content working by myself as it allows me to get my head down without there being too many distractions. However, I think I’ll be looking to rent a studio space soon, preferably one that is shared with other creatives as I appreciate getting other peoples inputs on my works in progress. I really enjoy freelancing as I can work to my own schedule, which is a real privilege of the job. I also love the fact I get to listen to music all day, as this is another thing I’m immensely passionate about. But, it is probably one of my biggest distractions when trying to work. I find myself forever trawling through the deepest reaches of Spotify discovering new music and making new playlists.

Josh_Patterson
How did you come up with the idea for your colouring book illustration?
My submission was inspired by a recent trip to Wilderness Festival. I was so captivated by the atmosphere there that I was looking for any excuse to illustrate it, so this brief was perfect! I’ve made the illustrations slightly personal by highlighting particular events that my friends and I got up to while we were there… So there may be a few private jokes in there! In an attempt to capture a sense of the chaotic nightlife I’ve experimented with a slightly more vibrant colour palette to what I usually use. I’ve juxtaposed this chaos with the tranquil scenes of boats in the (hot-tub surrounded) lake and people doing yoga: in order to represent a genuine feel for the festival.

Josh_Patterson
What have you been doing at the AOI?
For the past three months as well as working on freelance projects, I’ve also been interning with the AOI and assisting the awards manager in curating the World Illustration Awards exhibition. This has been an amazing and invaluable experience for me – especially at this stage in my career. I’ve met some awesome people, made some great connections and learnt a lot about the industry during this time. They’ve helped me out massively when it comes to accepting commissions and pricing my work as well. I would highly recommend to any illustrator (new or experienced) to consider becoming a member as it will only make you more knowledgeable of the industry, thus making you much more professional as a creative.

Josh_Patterson
I hear you have a few other projects on the go, can you tell us more about them?
I’ve just finished a project for a company called RM2, who specialize in employee share schemes for private companies. They’re in the process of writing a book about their industry and asked me to illustrate the front cover – which unfortunately I can’t share with you as the book hasn’t been published yet! I also produced a series of 4 illustrations to accompany certain headings on their website. I pretty much had free reign when it came to thinking up the concepts behind this project. However, I was restricted with the colour scheme, as they wanted it to more or less match the colours of their logo. I sometimes enjoy working with colour restrictions as it encourages me to focus on other elements of an illustration and I’ll often produce an outcome with a much more interesting composition or perspective.

I’ve also just closed on a deal with a company called Bramwell Brown to produce a series of three different clock designs for them. I’m very excited to get started on this project, as I’ve not done any illustration to this kind of format before. The clocks are really cool as well; they have illustrations that rotate inside them, with a section that shows certain parts of the image relative to what the weather is like that day. They have various other themed ones as well but are interested in me creating a London styled one. And have, again, given me free reign on the concepts for the other two. So I’m very excited to get started on this one!

You can find the stunning work of Josh Patterson in Amelia’s Colourful Colouring Companion, available from Kickstarter soon.

Written by Amelia Gregory on Wednesday October 14th, 2015 10:32 am

Categories ,#ameliasccc, ,Adobe Illustrator, ,Adult Coloring Book, ,Adult Colouring Book, ,Amelia’s Colourful Colouring Companion, ,AOI, ,Birmingham City University, ,Bramwell Brown, ,Coloring, ,Coloring Book, ,Colouring, ,Colouring Book, ,Computer Arts, ,Illustration Using Print Award, ,interview, ,Josh Patterson, ,Kickstarter, ,Lara Vis Com Awards, ,Nobrow, ,RM2, ,The Illustration Award, ,Wilderness Festival, ,World Illustration Awards

Similar Posts:






Amelia’s Magazine | An interview with Caitlin Gardiner: Amelia’s Colourful Colouring Companion featured artist.

by

Caitlin Gardiner Rabbit
Caitlin Gardiner has made a fabulous image for Amelia’s Colourful Colouring Companion that works the whole way across a double page. She tells us more about life as a graduate and her upcoming exhibition…

Caitlin Gardiner Studio
You recently graduated from the University of Lincoln, how has Cygnet INK helped you get your work seen professionally?
Cygnet Ink has been great! When trying to raise funds in order to take us to New Designers they organised stalls at craft fairs and printed postcards with all of our work on which raise a tonne of money. At these fairs we also had raffles or auctions for framed pieces of our work and they were instrumental in organising the printing of our graduate book ‘Twenty Fifteen’. Each person on our course was assigned an era of history to illustrate which then came together for the book. This was my first experience really of the professional illustration world, and I loved it. I designed our cover and and all the ‘Twenty Fifteen’ graphics as well as my page so it was great to have the experience of going back and forth with Cygnet INK for feedback. They then sold our book and sent it to prospective clients and agents to advertise our students. Since then they have run a number of exhibitions and fairs to promote the students of Lincoln. I contributed to both parts 1 & 2 of the ‘Twisted Tales’ exhibitions held in Lincoln and Nottingham and now to ‘The Wild Wood’ exhibition.

