The post Hollie Martin Yen Art Awards Entry appeared first on The Illustration Room.

The Private Sketchbook of Angie Réhe

I love sketchbooks - what a fabulous thing they are. I take one on all my travels, local and overseas. I have one to carry around and record spontaneous ideas, and a couple of years ago I started a moleskin diary page-to-a-day sketchbook where I had to draw something of some sort every day for the year (I got to August and my wheels fell off but I’m still working on filling it). They all suffer feast and famine attention, but they keep going.

My passion for spontaneous sketching started as a child when our mum would encourage us to paint murals on the sheds on our farm growing up. This mural on my bedroom wall I did when I was supposed to be doing some much needed DIY on my house – I just drew and painted directly onto the wall, standing on a ladder. It was so much fun. My walls are old plaster that crumbles easily so there’s no stress about ruining good walls – I love the freedom of this! I have also painted my kitchen door with blackboard paint so I can I draw on it and rub it out as it suits me.  I did this sketch while waiting for someone to pick me up so it was loose and spontaneous.

So sketching really is part of my life.

The background to this particular sketchbook is that it covered a little inspirational holiday I took last June/July 2102. My niece and very close friend Jaclyn who is an artist and tattoo artist, was moving to London so we took a trip together as a last hoorah! We took in every exhibition on offer, drew and painted together, and trawled the art stores of New York, London, and Paris.  A lot of fun!  She’s the one who appears repeatedly in the sketchbook.

While I was in New York I interviewed the fabulous Bil Donovan and he invited me to come and view some of the F.I.T. archive of fashion illustrations, where I got to see original works up close from the likes of Antonio Lopez, Mats Gustafson, Kenneth Block, etc – incredible! I also attended drawing sessions at the Society Of Illustrators which was fantastic. An amazing visit. I invited Bil to come to Melbourne for 2013 Fashion week and got LMFF on board. He was a key speaker at their Business Seminar, and we also conducted a Masterclass in fashion illustration over 2 days at the Abbotsford Convent.  He keeps a sketchbook also. As his host, I got to go and pick him up at the airport when he arrived from New York in the LMFF car. While driving to his hotel he showed me his travel sketchbook which he planned to add to while in Melbourne, and honestly I wanted to burn all of mine! I resolved to take them much more seriously!

Before leaving Jaclyn in London I had to visit Paris with her as she hadn’t been there before – I’m really familiar with it from my old fashion designing days so it was a lot of fun to show someone else. By chance we discovered an exhibition of over 2000 Robert Crumb drawings. I worked for a long time as a fashion designer, both in my own business and for brands such as Gorman, Trenery, and Megan Park, all the while doing freelance illustration at night. I used to travel around the world 4 times per year which was brilliant because besides seeing the world, I was able to take in all the best art exhibitions. It was through doing this that I realised I was identifying more with artists than designers, and eventually made the decision to focus all my energies on drawing.

The post Sketchbook – Angie Réhe appeared first on The Illustration Room.

The post New Artist – Gustav Dejert appeared first on The Illustration Room.

“It’s really special and an honour to have created a coin design that has so much meaning. If you look closely you’ll also see my initials on the coin.”

The post Royal Australian Mint ask Chrissy Lau to design a coin appeared first on The Illustration Room.

The post Marta Antelo illustrates for energy company appeared first on The Illustration Room.

WHERE DO YOU LIVE? I live in Hanoi, Vietnam. I love living in a place where life is so public. Everything is done on the street – cooking, eating, peeing, washing, grooming, exercising, gambling, dancing, sleeping. The dogs all have really short legs, the oranges are green but are still called oranges, beer is 25 cents a glass, six people fit on one bike (there are scooters that are marketed as ‘family vehicles’), pyjamas in the daytime, mangoes. Its just an awesome city.

WHAT DO YOU SEE FROM YOUR STUDIO WINDOW? I work in a shared studio in a cafe/bar on a big lake. I’ve got a little balcony, plus a nice big leafy tree outside my window. There are little Vietnamese men fishing (or hiding fish in trees while they swim out into the lake to get more). Fish flapping around on the pavement (or floating on the surface of the lake – the smell gets pretty funky in Summer I have to say). I’ve got the Hanoi rowing club doing their daily training, the occasional swan boat, plus a steady stream of motorbikes and bicycles going past. Lots to keep me distracted!

