An interview with Tasha Whittle

             Tasha Whittle sitting at her desk working with some of her favourite illustrations beside her. 

I have recently interviewed local illustrator / artist, Tasha Whittle, for my arts award.  I had been looking forward to this interview since we set the date.  Tasha's studio is a creative and inspiring large space  in Islington Mill, Salford.  She shares the studio with a few other local designers and photographers.   After meeting her and seeing her work space I would love to work in a studio like hers one day.  Read on to find out more about Tasha and her work.

What first inspired you to do illustration?

I think, like a lot of other people, I started drawing from an early age. I did a lot of travelling when I was a child and drawing was my entertainment on journeys. I would draw on anything I could get my hands on. I didn't know what direction to go in until I did the foundation course.

What space/area do you work best in?

Live drawing – that's the best. Loud music, a big wall, slight pressure, a massive space. With loud music I am concentrated.

How do you get ready for a project?

For illustration projects a proposal for a commission requires preliminary sketches, ideas, mood boards. So the client can see what I have in mind. If I get the commission I do spider diagrams to grow ideas. A mood board is a selection of images I use for inspiration, like photos, scanned images.

What medium do you prefer to use and why?

Paint and brush. It's because I started when I was young using acrylics. Now I like emulsion – you can get so many awesome colours. With pen it's laborious getting it right but with paint you can just slap it on. Photography as well. I like the mix of photography and drawing. I use the same camera I had as a child. I also document other people's work and lives via photography.

Do you like to work alone or with people and why?

A bit of both. At the moment I'm enjoying working alone with independence and my own thoughts. I love collaborating and talking with others about our ideas and what we're going to do. I do prefer collaborating.

What music inspires you?

Everything and anything. Pop music and the charts uninspire me and trans-world stuff. If I'm focussing I listen to electronic music. I like the journey and the rhythm.

How do your emotions influence your art?

My emotions are quite strong but subtly strong. Since university I've become aware of who I am. My emotions are bound to end up in my work.

What was the first piece of work you were commissioned to do?

A 7” record for a DIY band called The Mock Heroic. I designed the cover and the inside too. Before that I'd put on some bands and did gigs and flyers but it wasn't commissioned work.

Which illustrators (modern and contemporary) influence you and why/how?

Too many. When I was a child it was Quentin Blake, and there's a nursery rhyme book given to me by my auntie when I was five, each page a pianted story of another world. The Animals of Farthing Wood, Ren and Stimpy too. I'm not inspired by illustrators, more inspired by painters and street artists out there. I see them as illustrators. They say something with their work. There's Hammo who's Manchester based and obsessed with robots and rubble. Then there's Studio Gibley who created Princess Mononoku and Spirited Away. Guy McKinley inspires me the most.  There is also Maurice Sendak, Dr. Seuss, David Bailey, Tove Jansson, Bjork, and many many many more!

What is your favourite illustration by another illustrator?

Most recently I've been looking at Show Chicken (Nick Sheeney) and his stuff is other worldly, a great definition in lines.

Which one of your own illustrations/murals is your favourite and why?

The three girls' heads and the hair because I didn't think about it, just did it. It has composition within the colours.

Do you have any time to draw for fun or is it all commission based art that you produce?

I still draw for fun. Commissions become fun rather than work. I do doodle.

Do you ever have artist's block and if so how do you cope with it?

I talk to my friends if I get stuck, the others here in the studio. I work through ideas with another person, look at books for inspiration, go for walks, get some 'me' time. I need some space when I'm blocked, not be here in the studio all the time but to stop and step away.

Do you have any habits when you draw? If so, what? ( eg, biting lip, sticking out tongue, etc)

I talk or hum to myself. Irrational wording and random words too, and the brain filters other problems out when I'm working.

What route did you take to become an illustrator?

I did the Art and Design Foundation Course in Norwich, then a degree in Illustration and Animation at Manchester Metropolitan University (MMU). I met Johnny Dub of Sketch City – a live event. It started there. I got commissions through Sketch City while I was still at art college. I did more mural painting.

How can someone like me get into the professional illustration business? (what qualifications, courses, groups do I need).

You don't need a qualification. I know an amazing artist with just an NVQ in Art and Design. More important than qualifications is to have confidence in your work, and a style. My style is still developing. A good vision as an artist and to really want to do it and be able to enjoy it. Observe the world and create your style.

You can see some of Tasha's work via her website at http://www.thecolouringbox.co.uk