Caitlin Gardiner Moonflower
Since your return home how have you found jobs, and what have been the most fun things you have worked on?
So I’m back in sleepy Bedfordshire and it turns out that illustration isn’t the easiest profession to get into… who knew?! Throughout the summer I was mainly working up a decent portfolio an developing a good working practice without being a student. That being said I’ve had some real fun jobs come my way. An exciting one I have at the moment is for the theatre review blog, ‘Scatter of Opinion’, involving some fun characters and patterns. The blog is written by one of my oldest friends and she’s given me real freedom to have fun and go mad with it so that’s been great. Unfortunately, I live in the sticks where there isn’t a huge art scene so I am going to have to start relying more now on travelling and an increased internet presence to get my work out there – but at least the environment provides great inspiration for my work.

Caitlin Gardiner Fish
What kind of graphic design work supplements your illustration?
Recently I’ve been doing small bits of graphic design work alongside my illustration practice. I’ve done a few invites, table plans etc for parties. My favourite was a Sports Personality of the Year themed party where everything looked like it was painted on grass. It’s been great to learn a completely new skill but tedious when you realise, for example, that you can simply make your own hand drawn fonts in seconds online just after you’ve individually lettered 200 or so names on Photoshop to get the ‘handwritten look’!

Caitlin Gardiner Fish
What inspired your colouring book image of fishes trapped, and escaping, from a net?
I knew for this colouring brief that I wanted to create a complex image and had been sorting out and backing up some old work at the time. I discovered a gouache painting I had done at university and just started doodling some similar fish and realised I could make something new and more narrative from the drawings. I wanted to explore the idea of freedom but keep it fun and fresh by using the comical looking fish. It was as simple as that: I loved designing and creating the image and thought that it would be great fun to colour!

Caitlin Gardiner Night time
How did you create your image?
I used Photoshop as I am trying to keep improving and developing my digital skills as I have always worked in traditional medias. I’ve really enjoyed mixing traditional and digital mediums together to create new pieces. In every piece of digital work I create I will include scanned papers, textures drawings and all sorts. I’ve always been a bit of a perfectionist so I’ve been trying to quicken my design process to loosen up my style somewhat and I think this been quite successful. I drew hundreds of fish individually and complied them together in Photoshop using a design I had already roughly worked up. For the left hand side I used Photoshop to colour each fish individually and the boat and background and then layered this on top of a sugar paper texture background.

Caitlin Gardiner Fern
What kind of studio environment suits you best when you are working?
Once I get into a piece I will be completely focused and have been known to work until 6 in the morning as I don’t realise the time! However, often I find I am very easily distracted at the start of a project. Our studio at university had a designated working space for the third years so when there weren’t taught sessions this was ideal, there was a quiet place to just stick your head down and draw all those ideas that popped into my brain. On the other hand I love to be able to watch television or listen to an audiobook as I work; I’ve found that if I listen to music I can just wander off and I haven’t really missed anything, but if there is a story going on then I can’t miss any of it as then the whole plot will get confused. I generally only watch TV shows or films I’ve seen before as then I’m just listening to it really rather than having my eyes glued to screen, I probably know ‘Friends’ off by heart now! I think this is why my current home studio (a desk in my bedroom) is working pretty well, I can go and get a cuppa when I want but also have ‘The Office’ (US) playing out loud keeping me in my chair!

Caitlin Gardiner Bowie
How do you inject an element of fun into your drawings?
I really enjoy including hidden jokes or items in many pieces of my work – there are a few of these in my colouring page, I thought this would be extra fun for the reader to find them when colouring in. If the illustration I am working on allows for it I usually like to add a little something to make you giggle if you look closer, whether it be an ironic t-shirt slogan, a little bird pooping or even just an expression on a character’s face.

Caitlin Gardiner Dragonfly
What have you produced for the upcoming Wild Wood exhibition?
My work has recently become increasingly inspired by nature and more specifically the British countryside. I have just finished a piece for ‘The Wild Wood’ at Gallery at St. Martins in Lincoln run by Cygnet INK. For this piece I was inspired by the seasons and decided to explore what one branch or tree could look like throughout an entire year. I aimed to make it look like one image at first glance then upon looking closer, you can see the four seasons represented evenly.