QUIRKY HABIT? When my fingernails get too long, I get really grumpy. I can be grumpy for days without realising why. Such a relief when I chop them off.

WHAT ARE YOU LISTENTING TO WHILE YOU WORK OTHER THAN SCOOTER HORNS? I can listen to Paul Kelly’s A-Z recordings all day everyday without getting tired of it….so often I do (plus its  over 6 hours long, so it does take all day)…but I can always find time for a sneaky bit of Phil Collins (or Toto). I’ve got a few friends doing really great things music wise at the moment – so I listen to them and it makes me want to do great things too.

PETS? I have a rapidly growing stripey kitten named Brian. We got him to keep the rats out of our apartment, but we’re starting to realise that comparatively, living with rats wasn’t so bad….but he’s beautiful and I still love him…even though he’s a menace and he bites my face.

MOTTO? “Bricks don’t bake themselves!”

I COULDN’T LIVE WITHOUT… My pencil sharpener I picked up from a flea market in Kyoto. Its big and awkward to work, but its my favourite and it goes everywhere with me.

TWO FAVOURITE ILLUSTRATIONS? I think Get off your high horse is definitely one. Inspired by my boyfriend. I’ve got a big canvas print hanging in my house, and whenever the ego goes up to an unacceptable level…. all I need to do is point – very handy. Also, it is one of the first pieces I did as a student, and in a way, its defined my illustrative style. A more recent one I had a lot of fun with was Cask Party for JH’s WIne Companion mag. I have a soft spot for cask wine. (both featured on the right)

HOW DID YOU BREAK INTO ILLUSTRATING? I decided to become an illustrator in my Year 10 Careers class. Then I faffed around for about 10 years before studying a two year diploma in Melbourne and I’ve been illustrating ever since. Its the only thing I’ve decided to do that I’ve stuck with, and I enjoy it…..so I’m going to keep doing it! I also love to cook, but cooking for more than three stresses me out….so I can’t be a chef.

COLLECTING? Not really, but at the moment I have a thing for plastic fruit and ceramic animals (plastic animals and ceramic fruit are fine too). My sketchbook’s been collecting dust for the last few months – does that count?

NEW OR VINTAGE? I’m big into new things that are heavily inspired by old things.

HANGING OUT? There’s a little place in the centre of town called Cafe 27. Little plastic tables with even littler plastic stools facing the street, the friendliest owner you could ever meet, great coffee, cheap beer, peanuts in their shells, crumbed fried cheese sticks to your right, dumplings straight ahead, great people watching.

INSPIRATION? I’m a Brett Whiteley girl. I remember seeing Alchemy when I was 12 and it blew my mind. Although, looking back, I think it was probably seeing his sketchbook for the first time that made me want to draw – its beautiful stuff! I had a Brett Whiteley doco on VHS and used to watch it over and over again. I love watching him work.

DECADE? Probably 60′s/70′s. All that woodgrain! Great design, architecture, illustration, wallpaper…knitting patterns!

BOOK? I’d have to say John Kennedy Toole’s A Confederacy of Dunces is the funniest book i’ve ever read – and I like funny….so I think its my favourite.

The post Profile Tanya Cooper – My favourite possession is my pencil sharpener. I picked up from a flea market in Kyoto. Its big and awkward to work, but its my favourite and it goes everywhere with me. appeared first on The Illustration Room.

The post Elisa Mazzone beauty illustrations in Sunday Times Magazine London appeared first on The Illustration Room.

The post Sarah Hankinson in Inside Out appeared first on The Illustration Room.

Bea is a Spanish illustrator currently living in Venlezuela. Her work has been featured in  Good Weekend Magazine and in advertising for The Commonwealth Bank.

The post Bea Crespo shortlisted in AOI Awards appeared first on The Illustration Room.

The post Paolo Lim for Gourmet Traveller WINE magazine appeared first on The Illustration Room.