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JULY - SEPTEMBER 2022
HAVEN PECKOVER
My name is Haven. I'm an illustrator based in Ontario, Canada. My work is inspired by my hobbies like collecting houseplants, thrifting, and baking/cooking, and my love for nature. The style I draw in now is fairly new to me and sort of happened by accident, but I'm glad it's been received well because it brings me a lot of joy compared to my past work.
THOUGHTS ON… AUTUMN
Renée Lewis
It’s already that time of year. The days are starting to get shorter as the sun is setting earlier and earlier. The mornings are getting frostier, the jumpers that were packed away to make way for summer wardrobes are coming back out. Pumpkin Spice Latte and Strictly Come Dancing season is back.
And for the first time, I actually don’t mind.
Up until about last year, summer had always been my default answer to that “What’s your favourite season?” ice-breaker question. I loved (and still love) nothing more than the warmth, the longer days with 9pm sunsets, sitting outside with friends or a good book, having a picnic in the park, and just basking in the sunlight. We all feel better in the summer – it's been scientifically proven that being exposed to more sunlight allows for more serotonin production in the brain, a chemical thought to regulate our mood.[1] However, now that I’m no longer in education, I’m thinking that part of my love of summer stemmed from associating it with time off school or university. And I therefore didn’t like autumn as much because I’d associated it with having to go back to school. But this summer really reminded me of that “sunshine all the time makes a desert” saying. It was unbearably hot. I don’t remember summers in London being THAT hot before, especially when commuting to work on the tube in the sticky and sweaty heat with tons of people squished into one carriage. With that 40°C heatwave, summers are only going to become much more uncomfortably hot, and I’m not looking forward to that.
I really welcomed the respite from the immense heat at the end of August, and now that I don’t have something like school splitting up the seasons for me anymore, it’s almost like I’ve been able to enjoy the changing seasons for what they are. Towards the start of autumn is when it’s still warm enough to not have to wear a jacket, but it’s not so hot that you feel as if you’re going to die in the heat and humidity like you almost did this summer. I’ve started noticing all of the different colours that autumn brings, all of the greens and reds and oranges and yellows and browns that signify this season, and there is nothing better than the feeling and sound of the leaves crushing beneath my shoes. Films like When Harry Met Sally, Little Women (2019) and the Harry Potter films are perfect for autumn, and best believe I’ll be whipping them out and snuggling under a blanket with my favourite snacks to watch them. The clocks may be going backwards at the end of October and sun will eventually start setting at about 4pm, but what makes it a bit more bearable is the fact that the best holidays (Halloween, Guy Fawkes and Christmas etc.) take place during these last 4 months of the year.
Though the trees losing their leaves and the softer, waning sunlight are signs that the northern hemisphere is tilting away from the sun and that the cold winter is coming back once again, I’ve seen the beauty in knowing that after winter comes spring again.
[1] https://theconversation.com/here-comes-the-sun-how-the-weather-affects-our-mood-19183
SABINA FENN
I am an artist and illustrator based in Toronto. With a background in fashion and a fascination for travel, cultures and everyday moments in life, my illustrations are warm, whimsical and just a little bit stylish!
HARRY FROST
Harry Frost is a graduate of Fine Art: Painting from the University of Edinburgh, now living and working in Derbyshire. Harry’s artwork explores the themes of memory, nature and landscape. Frequently out exploring the landscape with a fountain pen and a sketchbook at hand, Harry is a keen observer of the natural world - a visual magpie who loves both the grandeur and the small intricate detail of the nature that surrounds us. Through the mediums of both drawing and painting, Harry’s focus is on how he can creatively translate and convey his own personal and emotive response to the natural environment. His work presents an ethereal and timeless interpretation of the essence of a place or natural flora.
Observers and collectors of his art connect with the emotive qualities evoked by his work and Harry has exhibited and sold his original artwork, prints and greeting cards both locally in Derbyshire and internationally.
You can follow Harry’s creative interpretations of nature and landscape on his Instagram @harryfrost and see more of his work by visiting his website: harryfrost.wixsite.com/harryfrostartist
INTERVIEW WITH CHARLOTTE DURANCE
What inspires your illustrative style?
I really love illustration with line work that has energy. I try to stay loose when I’m sketching as I feel it makes the line more interesting. I also like humour and enjoy playing with composition and shape to capture a comic moment or give an interesting view point. I studied film as part of my degree and am often inspired by movies. When I’m working on an illustration I try to think about what would have happened before and after the picture I have made to make sure I have captured the right moment.
You work predominantly with colours - why is that?
