More Artist Inspiration

Easter has just started and the beginning of this week I have just been continuing to paint scenes. Additionally, I have found it helpful to look back at a few different artists for inspiration and motivation. These have included:

Angela Barrett -

The Night Before Christmas - Angela Barrett

Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy -
Angela Barrett

The compositions in her illustrations are always inspiring and makes me want to go out of my comfort zone and be more experimental with mine. I love the mood and atmosphere she manages to portray in her images as well.

Yoshitaka Amano - 

Yoshitaka Amano

Yoshitaka Amano

Again, Amano's composition and the contrasting shapes/colours have been influential, particularly in illustrating the Snow Queen character. Her tall, grand figure dramatically contrasts Kai's much smaller figure which I emphasised in the painting below.

The Snow Queen and Kai on the Sledge, Selina Quach, 2014
Although red is the symbolic colour that ties Kai and Gerda together - meaning love - it can also represent other themes, such as danger. Here the red scarf indicates the latter more.

Audrey Beardsley's work is similar in that she uses a lot of striking figures and simple, effective curving lines which have also been an influence on me.

A Suggested Reform in Ballet Costume - Audrey Beardsley

The Peacock Skirt, Audrey Beardsley, 1983

Guest Speaker: Deirdre Mcdermot, Publisher from Walker

Today I attended an exciting guest speaker talk from Deirdre Mcdermot who publishes children's picture books at Walker. She was very enthusiastic about her job and it came across whilst talking. She introduced us to a lot of great illustrators that I hadn't heard before, whom she works with, including Chris Haughton, Jon Klassen, Hervre Tullet and Inga Moore to name a few.

Inga Moore

Jon Klassen

Chris Haughton

   Other than that she also gave us a lot of inspiration; some of the main quotes that stuck out to me were as follows:

"Having a good idea is one of the most crucial parts of being an illustrator"

"Every single piece you make is telling a story"

"Think about what you are illustrating, the whole story and world, in order to create the most engaging image"