Caitlin Gardiner Heart
Can you tell us more about your plans to sell products?
At the moment I’m working on a range of products to sell online and at craft markets. I’m printing some stuff professionally but I’m most excited about the handprinted bags, materials and wrapping paper that I have planned. I’ve made some hand carved stamps stamps that I’ve handprinted and collaged a handful of cat cards to start my shop (CaitlinGardiner on Etsy) off whilst I get other products printed and designed. I’m very excited about this and have loads of ideas buzzing around just waiting to be made and sold to some lovely customers!

Find Caitlin Gardiner‘s art in Amelia’s Colourful Colouring Companion funding on Kickstarter NOW – grab an Early Bird copy for Christmas at a discount price before they all go..

Written by Amelia Gregory on Saturday November 7th, 2015 7:17 pm

Categories ,#ameliasccc, ,Amelia’s Colourful Colouring Companion, ,Bedfordshire, ,Caitlin Gardiner, ,Cygnet Ink, ,Early Bird, ,etsy, ,Kickstarter, ,Lincoln, ,New Designers, ,Scatter of Opinion, ,St Martins, ,The Wild Wood, ,Twenty Fifteen, ,Twisted Tales

Similar Posts:






Amelia’s Magazine | An interview with Kaja Szechowsko: Amelia’s Colourful Colouring Companion featured artist.

by

Kaja Szechowsko
Kaja Szechowsko is a Polish illustrator and jewellery designer who was inspired by her range of necklaces to create a surreal double page for Amelia’s Colourful Colouring Companion featuring Siamese twins. She tells us about the woodland of Lodz, aleatory concepts that have inspired a book she is making, and the idea of travelling through life as a hitch-hiker.

Kaja Szechowsko
Why did you decide to study sculpture and how has that informed the way that you design and create art today?
I attended a preparatory course for drawing at my university, and I was rather thinking about choosing graphic arts later. One day I lost a doll that I had pinned to my bag. It was a plush miniature of me that I had sewn and I called it my Voodoo Doll. I was upset and when I went in to my course the next day, I told my friend about the loss. And to my surprise he said: “Really? I saw it sitting on a pedestal in the hall. I thought you had an exhibition.” And there I found her, and so I found my place. I feel that the biggest thing I learned while studing sculpture was a way of thinking, of analysing my work, and making myself question it as if I was somebody else. All the rest is some kind of sensibilty that remains the same, regardless of medium.

Kaja Szechowsko
Where do you go for an injection of inspiration in the city of Lodz?
It’s difficult to say now, it’s somehow the city of my past, and everything reminds me about something that I don’t need anymore. As for today my favourite place is the forest on the outskirts, near my parents hause. It’s neutral enough and meaningless to feel comfortable.

Kaja Szechowsko
You run a jewellery brand called OMG! Jewels – how did you learn how to make jewellery, what features in your current range and how are the pieces made?
My jewels are just miniature sculptures. I didn’t take any special courses. It all started with a necklace portrait of my flatmate’s dog that I made for her birthday. It turned out so cool that I decided to make some more. The first collection is made up of necklaces featuring different kinds of creatures such as unicorns, holy sheep, slugs, meat-eating plants and animal skulls. Some of them are a little creepy, others are just lovely, however all of them are at least a little kitsch. I can reveal that the new collection will be even more freaky and will use an illustration medium.

Kaja Szechowsko double spread
Who or what inspired your colouring page artwork?
One of the necklaces I have made for OMG! Jewels features my favourite Siamese doll, who is also the protagonist of my colouring pages.

Kaja Szechowsko
You’ve moved around a lot in the past few years – what has taken you across Europe and what have you done to keep your creativity alive on the go?
Generally, I have terrible feelings that I’ll suffocate if I stay in one place too long. Usually there is some small indication that I follow. Once I found a little Eiffel Tower below my feet. Another time, I read about a place in one of Roberto Bolaño‘s books. And so on. It seems like a childish play, or maybe it’s just a selective subconscience, but I find it magical. I try to work in the conditions in which I find myself; it’s a little hard and I’d like to improve that point of the story. I was working in an artistic recidency and I have had some other temporary studios, but I feel now I need another quality of working calmness.

Kaja Szechowsko
What is your preferred process to create an illustration?
I work mainly with traditional techniques using paints and crayons. I like this process, I find it relieving. I use the computer only to put things together. Generally I wouldn’t really mind a life without a computer. I feel it destroys all the magic, both in life and art.

