Interview with Illustrator Naomi Wilkinson

Recently, I had the chance to interview the very talented British illustrator and artist Naomi Wilkinson.  Take a look!

Where are you based?

I’m based in Bristol in the UK, its a small city where pirates used to hang out!

What is your artistic process?

My process involves me looking at the brief, mulling it over, making lots of sketches, picking the ones which are most promising and then I work them up using ink or gouache ( depending how much time I’ve got) and then I assemble everything on photoshop. My artistic process is quite boring and pragmatic really!  My favourite bit is the middle bit when you know what you’re doing but you still have the anticipation everything coming together.

Who are your favorite artists?

Henry Darger, Hide Kawanishi, Grayson Perry, Olle Eskell, Jeremy Deller and Miroslav Sasek are some of my favourites. I also love folk art and outsider art, (especially Central American folk art),and I really like the shapes and pattern in prehistoric art and artifacts.

What inspires you?

Films, books and documentaries really inspire me. I love documentaries about social history and the way cultures and communities have changed. I recently went to The British Museum for the first time and I found that so incredibly inspiring, I think I’ll have to go back a few times to make sure I haven’t missed anything.

What are you currently reading/ watching?

I’m pretty much always watching Mad Men, I’m obsessed with it- I even wrote my dissertation about it! Apart from the that I really love Portlandia, Girls and any music documentaries. I just finished reading a brilliant novel called The Sisters Brother by Patrick Dewitt and A Fistful of Gitanes, a biography of Serge Gainsbourg.
A good film I recently saw is This Must Be The Place which is worth watching just for the scene with David Byrne!

Naomi Wilkinson

Naomi’s studio

Explore more of Naomi’s beautiful illustrations at her portfolio site and also her tumblr.

Thanks Naomi!