Tell me about yourself. what inspired you to become an illustrator?

I am an illustrator and have just turned 35, living in the coastal town of Whitby, North Yorkshire. I have to say I think my path to becoming an illustrator originally happened a bit by accident. I first began a music course at Leeds University, but for various reasons I wasn’t happy. I headed home for a half gap year and began thinking about what I wanted to do. Leeds as a city still really appealed to me so I applied for a couple of design led courses, and I ended up getting and accepting at place at Leeds College of Art (as it was called then), and studied Printed Textiles and Surface Pattern Design. My love for illustration specifically grew as I progressed through the course, and by the end of my 3 years I was in no doubt that I wanted a creative career.

How has growing up in a coastal town influenced your work? Is there a particular place that you find inspiring?

My coastal upbringing has definitely influenced my work. It provided me with plenty of inspiration during my time studying and even more so since. I do feel lucky to have been brought up in such a pretty and interesting place. I love to travel and Paris is a city I have been to many times now. It was the focus of my design work throughout the whole of the third year of my degree and my love of this architecturally beautiful city has continued to inspire me since.

What is your process for creating one of your illustrations?

All of my designs begin with black pen drawings on paper, or as a black and white illustration on my iPad. Both ways of working have the same outcome eventually; it’s just easier to correct mistakes on the iPad! Once I have hand drawn an object, written some text or illustrated little shapes for patterns, they get transferred to the computer where I utilise Adobe Illustrator to colour the drawings and also work on the final layouts for my designs. Illustrator is the perfect program for me and my combination of linear illustrations and flat colour.

How has your work developed since you first started out as an artist?

In some ways my art has remained very true to my final projects at art college, by which time I felt I had found my true ‘artistic style’. I am told my colour palettes are quite recognisable; I use a lot of duck eggs and greens and pastel type palettes but in terms of the designs themselves, the way I piece together the different elements to make a finished piece has probably developed the most. Producing layouts for products such as mugs has pushed my work in a slightly different direction, and I now really enjoy the challenge of putting together a design for something like this or any product that’s less conventional than a tea towel or greeting card. In the past this would have intimidated me.

What has been your favourite project to work on and why?

There have been many projects that I have enjoyed over the years and if you asked me on a different day I would probably give a different answer, but I loved creating my Paris piece of work. I did it as a personal project in 2017 to take with me to a New York art licensing show and I felt it really represented my style as an illustrator, and was a piece I felt proud of. I have been selling it on various products on my Etsy shop since, and it has most recently gone onto a range of over 30 giftware products, produced and sold by French Company Kiub Edition. It is so exciting to see my work for sale on products that I can’t necessarily produce myself and to have my designs for sale across Paris and further afield is a lovely feeling.

What are your greatest achievements/challenges as an artist?

I think my greatest achievement has to be that I have been able to make a living from my artwork consistently for the last 9 years. When I started out I had no idea if I could ever run a ‘real’ business and I am so pleased that the hard work has paid off. It has been a delight to achieve my goal of opening a shop (Jessica Hogarth Shop in Robin Hood’s Bay), which allows me to be creative in different ways, such as merchandising the displays and choosing which products to buy. The challenges have been keeping on top of everything, at times there simply have just been not enough hours in the day. I have always tried to keep overheads as low as possible so I have done a lot of jobs myself, that have at times been time consuming, but meant I haven’t had to pay anyone else to do them. Balancing running the business whilst still getting time to design is an ongoing challenge, but I am quite happy with the set up we have at the moment.

Who is your favourite artist? If they were sat next to you right now, what would you ask them?

It is very difficult to choose just one artist so I will name 3 and what all of these artists have in common is the fact they have created many location based pieces of work. Ilona Drew of I Drew This is a good friend of mine and her collection of landmark designs is extensive, all done in her recognisable and colourful style. Rifle Paper Co is an inspiring USA based company and their founder Anna Bond’s art has been delighting and inspiring me for over 10 years. Clare Caulfield is my favourite; I just love the energy in her art. I first discovered Clare when I was studying in Leeds and have a large Parisian scene screen print hung in my bedroom. If I was sat with her right now, I would ask who her favourite artists or influences are and which location she enjoys illustrating the most. It’s always interesting to know what makes other people tick.

Why do you think art is important in society?

A world without art would be a dull and quite lifeless place to be. The world as we know it is a product of many, many people’s creativity. Art gives people a chance to express themselves when they can’t necessarily do so verbally. Art creates topics for conversation and it brings enjoyment to people who admire what other people have created. I can’t think of a reason why it wouldn’t be important in society.

https://jessicahogarth.com