Known for her charming ceramic work and great colours, Evie has become a firm favourite of ours!
We found Evie's work at an Art Fair in Brighton and just fell in love with it, the sharp colours, the great themes and character designs, it was charming and witty and everything we love about Illustration.
We especially love the way she depicts animals, and how decorative her pieces can be! We just knew she'd be able to make something really quaint and whimsical for the club. Evie's mostly known for her work with ceramics so we were unsure what product to get her to make that would showcase this great skill. Her pattern work and her confidence with only one colour in her designs really appealed, and we thought it would translate well with some screenprinted...
So what's she made for us?
Keeping the screenprinting in mind, we thought Evie's work would look stunning on a felt flag, like ones we've had made previously at SGC. We wanted her to have free-reign over the design and we are thrilled with what she came up with! They look so pretty and delicate and just adorable hanging on our studio wall!
Check out the flags, here.
Ok, so on to the questions!
What's your favourite fictitious Ghost from popular media?
I’d say High Five Ghost from Regular Show. When you have an arm sticking out your head for the sole purpose of high fives, it's impossible not to be a cool guy.
What's the best item in your pencil case?
Ohhhh, it’s super difficult to choose one thing. So taking third place is my dip pen and nibs. I started using ink again during Inktober last year and now I can’t stop, especially as I recently got hold of some hot pink ink. Second place would be my duo ended “Brushables” pens by Kuretake. They’re amazing felt tips and they’ve lasted a really long time so far. They have a darker and lighter tone of the colour on either end. First place would be my trusty mechanical pencil. I actually never use normal pencils! I love how you can get such a fine line, it’s just like drawing with a pen and it’s perfect for the way I draw. I use 3B lead in 0.5mm.
Paint? Pencil? or Tablet?
Pencil will always be number one (and painting!) However, recently I’ve been really into experimenting with digital drawings using my tablet. I bought my tablet when I started university in 2012 but never really used it for much. A few weeks ago I decided to pick it up again, I’ve been creating work completely from scratch on photoshop and it’s pretty amazing what you can do. Best part is having every colour you could imagine at the touch of a button. I always try to make my digital work look as hand-drawn as possible by adding paper and paint textures. Although I’m having loads of fun with this, and teaching myself a lot, making something analogue will always feel more real and satisfying to me.
What's your go-to motivational album?
My go-tos at the moment are usually That Iron Taste by Marika Hackman, Through the Trees by The Handsome Family, A Turn in the Dream-Songs by Jeffery Lewis (a new discovery) and I am absolutely loving Lisa Hannigan’s At Swim and Laura Marling’s new album Sempa Femina also Coconut oil by Lizzo.
I find music can really effect the way I’m working, when I start a new project I always make a playlist of songs that are in the same sort of style or theme to inspire me along the way. Does anyone else do that?!?
How would you describe your work? Are there any common themes?
I’d say my work is a real mixed bag of stuff. Hmm, if I had to throw out some key words, I’d say: folk, pastel, dream, zoology, witchy and sometimes a bit nasty as I can’t stop drawing animals impaled by swords. It’s so hard to describe my own work as it just comes naturally!
What’s your proudest piece that you've worked on?
Proudest piece would definitely be my final degree piece. I made a 2 metre long by 1 metre wide silk wall hanging. I designed it all on photoshop and got it digitally printed. It was basically a “tree of life” type thing but for life on Earth in the very distant future.
This was before I started drawing things digitally so I actually painted each creature individually, scanned them in and arranged them along with backgrounds, plants, stars, details. It took about 2-3 months to finish and I’m so proud that I actually stuck it out! I can’t believe my laptop actually handled it, it had way over 2000 layers at one point.
Do you have any/many artist rituals?
I always have to have something on while in the background while I’m working, I find working in silence to be pretty weird and my mind can wonder to stresses of deadlines and other things I have to get done. I like working to be my quiet time, and try to make myself feel as relaxed as possible.
I also always have to start work to a completely clean and neat desk. I am the messiest worker ever, so I find myself tidying two or three times throughout the day otherwise I just can’t carry on. You’d have thought I would be a neat worker as it annoys me so much but I guess not.
What motivates you?
Definitely seeing my parent’s working. They’re both artists and have done pretty well in their careers. I feel that seeing them get where they are, is a good reminder that you can’t get anywhere in the art world without a whole lot of hard work. Also that it CAN be done, you CAN build a career doing something that you are completely in love with!
What do you do, that you think no one else dose whilst working?
Watching TV or films! I’ve talked to a few people about this and they really can’t watch stuff while they work. Unless I’m working on photoshop, I always have something up on my screen. At the moment I’m completely into project runway, I end up watching a lot of reality shows and general cheesy TV while I’m working as it doesn’t have to have my full concentration. I need to switch those out for some documentaries so I can be educating myself while working!!
Who are you inspired by?
I find that the artists I’ll be looking at really change so often. I’ll find out about a new artist and become kinda obsessed with them for a few months then move onto someone else. Recently I’ve been thinking about trying to make my etsy shop more of a big thing. Coming up with products, looking into branding and all that. I’ve come across so many illustrators that have really cool ranges including Lorien Stern, Nathalie Lete (always a fave), Penelope Gazin, Kristina Micotti and you guys!
What's your favourite way to practice self care? (Especially after a busy week!)
Oh definitely getting into bed with a new documentary or something completely trashy to watch. Either that or I’m playing sims 4, I’ve been a sims fanatic since it came out early 00s. It’s my guilty pleasure. Or perhaps drinking a whole bottle of wine.
You can find Evie's website here (we thoroughly reccomend)