August Empress

Nan Lawson is a self-taught illustrator from Los Angeles, I immediately adored her gorgeous illustrative style and cute characters. Nan was kind enough to answer a few questions for August Empress.

Your illustrative style is quite original and quirky, can you share a little about your process?

I start off usually by getting inspired by something, whether it’s something I see in real life, or in a photograph, or on my computer screen. Then, I sketch out my idea roughly. I work digitally, so all of my sketching is done in photoshop. Then, I draw my “ink” lines over my sketch layer. I usually stick to a simple color palette and add textures to my digital coloring to make it feel more organic.

Where is your favourite place to work?

I love working at home. I live in a lovely little apartment with my boyfriend, it has a lot of big windows and gets great light.

Where do you find inspiration for your artwork and quirky characters?

Like I mentioned above I can be inspired by many things. I’ve been drawing a lot of characters from films and television shows lately and that seems to resonate with a lot of people (including myself!)

When did your passion for art begin?

I honestly don’t know when it started, I’ve loved drawing and creating since I was a child, so there isn’t exactly that one moment where I could say it began. I can say it really crystallized when I was working a boring day job and needed a creative outlet for myself and turned to drawing and painting. Now drawing and painting is my day job!

What are the top 3 blogs you love to read?

Wow, I love so many blogs, mostly interior design related ones, ok…

1. SFgirlbybay
2. Design Sponge
3. Decor8

What are the top 3 items on your wishlist to buy?

Definitely the top choice would be a Wacom Cintiq, which I will probably never be able to afford. I really want a faux taxidermy head to hang above my television. Like the ones here. I also need a new floor lamp for my living room, I was thinking something vintage, but similar to a task lamp.

Thanks so much Nan! Be sure to visit Nan’s portfolio, blog and etsy shop for much more great artwork.

Emma Block is a very talented London-based illustrator, her work is just gorgeous. Emma very kindly answered some questions about her work, what inspired her and favourite things.

Your illustrative style is beautiful, can you share a little about your process?

Thank you. I start with sketches which I then trace on to coloured, patterned and found paper and cut out. Once I have all these tiny little pieces cut out I add detail with ink, acrylic paint and coloured pencil, and then stick them altogether with pritt stick to make people and things. Sometimes I stick these all down and sometimes I just scan them in lose and arrange them on photoshop.

Where is your favourite place to work?

I love working in my bedroom. I know a lot of illustrators like having studios, but I just love sitting in my room at my desk next to the window with a cup of tea. It’s important to me that I have everything I need all around me when I’m working, which means having my Mac, my scanner, boxes and bags and drawers of paper, pencil, ink, brushes, paint and a cup of tea.

Where do you find inspiration for your artwork?

I am inspired by vintage clothes, old films, jazz, books I read, 50s illustration, and most importantly by the people I meet. I love drawing people I see in the street. The things I love inspire my work, and I think that shows. I often get commissions that are perfectly suited to me , which I think is a result of creating work that reflects who I am and what I love, for example I’ve just finished illustrating a book called Tea and Cake.

When did your passion for art begin?

Since I was very young I knew I wanted to do art. I didn’t really want to be a fine artist though, and after trying my hand at a bit of everything during my BTEC in Art and Design, I realised illustration made perfect sense for me. I can’t imagine doing anything else now.

What are the top 3 blogs you love to read?

1. Design Sponge
2. Fashion Foie Gras
3. The Young Creatives

What are the top 3 items on your wishlist to buy?

1. The new Celia Birtwell book
2. A really good printer
3. A nice warm jumper

Thanks so much Emma! Be sure to visit Emma’s portfolio and blog for much more great artwork.

Recently The Darling Tree was featured in the latest edition ‘How to be Beautiful‘ of a wonderful online magazine called In Treehouses. This edition features articles on why good design online is essential – and possible – for all lifestyle businesses.

Also featured in this edition is the fabulous Reese Spykerman and Gwen Bell, along with many more great articles if you are interested in reading more about good online design.

Today I’m excited to post an interview with the amazingly talented Sara Blake aka ZSO. Her illustrative style, the detail and colours, is so beautiful and organic it leaves me speechless. Here are the questions and brilliant answers from Sara.

1. Your work combines drawing and digital, can you explain the techniques you use to create your artwork?

Hmmmm… well I guess for starters, the most important ingredient is the drawing itself. I always start the process on paper. I used to skip the sketching process and just go for it, but as I’ve gotten a little more experienced and taken on a few projects where sketching is essential for presenting to the client, I’ve begun planning out my pieces a bit more. Once I get a drawing to a comfortable place, I’ll usually add some watercolor for texture. I kind of like to just mess the drawing up a touch. Then it’s off to the scanner and into Photoshop. The rest of the process is all digital. Usually 95% of my color is digital and I love to pile on scanned textures or images of textures around NYC I’ve shot with my camera. Things can take a day or they can take a week. It’s a lot of experimentation and learning.

2. What projects are you currently working on?

Right now I’m wrapping up some giant in store murals for Nike Basketball, and putting some finishing touches on the launch an artistic/musical collaboration with my sister Emily for a new line of bags, rainboots, and girly goodies for The Sakroots. I’ve been revving up for some much needed personal work time, and I’m also super happy to be included in a charity project for Heal The Bay which will be a custom artist series of skate decks showing in gallery space in LA at the end of the March. And it just wouldn’t be a to-do list without some top secret projects.

3. You’ve been commissioned by many high profile clients, how do you find the experience of working with them compared to working on solo projects?