I’ve always loved colour and how colours interact with each other. I’m constantly distracted by colour combinations that I see every day and I take lots of pictures of colour palettes to use in my work. I really enjoy using a limited palette as I like the saturation of one colour and how it can evoke a mood or feeling. I’ve started experimenting with blocks of colour and line to use colour sparingly so it has more impact.
What is your favourite subject to draw?
I love drawing from life and draw in my sketchbook every day. I’m particularly drawn to urban scenes with lots of people and love including details such as signs, lights and adverts. I like drawing domestic scenes too and the random messiness of toys and books scattered everywhere. In my illustration work, transport is a key theme; I love drawing buses, cars and cute vehicles.
Do you prefer working digitally or by hand?
I always draw by hand as I love experimenting with different materials and textures and seeing the happy accidents that occur in my sketchbook. I’ve recently started editing my work digitally and assembling hand drawn elements in Photoshop. Working in that way gives me more options to play around with composition and colour palette.
MARISA SCHOEN
Nice to meet you, I’m Marisa Schoen, a motivated and passionate graphic designer living in Minneapolis, Minnesota. I enjoy creating eye-catching designs that are bold and playful.
I have a knack for Palm Springs, California in general, nature, patterns, and anything mid-century modern. I’m inspired by the counterculture of the 1960s and enjoy everything from that era; the fashion, music, interior design style, cars, you name it! In my free time, I like to play around with gouache and enjoy creating products for my Etsy shop, Sunrise Motel.
Social Media Handles
Instagram: @sunrise_motel
Personal Website: www.marisaschoen.com
Etsy Shop: etsy.com/shop/sunrisemotel
THERESA FETH
Hi, my name is Theresa and I am a German designer and illustrator currently based in Salzburg, Austria. You could say I am a designer by day (@studio.heed) and an illustrator by night. I love experimenting by combining colours and shapes across all kind of media – from prints or paintings to fabrics and wool. Drawing shapes and exploring colour combinations is a sort of mediative process for me. I let my inner child shine through in an intuitive and playful manner, with no rules or boundaries.
Growing up with two sisters and a really badass mum inspired me to express femininity in my work. I love to explore female strength, characters & shapes.
Currently I am working on a series called ‘Our inner shapes and colours’. This series features abstract ladies of different shapes and colours. While the head and shoes always stay the same, it’s the inner shapes that change, inspired by the variety of emotions, experiences and stories we carry within us. Every lady is unique and colourful – pleasantly shaped by her journey.
Illustration work @feththeresa_illustration | Design work @studio.heed |www.studioheed.com
HAPPY HEMERA
Sofia Daskalaki Apladas is the creative designer behind @happyhemera. An Illustrator and Surface Pattern Designer, living her life in a small Greek town next to the sea. She is a self taught Graphic Designer who fell madly in love with illustration and repeating patterns the last couple of years.
She finds inspiration in the world around her, in nature, travel adventures and everyday life. Living her life on a small Island in Greece is a great inspiration for her. She loves colorful, bold and bright designs with a small amount of quirkiness and play. She loves to play beyond her safe color palettes as she thinks that color can change our mood. Her niche is to make everyday life playful, vibrand, bold and happy.
Her Motto is “Give permission to yourself to Play!” In her free time she loves to experiment with different mediums, read books and magazines, walk with her dogs, chit chat with her friends, “eat that chocolate” and live her life doing what she loves and is passionate about.
LIDIA CAL
Lidia Cal was born on a warm July 14 in Valencia, Spain. She studied illustration and has been working in this field for seven years. She has done a variety of jobs, such as educational project for early childhood education, she has painted murals for events and has participated in numerous illustration and craft fairs.
Nature and spirituality inspire her to create illustrations with this atmosphere.
She likes to use bright and cheerful colors that convey positive emotions to the viewer.
ANNA LENA
Anna Lena is a Dutch illustrator and designer. Her work is infused with a mix of collage, paint and digital tools, to add depth and life to the work. All things nostalgic inspire Anna Lena: She loves old buildings and books, which is fueled by living in a medieval town. From her work it is clear she also loves to be outside, to cook and to eat, gladly taking on food-related illustration projects - nonfiction (kids) books and patterns are her favorites. When she is not painting, she is reading cookbooks as if they were romance novels, outdoors looking for treasures, or planning her next dinner party.
Website: www.annalena.nl
Instagram: www.instagram.com/annalenavaniersel
MONIKA GREGULSKA
Illustrator and motion designer based in Lodz, Poland. Her style is minimalistic and all about flat bold colors, slightly inspired by the fauvism art movement. Monika's artwork is mostly digital, always centered around women, nature and urban motifs. Her private life also revolves around pixels, namely her capricious cat Pixel.
Social media:
Instagram: @ughsketches
Behance: be.net/mgregulska
