Tell us a little about yourself...
I’m Laura, a 22 year old freelance illustrator, born and bred in Andover, Hampshire, who specialises in floral design. I’ve just graduated from the Arts University Bournemouth with a degree in Illustration, and this summer I moved back home to live with my family and our zoo (3 dogs, a cat, a guinea-pig, 3 bearded dragons, 7 chickens, a cockerel and tank full of tropical fish). I’m a self-confessed hippy who LOVES tea, and owns an unnecessarily large dress collection. I also love charity shopping, car-boot sales, festivals, girls’ nights out where I’m always partial to a cocktail or ten…oh, and my best friend in the whole entire world is my cat Daisy.
When did your love for illustration begin?
Though it was only halfway through university that I realised that my work was actually illustrative (I spent the first year and a half studying a Fine Art degree and thankfully my university let me swap onto their Illustration course), art has always been my primary passion in life, since before I can remember. It actually turns out I come from generations of artists, who all specialised in painting flowers, so I guess you could say I’m continuing some sort of family legacy…maybe we have flowers in the blood? My Grandma’s floral watercolour paintings, in particular, set off my love for botanical illustration.
What inspires your work?
Like a moth to a flame, I adore beautiful things, and nature is probably the primary influence for my work. The organic forms of plants and flowers have always been so intriguing to me even since I was little and I’d spend hours pressing flowers with my Grandma from her garden. Much of my childhood was spent outdoors in the English countryside; visiting beautiful places such as the Lake District and National Trust stately homes and gardens (my favourite place to visit is Stourhead). Even now my boyfriend and I spend a lot of time adventuring through the wilderness; from the Dorset coastline to the ancient ruins of Greece. It was during our trip to Greece a couple of years ago that I rediscovered my childhood love for mythology, and from then on my work became heavily influenced by folklore and fairytales. I recently produced a little online book titled ‘An Illustrated Guide to Herbal Love Spells’, inspired by Pagan practices.
How has your art developed over the years and how do you see it developing in the future?
I’ve always classed myself as traditional artist, hand drawing/painting work in a realistic style (apart from one of my first university projects where I filmed myself sleeping and recorded myself sleep talking for an installation piece…but we won’t go there!), but the subjects and size of my work have changed dramatically over the years. In my early work, I was focused on exploring portraiture and the human condition, using acrylic and oil on canvas to produce moody large-scale paintings. I loved Fine Art, but making work solely to be shown in a gallery where its “meaning” would be pondered and scrutinised wasn’t my career plan. I wanted my work to be used in everyday life, to have a practical function and producing illustrative work offers that opportunity. When I changed to the Illustration course, I picked back up the pen and pencil and started producing the highly detailed floral imagery, which could be used for prints, greetings cards etc. These then later evolved into repeat pattern designs for products and textiles. One of my many dreams is to one day walk into a high street retailer and see my designs printed all over the latest stationary and fashion!
How do you go about preparing for an illustration?
I own stacks and stacks of arty/botanical books that I use for reference material; my favourite is probably ‘The Pocket Encyclopedia Of Roses’. I initially roughly sketch out the illustration in a light pencil to get some form of layout. This could be rubbed out and altered a hundred times before adding the ink…planning the illustration sometimes takes far longer than executing it! I always draw out the designs in my Ryman sketchbooks, as I love the quality and colour of their paper. It is also vital that I have a good film to watch or playlist to listen to while I work, because I hate silence!
What is your favourite drawing tool?
At the moment my 0.05 uni pin finer liner pen; it creates beautifully delicate line work. If I’m feeling bold, I’ll step up to a 0.1 or even a 0.2 nib. If I’m doing pencil work, I love a good 2H pencil for sketching and a 4B for harder lines and shading. I used to always colour my work using watercolour, but over the past year I’ve started to prefer adding the colour digitally and layering watercolour effects using Photoshop. This not only gives more freedom for editing, but also adds a more contemporary feel. There is a danger in focusing on botanical art as it can seem such a dated “granny” subject, and it is important that my floral illustrations feel fresh and intriguing.
How do you find working freelance?
Freelancing can be great. I'm my own boss, I choose my own projects, I work when I want and I get to hang out with Daisy all day… but it can be difficult at times, especially when finding self-motivation! When I finished university back in June, I decided that I couldn’t live off freelancing alone just yet and I wanted an actual design job. After 3 solid months of applying and being rejected (for the same reason each time…not having enough experience), I’ve finally landed myself a design internship! When I start the new job, it will mean squeezing my freelance work into a few hours during evenings or at the weekends. It is going to be a shock to the system, considering I’m used to days filled with Loose Women and various box sets (I’m currently re-watching series 1-4 of Downton Abbey and starting Supernatural from the beginning). One day, I’d love to be able to live off my freelance practice alone, but for now I need a steady wage to pay off my student overdraft…and fund my eBay purchases!
Can you tell me about your favorite illustration that you have drawn?
I obviously enjoy any commission that requires a floral design, and luckily for me, this illustration style seems to be popular among the wedding community. I have just recently worked on a load of floral branding for a wedding videographer, a wedding florist, and a wedding photographer! One commission that does stand out for me was from the beginning of the year where I was lucky enough to win a competition for a skateboard design commission…that was pretty exciting. It was such a refreshing change seeing my traditionally drawn, floral design printed onto a contemporary and masculine object.
Can we expect any exciting new projects?
I’m currently working on a project designing and illustrating a floral alphabet, so I can then go onto produce personalised prints for posters, greetings cards, clothing, etc. It is going to be a mammoth task, but I’m determined to get it done in time for Christmas. I’m also aiming to produce a set of Christmas cards to be ready to buy by the end of this month. Every year I say I’ll do it, but this year I WILL do it! Another idea for a project which is currently in the pipeline is designing a number of sets of wedding stationary, such as save the date cards, invitations and place cards, and then set up an Etsy shop to sell!
You can find more of Laura's work at www.laurafloraillustration.co.uk and www.laurabourne.tumblr.com. You can also follow her on Facebook!
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