I did an "ask me anything" on my Instagram but couldn't get through all the questions so here are some more answers xo
Will you ever do commissions?
Yes! I haven’t for years, but I am taking commissions at the moment.
What other books from your childhood would you love to make art for??
I loved any books that really got my imagination running..
I would love to do anything for Narnia, Lord of the Rings, anything by Enid Blyton. I've always loved stories by Dr. Seuss and Roald Dahl. It would also be fun to do something for the Babysitters Club or Sweet Valley High or Nancy Drew.
Cover sketches I did during a project where I draw a piece a day for 100 days
One of the most nostalgic sight/scent for me is a public library - piling a stack high of these books before school holidays?! magic.
How long did it take you to hone your craft?
I am definitely still honing!
I don’t think that’s ever an arrival point. But in terms of where I feel like I really got a feel for creating art would be after my high school art teacher taught me some colour theory and how to pour an oil paint palette for portraiture. Then I just did that over and over and over and when I was in my early to mid 20s I felt like things started to fall into place where I could really get into a flow state with portraiture.
Since then I have really been pushed to every limit with the way Jessie (author of the book covers I illustrate) art directs. She will always throw curve balls my way because it will often be a subject matter or style I hadn’t explored before so I would call it an ever evolving work in progress :)
Do you do paintings on ipad more? Which one do you like more? Natural or Ipad?
There is so much I love about both. Right now, the answer to this is “both at the same time.” The Conditions of Will cover is a good case study for this.
Fine Art:
I like that the stakes are higher, there’s no “control+z” and so when something goes wrong you kinda just have to commit to the bit and see it through and work it into the piece.
I love how tactile and textural it is. There are visual outcomes I can do with physical tools that I find really hard to create digitally. Though that’s sort of the superpower of it I think? Or I'm just not that good at digital art ha.
iPad:
I’ve travelled so much over the last decade and I love how I can make art from anywhere. Some of my favourite pieces have been worked on in bars, on planes, hotel rooms, friends couches etc.
I’ve been so impressed with Procreate as a tool because I find it to be so intuitive and they’ve somehow unlocked not only these beautiful tools (pens/brushes) but they have even captured the way different mediums interact. Two oils will mix the way oils do and then the watercolour preset will behave like watercolours and those are two very different things.
A “Both” thing…
This is sort of a love-hate relationship I have with all the things that surround fine art. There are times I love the process of sharpening my pencils or reloading my mechanical pencil with lead or pouring my palette or cleaning my brushes. There are other times when I look at my (very chaotic) art desk and am like yeah okay I’m going to pick up my iPad. So it just depends on my mood for that one I guess.
What’s your favourite piece of art by someone else?
I love Melencolia by Albrecht Dürer. I will never forget seeing it for the first time and feeling that OOFT feeling of being totally taken away by a piece of art. The fact it’s an engraving blows my mind. I can spend a lot of time looking at that piece. I also love this house by Esao Andrews. I first discovered his work when he did the album cover an emo band I listened to as a teenager and I love all the fluidity and movement in his pieces.
What is your favourite part of the cover process?
Working on it with my best friend. I enjoy working with her so much because she somehow strikes this amazing balance between knowing what she wants but giving me full creative freedom to bring it to life. She pushes me to be better but I never feel discouraged if we need to elevate or fix something. She’s good at trusting the process so I can show her something totally half baked and she will be able to see it’s potential.
Until next time,
Emmy xx
Comments