When we moved to the US for a time, and had to ship all our belongings overseas, I made a whole new bedroom out of cardboard, complete with laptop and mouse. Cardboard still remains one of my favourite materials.
Was there someone who encouraged you to make art when you were young?
I had some really good art teachers who were very patient with me and gave me the time and space to work how I wanted. I used to go to watercolour lessons after school, and my lovely teacher Mary would always let me draw scenes from Lord of the Rings, pictures of my pets, or my favourite cartoons, rather than the still life she had set out for us. When I was a bit older, I would babysit for my neighbour and her kids always demanded drawings and were very critical, which put me in good stead for a life as an illustrator!
Did you have artwork on your bedroom walls or around your home growing up, and do you remember a favourite piece or how art made you feel as a child?
I LOVED magazines. My bedroom wall was a collage of my favourite actors, musicians and cartoons. I still love magazines, but now my clippings are in a folder rather than plastered all over my wall. In my first bedroom, I had a framed Molly Brett print of teddy bears at the beach, and I used to spend a lot of time looking at the whole scene and picking out what was going on. I was always scared by the little bear stuck in a lobster pot though!