Kaja Szechowsko
Who is your new illustrated book Bad Herbs aimed at and what kind of ideas will it feature?
It’s definitely aimed at adults. It’s based on an aleatory concept that I invented. The drawings are only a pretext. It’s more or less about randomness and choice. But I cannot reveal more, because then, there won’t be a surprise anymore :).

Kaja Szechowsko
Where are you based now and what are your plans for the future?
Currently I’m not based anywhere at all. I’m just passing my mental SPA holidays in my parents hause, stroking my beloved cat Alisek and planning the brightest ever future. I’ve just left Barcelona with a deep conviction that I’ll never go back again, although I left all my stuff there. It’s irrational, but typical for me. I have a lot of plans for the future! When I finish the book it will surely satisfy my illustration hunger, and I’d like to go back to creating my mechanical toys, which I have abandoned for some time. And then travel, travel and look for the new adventures, and somewhere in the middle build a place where I can rest and work in peace.

Kaja Szechowsko
What was the most inspiring part of your travels?
It was surely the aspect of the unknown and the whole range of possibilities open to me, the uncertainty about what will happen and the complete certainty that something (whatever) will happen. I love the idea of life as a kind of hitchhicking experience. Another thing is that I like a change of scenery (or at least a scenography), at that point when I’m catching myself looking, but no longer seeing. When I getting used to something, it’s like the first sign I am getting languid.

Kaja Szechowsko 02
Where else do you look for inspiration?
In the dreams. I’m really good at remembering my dreams. Currently I’m trying to learn some techniques of lucid dreaming, to have still more fun. However as for now, the result has been completely the opposite and I just fall asleep immediately or don’t remember anything at all.

Preorder your copy of Amelia’s Colourful Colouring Companion to arrive in January and don’t miss out on the opportunity to colour unique artwork created by 44 artists from all over the world. Just click here.

Written by Amelia Gregory on Tuesday December 22nd, 2015 4:57 pm

Categories ,#ameliasccc, ,Alisek, ,Amelia’s Colourful Colouring Companion, ,Bad Herbs, ,Colouring Book, ,etsy, ,interview, ,jewellery, ,Kaja Szechowsko, ,Lodz, ,poland, ,Polish, ,Roberto Bolaño, ,Voodoo Doll

Similar Posts:






Amelia’s Magazine | Best Alternative Christmas Songs of 2015

by

Charlene Man christmas cat
Christmas scene by Charlene Man.

Tis the season for my annual festive tune round up: my favourite alternative Christmas songs and albums laid out all in one place. As has also become ritual I am also very late in the day – this year the excuse being that I had a baby in August and I’ve also just published my fourth book, Amelia’s Colourful Colouring Companion. Still, I could not let the opportunity pass me by to dig out the best Christmas tunes for 2015, so here’s what I’ve found on my trawl around the internet.

Brett Beardslee wrote this lovely song about the importance of family for his wife Jesse, Pickin In Pajamas, with a simple but evocative video featuring nostalgic Christmas photos.

American country singer Darryl Gregory is writing a new Christmas song every year, find a whole album here. All proceeds go to Ben’s Lighthouse, supporting youth in his local home town.

Winter_Scene_by Christine Charnock
Winter Scene by Christine Charnock.

The Ragged Flags release an EP called Christmas At My House which features all their Christmas tunes recorded since 2012. The songs are uniformly fab, featuring lyrics such as “the turkey’s too dry but the booze won’t run out”. This year’s offering is a catchy little ditty called Crackers & Maracas, all about the joys of heading abroad for warmer climes during the holiday season.

Nive Nielsen & The Deer Children release a gorgeous Christmas Song, all twinkly bells and soporific vocals.

Yo Sushi releases his seasonal song Happy New Year as a free download here. The Bokeh encrusted video features himself in large fur coat and plenty of tinsel.

Kirsty Almeida takes part in the Christmas album Ska of Wonder by Baked A La Ska, which gives a ska party makeover to many well known songs. Hear album teaser here.

Astrocolor are a Canadian collective who have created an entire album featuring wigged-out prog-rock psych versions of seasonal classics such as We Three Kings and The First Noel. Quite unlike anything you will have heard before. Find Lit Up – Music For Christmas here

Watch a suitably surreal accompanying video below: Love Love.

Becky Becky released Champagne On Christmas Day last year but I sadly missed out then. I absolutely love this! The three songs on this EP are a danceable collection of tunes inspired by the tale of a backstreet abortion in 1920s Paris on Christmas Eve: a typically dark take on the usual festive fayre. You can read my interview about album Good Morning, Midnight (also inspired by the writings of Jean Rhys) here.

