Gill Wright

Gill Wright A Folklore epiphany

“It was like an epiphany. Fashion was the obvious subject of choice but it’s the mood of the subject that inspires me. I could represent a fabric in the most perfect way possible but if the eyes are not right then it goes in the bin or gets sliced up for a collage.”

This Page Manon FIDA winner - Blue ink on Paper When did you first get into drawing? As soon as I could hold a crayon and throughout my childhood. I always loved drawing eyes. After studying A Levels in Art and Stage/Costume Design, I went to The Northern School of Art and fell in love with life drawing classes.

Why did you choose to make fashion part of your inspiration? I specialised in fashion design before going on to the University of Northumbria at Newcastle to complete a Fashion Design BA(Hons) and worked as a designer for about ten years until jobs in my area became less and less. Stepping across into graphic design meant that I hardly drew at all for about the next fifteen years!

It was only when recession hit that I decided to go back to my fashion roots and become a freelance illustrator. It was like an epiphany. Fashion was the obvious subject of choice but it’s the mood of the subject that inspires me. I could represent a fabric in the most perfect way possible but if the eyes are not right then it goes in the bin or gets sliced up for a collage.

What is your particular working day as a creative? No two days are the same. Whilst working on gallery pieces or my own prints I can be flexible with time or how I work, so I could be painting an oversized image pinned on a wall or at my studio desk, sometimes working late into the evening. When working on commissions I’m more likely to end up sitting at my Mac rounding off with digital work in which case I always try to stick to nine to five so that I can price work more accurately.

What tools do you use when creating your images? Charcoal sticks, brushes, watercolour pencils, spatulas, scissors, make-up sponges, my fingers – you name it! I love to experiment. I usually work on paper and sometimes canvas. If I have a digital project then I use a combination of Ai and Ps.

Who and what has influenced you over the years as an artist? The obvious influences are fashion illustrators, artists and designers: Gruau, Bouché, Erickson, Picasso, Matisse, Cocteau, Lautrec, Armani, Jil Sander, Valentino, the list is endless. I’m always inspired by David Downton for his depiction of light and shade, Jason Brooks for his composition, Cecilia Carlstedt for her abstract sensitivity. Inspiration can come from the most ordinary and extraordinary things: shapes in nature, a flower, a colour, a person in the street, a face in a magazine, music, a feeling, a dream. Sometimes I wake up with an image I want to create and have no idea where it came from!

Speak to professionals, agents, tutors and Fida for advice! Ask questions. Lots of advice these days is about finding yourself and being self indulgent in your art, which is an absolutely beautiful and fundamental thing, but there needs to be some realistic and practical survival advice alongside this, otherwise you just have an exquisite hobby!

G.Wright

What advice do you have for younger artists looking to be part of this industry? That’s a tough one as I feel like an eternal apprentice myself. My personal experience is that survival has depended upon being able to adapt for different briefs as well as supporting fashion work with other projects. Illustrating fashion every day is still an ideal. The reality is that I work on all sorts to support that passion. I guess I’d advise to find out how and where your work can make an income and this could possibly influence how you develop your style and the content you choose to create. Speak to professionals, agents, tutors and Fida for advice! Ask questions. Lots of advice these days is about finding yourself and being self indulgent in your art, which is an absolutely beautiful and fundamental thing, but there needs to be some realistic and practical survival advice alongside this, otherwise you just have an exquisite hobby!

What are you drawing today? Music are you listening to? Books that your are reading? Favourite artist/designer at the moment? I’m currently working on some new gallery pieces and preparing a quote for illustrating a large advertising hoarding. I’m working in silence but my music library is amusingly varied: Chic, Costes, Miles Davis, Puccini, Bowie, Arvo Part, Roxy Music, Radiohead.

I never really have a favourite artist of the moment – they’re all just up there in my head like one giant creative superbeing!

This Page Fashion figure

This Page: 1970 fashion drawing Opposite page: Bulgari x fida Project 2021