Illustrator
I am an artist and illustrator. I trained as a fine artist at Falmouth University College before travelling in Asia and New Zealand and then settling for a while in Spain with my husband Magnus, I now paint, teach and raise my young family in Guernsey.
Our islands are a great inspiration to me, especially their folklore and recent history. I love stories and the telling of them plays an important role in my work. As a child I would write stories and draw pictures illustrating them and in recent years my work has become more narrative driven. Illustrated books are a great love of mine, I collect them and there is nothing more magical than opening a book and getting lost in the words and pictures just as a child would. I love to imagine and create worlds on the page. I have now published two illustrated books along with my husband Magnus Buchanan and my friend, graphic designer and fellow artist James Colmer.
My first book The Soul of the Sea was based on Victor Hugo’s The Toilers of the Sea. I created a series of 15 large scale water colours which illustrated Magnus’s epic ballad retelling of the story.
I have just released Osmond the Owl Boy. The story is set in a fairytale Sark and follows the journey of a little boy named Osmond who falls from the sky and goes on to discover he is descended from owls. I began work on the book a decade ago whilst living in Spain. The story was initially inspired by Mervyn Peake’s ‘Mr Pye’ and the illustrative tradition Peake created around the beautiful island of Sark. I remember watching the series with Derek Jacobi as a child and being fascinated by the idea of a person growing wings. I have the image in my mind of Mr Pye at La Coupee, it was very evocative.
In recent years the enchantment of the Sark Folk Festival inspired me to develop the story and images. The summer light in Sark is very magical. The island has a fairytale quality about it that appeals to me. Walking back from the festival in the fading light, one feels one is being watched by fairies. I love books but I also love the idea of having a beautiful illustrated image on my wall so that every time I pass it an am reminded of the story and taken back inside it. I tend to work fairly large which harks back to my Fine Art roots and I enjoy the lyrical, expressive nature of watercolour and ink. I exploit the happy accident and let the paint, spread, curl, float and dance on the surface of the page. I work in both colour and black and white. I enjoy the physical motion of painting; it can sometimes be a bit like dancing.
I enjoy reading and I am now working on a novel based in 1920’s Paris as well as working towards a new illustrated book with my husband Magnus and a series of images based on my favourite novel, The Book of Ebenezer Le Page. The paperback and limited hardback edition of Osmond the Owl Boy is published with the support of the Guernsey Arts Commission.
The book Osmond the Owl Boy is available to buy at The Guernsey Press, The Lexicon, The Coach House Gallery, Table General Store and Candie Museum.
Portfolio