Sharon and the Dap Kings can always be relied on to get the party swinging. This year they release It’s a Holiday Soul Party: hear the whole album here.

In the same vein as Dean Martin and Bing Crosby, Benji Hughes agrees that It’s Time to Have a Merry Christmas.

French Finnish duo The Dø sing Have Yourself a Merry Little Xmas in this Casiotone-tastic backstage iphone recording.

Part of the album Suicide Songs, Money release A Cocaine Christmas and an Alcoholic’s New Year, which is seen here performed live at the White Hotel in Salford. One for those who feel like wallowing rather than celebrating.

Ette is is the solo project of Carla J Easton from TeenCanteen. She looks forward to Spending Christmas With My Boy. The song is dedicated to her cat Bez who passed away this year, and celebrates the joy of Christmas time with family. Think jingle bells, the smell of cinnamon candles and a brand new party dress.

Honey & the Bear are a husband and wife folk duo, and all profits from their song Close Your Eyes will go to Children in Need.

Lady Low sings about a Lonely Christmas, complete with sleigh bells and yearning violins.

I am still mourning the loss of the awesome For Folk’s Sake annual Christmas compilations which were once my most reliable source of brilliant alternative Christmas songs (please come back!) but this year you can take advantage of their online Advent Calendar to download some fabulous new music including this track from new wonder Ora Cogan, the plaintive End of Nowhere.

NANNA Prieler illustration-happy-holidays
Illustration by Nanna Prieler.

The Oto Christmas Grotto features 12 Bands of Christmas covering a host of familiar songs in festive studio sessions. Watch Pat Dam Smyth sing Silent Night live on a London rooftop here and catch the rest here.

I also really like Natalie McCool on guitar covering I Believe in Father Christmas.

Irish singer songwriter Wendy Jack shares Woolly Jumpers, a whimsical tune for Christmas.

Owen Tromans has just realised Child Winter, a seasonal song that is accompanied with lovely archive footage, and he will also be releasing a new improvised Christmas song on Christmas Eve here.

Finally, I can’t wait to watch Jingle Bell Rocks! an entire documentary about the people who are crazy about collecting obscure Christmas songs… I can totally relate to these people. This is the sixth year in a row that I have done a round up of alternative festive tunes and I absolutely love discovering what springs up each year. It’s become a dream to release my own Christmas album… so do get in touch if you are a record label that would like to work with me or an artist who would like to be considered for inclusion when I eventually get around to doing this.

I hope you all have a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. See you all in 2016!

Written by Amelia Gregory on Wednesday December 23rd, 2015 12:07 pm

Categories ,12 Bands of Christmas, ,2015, ,A Cocaine Christmas and an Alcoholic’s New Year, ,Advent Calendar, ,Alternative, ,Amelia’s Colourful Colouring Companion, ,Astrocolor, ,Baked A La Ska, ,Becky Becky, ,Benji Hughes, ,Ben’s Lighthouse, ,Brett Beardslee, ,Carla J Easton, ,Champagne On Christmas Day, ,Charlene Man, ,Child Winter, ,Children in Need, ,Christine Charnock, ,Christmas At My House, ,Christmas Song, ,Christmas Songs, ,Christmas tunes, ,Close Your Eyes, ,Crackers & Maracas, ,Darryl Gregory, ,End of Nowhere, ,Ette, ,For Folks Sake, ,Good Morning Midnight, ,Happy New Year, ,Have Yourself a Merry Little Xmas, ,Honey & the Bear, ,I Believe in Father Christmas, ,Indie, ,It’s a Holiday Soul Party, ,It’s Time to Have a Merry Christmas, ,Jean Rhys, ,Jingle Bell Rocks!, ,Kirsty Almeida, ,Lady Low, ,Lit Up – Music For Christmas, ,Lonely Christmas, ,Money, ,Music For Christmas, ,Nanna Prieler, ,Natalie McCool, ,Nive Nielsen & The Deer Children, ,Ora Cogan, ,Oto Christmas Grotto, ,Owen Tromans, ,Pat Dam Smyth, ,Pickin In Pajamas, ,review, ,Sharon and the Dap Kings, ,Silent Night, ,Ska of Wonder, ,Suicide Songs, ,TeenCanteen, ,The Dø, ,The First Noel, ,The Ragged Flags, ,We Three Kings, ,Wendy Jack, ,Woolly Jumpers, ,Yo Sushi

Similar Posts: