Gillian Blease came and gave a talk on the 17th and after hearing her talk and seeing some of her work that I wasn't aware of, I have to say that i really like her style and her work. Although she made it sound like being an illustrator was extremely difficult, her work was quite inspirational and gave me an idea of what it would be like working as a freelance illustrator. She spoke about how difficult it can be to get commissions and how sometimes companies would drop her for no reason. She said that when you are offered work for a newspaper such as the Guardian, you can relax a little because you know you will have some sort of constant income while the job lasts. She explained how important it is to be punctual and stick to deadlines because often working for newspapers and magazines, they cannot wait. She also mentioned that it can be quite stressful when she is given a brief and is required to produce a final image within a few hours. I had not expected to hear that being an illustrator was a stressful job but I am glad that she was honest about it because I need to understand what it is like working in the real world.
Gillian uses bold flat colours and simple shapes in a lot of her work, and often brings in a little texture or pattern to finish off the image. All her pictures are bold and to the point and also simple without being boring. She said that she tries to leave as much space in her work as she can, the more there is, the happier she is with her work. Space evokes drama and tension. She has many influences ranging from Andy Warhol to Ian Wadcock, Joseph Frank, Adrian Johnson, French and Japanese art.
