Interview with Emma Cowley [emzie]

Emma Cowley [emzie]

ILLUSTRATION

What is your specialty in illustration?

I am primarily interested in editorial and publishing, though I like to keep my options open. For example I enjoy designing and making my own greetings cards and postcards. I am interested in applying my work to home ware and surface designs. I would love to do reportage illustration. The work I make reflects my interests, which include nature, folklore, British culture, history and food/cooking. Most recently I have been fascinated by the notion of Britishness, and have made work about the British seaside and traditional food. I like working with gouache, pens, pencils, and different papers. I enjoy experimenting with different media. Location drawing and exhaustive research is crucial to my work.

Is there a web address where we can see some of your work?

Yes, my very latest work can be seen on my blog: www.emmacowley.blogspot.com My website proper will be going online next week, that will have an online portfolio to look at.

Have you completed formal art studies, or are you self-taught?

This summer I will be graduating with a BA in illustration from the University of Westminster in Harrow, London. I was strongly considering doing an MA in illustration or a similar subject, but I decided that there are some lessons that you simply cannot learn in a classroom. I may well decide to do one in a year or so but for now I have set out to seek my fortune.

What past or present day illustrators do you admire most?

I adore the work of Dave McKean, as he seamlessly blends digital and traditional media in such a way that the two look like they exist together in a completely natural way. He has also demonstrated considerable skills at film making and graphic design. I wish I could be so accomplished at as many things! I also love the work of Sara Fanelli, because it is so quirky and beautiful, as well as Yoshitaka Amano, who is very skilled at watercolour. He creates the most ethereal character designs and illustrations, I don't think I've seen anyone who is as good at what he does. The biggest influences on my work are the artists that I have been fortunate enough to be taught by during my education, and who have been so generous with their time (and patience!) over the years. These include Simone Lia, Christine McCauley, Hadyn Cottam, Luke Best, Caroline Baruah, Alan Baker and Emma Dodson. Thanks to all of you!

How similar are your current drawings to those you did as a child?

Well, I can remember the very first drawings I did, which were pictures of my family members represented as round blobs with arms and legs. I hope my work doesn't look like that anymore! General things have carried on through my work, such as a love of line drawing, attention to detail, and an interest in animals, mythology and folklore. As a teen I was swept up by the anime craze, and for a while was convinced that I would become a manga-ka. I'm glad that I changed direction though, as manga art can be samey and un-individual. That is to say, there are manga artists that have genuine skill and talent, but there are also a great deal that have learnt a formula to make drawings without actually creating pleasing images. The work I make now has far more relevance to the way I think and draw. During my degree my drawings have become much looser and spontaneous, making them more natural and less stiff looking. In many ways I feel that I have learnt a lot but have still so much more to discover. I expect that my work will continue to grow and develop over the next few years.

What was your favorite comic book as a child?

A lot of the comics I read were pinched off my older brothers, so the material was likewise pretty laddish with publications like A.D. 2000, Overkill, Aliens, and Beavis and Butthead. I also remember finding some porno comics by accident, which at that age were simultaneously revolting and fascinating. I still read comics now. I recently read Watchmen, which was pretty deep with well developed characters, even if the pacing needed to be a tad snappier in places. I'm also working my way through the Sandman books, I find the multi-layered references by Gaiman have lead me to lots of interesting things to research. On a more trashy note, I've really enjoyed Kohta Hirano's Hellsing manga, the drawings are rather beautiful and on the whole its an absorbing gothic horror story.

Do you have a particular style, or does it vary a lot?

I wouldn't say that I have a style inasmuch as a language of drawing. Similar features run throughout: line drawing, sparing use of colour, pattern and composition are all important elements of my work. However, I think my use of materials, drawing ability and subject matter will continue to grow and develop. I dislike the idea of having a rigid or formulaic style, I find that the work grows naturally as it is being made.

What is hardest to draw?

I used to find figure drawing so frustrating! This was doubled by the fact that there is an individual in my class who is absurdly talented at almost everything, especially figure drawing and painting (of course I am jealous and in other situations would hate her guts, but she's also a really modest, kind person so I can't help but like her! Dash it all!) At first my reaction was to avoid figures like the plague, then try to abstract them. Neither worked, and I eventually decided that it was something I needed to learn. With practice, I began to enjoy drawing people. I don't find it really necessary to try to get all the proportions absolutely exact, but to try and capture their personality. I still have some work to do on facial expressions, but I'm gradually getting better.

What type of music do you listen to while you work?

Usually some kind of retro pop/rock, like Blondie, David Bowie, The Smiths and so on. I also like a bit of electronic stuff, like Mr. Scruff and Daftpunk. Occasionally I'm subjected to my boyfriend's music (Dragonforce, Rage Against the Machine and Man o' War, the latter I quite like in an odd way. You can't help but admire people that fight the cause of "HEAVY METAHL" so single-mindedly).

Do you have a favorite work of art?

Of my own work, my favourite thus far has to be a series of drawings of weird British pies. You can see them here at my blog: http://emmacowley.blogspot.com/2009/03/mmm-pie.html Artists that I really admire include Simone Lia, Tom Gauld, Adam Simpson, Brett Ryder and Lucinda Rogers. Particular images that have stuck in the mind include a painting by Picasso of a bull carrying a woman across water (it's a scene from Greek myth, basically Zeus being a letch as per). Lots of Picasso's pottery designs and lithographs are really beautiful too.

What part of your work do you do on paper and what part digitally?

At the moment I draw and paint everything by hand and use the computer as the very last stage to clean up the image and put it in a layout, though on occasion the best way is to make separate elements of the picture and put them together digitally.

What research do you do for your illustrations?

Loads! I find it really important to get under the skin of my subject matter, so I read books and essays, look on the internet and do lots of observational drawings. It is the latter which has been really inspiring me of late, as I've been wanting to do projects about specific places, and include more figure drawing and full scenes in my work. For instance, I recently did a project about the British seaside where the drawings I did from observation actually ended up being the final pieces by themselves, after a small modicum of tidying up and colouring from photographs. I tried to draw them as a more polished version but they didn't have the loose, spontaneous feel of the originals. You can see them here: http://emmacowley.blogspot.com/2009/04/more-seaside-stuff.html

Do you have colleagues with whom you share techniques, tricks, ideas, etc.?

Yes, we're really lucky at my uni to have a lovely big studio decked out with most of the stuff we need. So, there are people around all the time. To be honest, I don't know what I'm going to do without the studio environment once I graduate! It's really handy to be able to ask the opinion of others, and bounce ideas around. I'm so fortunate to be part of a group of people that are so generous with their time and energy. In some respects my classmates have taught me more than my tutors!

Emma Cowley [emzie] Tweet (function() { var po = document.createElement('script'); po.type = 'text/javascript'; po.async = true; po.src = 'https://apis.google.com/js/plusone.js'; var s = document.getElementsByTagName('script')[0]; s.parentNode.insertBefore(po, s); })();

Emma Cowley [emzie]
Tweet