Tell us a little about yourself...
I'm Jacky and I'm an Irish illustrator who lives in what some affectionately call 'The Black North' (Belfast if you want to get technical). I'm a recent graduate of Illustration from the Belfast School of Art, which is where I now work in a tiny office full of half finished drawings of dogs and random jars of ink as an Artist in Residence.
When did your love for illustration begin?
My Ma is an artist herself and after growing up watching her doodling patterns upon patterns, while on the phone to my Auntie for hours, drawing just came naturally to me. It was the one thing at school I actually ever won anything for - mainly Easter eggs for some reason - and bribing a child with free chocolate is a good way of inspiring their love for a subject.
What inspires your work?
Old punk gig flyers, tattoo art, creative swear words - anything bold and brash basically. I particularly love drawing controversial subjects, because I think art should really have a Marmite effect on people. That said, I also can't get enough of drawing adorable animals, so I obviously have a softer side too!
How has your art developed over the years and how do you see it developing in the future?
I've always loved drawing people and not much has changed there really. The mediums I use now are my favourite so far - ink and paint markers - but it's taken a lot of experimentation to get me to a comfortable way of working. I once tried to make a sculpture of Chris Cornell out of clay when I was 15; needless to say, a career in ceramics is not something I see in my future! I've managed to develop a distinct usage of hand drawn type in most of my current work which I would like to keep on working on. I'm also designing some perspex jewellery at the moment and a potential fashion range with a friend of mine so hopefully something fun will come of that too!
How do you go about preparing for an illustration?
Depending on what it is, I either find myself some sort of reference material, or just stick on some cheesy hip hop and get stuck into my sketchbook. I always sketch rough in blue col-erase pencils then line in ink after. Then I scan my drawings and colour/occasionally vectorise things in Illustrator or Photoshop.
What is your favourite drawing tool?
It has to be brush pens, hands down. I wouldn't dream of inking with anything else. I like the ease of line they give along with the sturdiness and familiarity of using a pen.
Can you tell me about your favorite illustration that you have drawn?
Well, the one I'm most proud of has to be one I did of Chris Martin doing something absolutely filthy to a piano as part of a college assignment to 'draw what we felt' while listening to Coldplay. It was spot on, I'd literally got every curl on his head to a tee, all from memory. I'd love to dig it out of my room at my parents' house and frame it.
Can we expect any exciting new projects?
I'm currently working on a typographical book of a hand drawn alphabet that I plan on screenprinting myself. I'm also planning to do a series of book illustrations for books that really shouldn't be illustrated, I'm thinking of starting with American Psycho...
If this interview hasn't put you off then my portfolio website is jackysheridan.com. I'm also on twitter as @JackySheridan or, as part of the illustration collective, I'm in @DrawnInBelfast if you care to follow!
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