I wanted to spend some time looking over some of the suggested reading/viewing sent to me by my tutor. I plan on doing a few posts like this where I look at a couple of the suggestions in each one.

Sara Fanelli

‘Dear Diary’ – Illustration by Sara Fanelli – Image Source

Sara Fanelli is an illustrator who paints and uses a lot of collage. The use of collage creates very interesting images that definitley hold your attention, often there is a lot going on – not just in subject but also aesthetic. All of the different elements of the characters are different prints and patterns – I feel like the longer you look the more you see. I feel like the collage and the expressive characters merge together to create a real sense of playfulness and whimsy.

Mythological Monsters – Sara Fanelli – Image Source

Something I really love in Fanelli’s work is her hand lettering – I think it really adds to the feel of the piece. I would definitely like to explore hand letting and experiment with using it in my own work.

Laura Carlin

Illustration by Laura Carlin – Image Source

Laura Carlin is an Illustrator and Ceramicist based in London. I hadn’t come across her work before my tutor suggested I look it up and I really like it. I love the areas where you can see the brushstrokes and the lines of pencil, it gives her work such an organic feel without being forced.

Tiles by Laura Carlin – Image Source

I feel like her work has such a sense of freedom to it and the characters and the landscapes all feel so dynamic and intriguing. You really do find yourself wanting to know more.

Nina Cosford

Illustration by Nina Cosford – Image Source

An illustrator who I wanted to mention whilst I was on this train of thought was Nina Cosford. I am a big fan of her work and backed her book ‘The Trans-Siberian Railway’ on Kickstarter. The reason I wanted to mention her work is because she is another illustrator that uses traditional media and allows the texture of the material to show through. I really admire her use of pencil crayon in particularly – she always achieves such a vibrant image by layering and applying different pressures with pencils. I don’t know why but I am always quite anxious to work like this, I don’t know why – I think it stems from my school days and being told ‘how’ I should draw.

Photographs from my personal copy of ‘The Trans-Siberian Railway’ by Nina Cosford
Book can be found here.

I feel hyper aware that a lot of my work feels quite stiff and this is something I would really like to tackle, I think moving on to part 3 I will definitely be working traditionally a lot more. I think digital is tempting but it feels very easy to over work something and I definitely lose the freedom of the initial sketch under the final line work. I want to experiment more working with my hands and also incorporate more areas of collage and mark making. I think that these are only skills I will learn by using my own two hands – I love using my iPad and it definitely helps me with time management as it is a lot quicker to work that way but there definitely needs to be more of a balance. I feel that when I made those initial sketches and thumbnails in my book I do lose some of that energy within the final drawing. I enjoy working in my sketchbook especially now I feel like I have more tools to help me develop ideas but it does feel like there is a barrier between the book and the screen and I would really like my work to feel as organic and energetic as the artists I have looked at today.