Personal work is like dessert. Client work is dinner. You need them both to satisfy yourself in different ways. Of course if I had my way I would just eat cupcakes and ice cream all day. I’d be very happy and very plump—but the truth is you really need the practical stuff not only to pay the bills, but to nourish you and grow you in ways that only working on personal work can’t do. Client work often forces me out of my comfort zone, makes me learn new skills, new ways of working, new mediums, and just how much I am capable of when I am under the gun. I think every time I have a big client project I’d like to do a mini personal series just as a way to debrief. In my head I have a very clear separation between client work and personal work—and personal work tends to be the stuff that I am proud of, but there is definitely a symbiosis there that I have to respect.

4. Where do you find inspiration for your designs?

All over the place really. Mostly nature, animals, pretty girls, music, fashion, dreams, love, and New York City as a whole. The very first drawings I can remember doing and being pretty serious about was a series of African animals when I was 4 or 5, around there—I think I’m still the same girl as I was then in terms of inspiration.

5. What are the top 3 blogs you love to read?

Well this one is on the list. Overall the blogs I read change all the time, but I’ll give you three that I’ve been in a relationship with for a while.

1. Them Thangs — It’s really just a collection of weird rock and roll pictures, semi-morbid things, beautiful objects, naked girls, tattoos, guns, and motorcycles. It’s a museum of curiosities.
2. Haute Macabre — I love this fashion site for the slightly less than cookie-cutter gals.
3. FourFour — The Winston section of FourFour. I’m pretty obsessed with this cat and his owner’s attention span for filming him.

6. What are the top 3 items on your wishlist to buy?

I wish people asked me stuff like this more often! If you don’t mind, I’ll have to answer this question in 2 ways. 1) Things On My Wishlist and 2) Things I think Others Should Know About and Add to Their Wishlist

Things On My Wishlist:

1. KMRII Black Cocoon Tafix Bag - Sadly, freelance artists can’t afford expensive bags.
2. Jose Mertz Art Print - I can’t figure out if there are prints or where to find them, but I’d really love some Jose Martz art in my life.
3. An enormous ram skull off Ebay for my studio – The goal is to have an art wall, a type wall, and a skull wall, but I still have some work to do with the skull wall.

Things I think Others Should Know About and Add to Their Wishlist:

1. Threadbare Supply Co. - A former co-worker of mine started her own business and man is this lady talented. She makes these unbelievable cowls. I have an enormous black one and it’s one of my absolute favorite items. I love them so much I even helped out with their photoshoot for fall!
2. SGCNY - This is another small business I’ve been a big supported of for a while now. The have some of the most comfortable clothing and softest textures you will ever encounter.
3. Smith Street Tattoo Parlour - A tattoo from one of the boys at Smith Street Tattoo Parlour. They’re simply the best.

Thanks so much Sara, and I hope you all enjoyed the interview. You can find much more of her stunning work on her website. Have a fantastic weekend everyone!

Shortly before I started August Empress I came across the beautiful work of illustrator and designer Stephanie Ryan, and quickly purchased one of her prints from her Etsy store. I adore her fresh and colourful floral designs, and love the style she creates with watercolours.

Stephanie happily agreed to answer a few questions to feature on the blog, so please enjoy some insight into her work and process.

1. How did you get started as an artist?

First, I would like to thank you for taking the time to interview me. I am a huge fan of your work and am so happy to be here with you.

I knew I was an artist in the 8th grade and started nurturing my skills in high school. I attended a year of college until I had to leave for money reasons. Not knowing what to do next, I found a job as a doll maker for 5 bucks an hour and was grateful to have found it. I spent 11 years there wearing many different hats and learning a lot about the manufacturing business and product development. In 2001, the building burned down to the ground and I found myself wondering what to do with my life, so, I decided to put myself in debt and go back to college in my early 30’s. I feel like this is where my life as an artist really started to take shape.

2. What made you decide to pursue a freelance career?

My decision to leave my job was a very hard and scary decision to make. I have some health challenges that made it very difficult to work a full-time job, but, I couldn’t afford to make any less money.  I felt stuck and didn’t think I had any options until an opportunity came up that was the bridge I needed to leave my job. I was offered a freelance job working 2 days a week at a good freelance rate. The money did not match my current salary, but, I couldn’t turn it down. I made the decision to be brave and stare fear in the face and made the leap. Everything fell into place after that. The job I was working at wanted to keep our working relationship and I am now freelancing for them too.

3. Where do you find inspiration for your designs?

I find inspiration everywhere. I am deeply affected by nature and it’s colors and seasons. The internet is an amazing resource for staying on top of trends, but, can also be overwhelming. I usually work from my imagination when painting my flowers. I love creating their shapes intuitively and find that is when they hold the most beauty within them.

4. Do you keep a sketchbook of ideas?

I actually do not have a sketchbook. I have tried countless times to keep one because I love the idea of having a space to keep my ideas in, but, I have never been able to work that way. It’s funny because I have so many empty sketchbooks, I buy them with the hopes of using them.

5. What are the top 3 blogs you love to read?

Oh, what a difficult question. I have so many favorites and love them all for different reasons. Let’s see… I love Heather Thompson’s blog, Gathering Spriggs, Holly Becker’s, Decor8 and Kathryn’s dreamy blog, Secrets of a Butterfly.

6. What are the top 3 items on your wish list to buy?

Well, I just bought myself a new computer that was on my wishlist for a long time so I am going  to count that as one because I still can’t believe I bought it! I would love to put some beautiful clothes, or amazing handmade products from Etsy on here, but, the truth of the matter is, I am a tech nerd at heart and it is all about the gadgets for me! 1. 27” imac 2. ipad 3. iphone Can you tell I am Apple obsessed?

Stephanie’s designs have also just been released in a new Floral Fusions dinnerware and accessories range for Lenox, available from Macy’s. They look amazing! Be sure to check out Stephanie’s blog and etsy store for more of her work.