19 Jan 2011

Artist 61: Stacie Swift






We have another exciting illustrator now in Stacie Swift, who is carving her way into the industry with sheer determination and a bag full of bright colours and gentle happiness. Stacie has a great sense of fun and this is really evident in her light-hearted  treatment of her subjects, with which she translates a loose style into something to treasure. She uses a combination of intricate pattern and sharp clear backgrounds to frame her animals and bring the attention to the comic quality of the illustration and she has a great way of setting a tone that really captures the eye and draws it straight onto her fine-liner work, which is the softer part of the image. Its great to see her constantly evolving style and we are sure that she has more than enough wit and willpower to grab all the opportunities such an approachable and universal style will bring her. With the best wishes for the coming year, it's Stacie Swift!

Who are you:
Stacie Swift an illustrator from London. I like cooking programmes, new books and lots of pattern.

What do you do:
With the end of my degree in BA Illustration around the corner I am currently working hard at self promotion and creating a portfolio I can be proud of! 
I love to draw animals and pattern and tend to use a lot of bright colour in my images. 
I enjoy drawing the different components of my images by hand, I use colouring pencils and colourful fineliner pens then scan these bits and pieces in and to create a final digital illustration.


How did you start:
I've been drawing for as long as I can remember, my Nan coaxed me into drawing 'a little man' on the back of her placemats from the minute I could hold a pen though none of my family are particularly artistic I have always been happiest with a box of colouring pens and some paper.
For much of my teenage years I was set on being a lingerie designer and as such my education followed this path. After an art foundation at London College of Fashion I applied to study Contour Fashion in Leicester.  This application wasn't successful and so I ended up working for three years with jobs in retail and also as a Recruitment Consultant for Design, Technical and Wholesale roles. All the while I maintained my interest in drawing and design and it soon became clear that illustration was the right path for me to follow...after building up a portfolio I applied to Middlesex University and the rest is history!


A Personal statement about you or your work: 
I love creating images with a sense of fun and an intricacy that may not be immediately apparent. Bright colours, playful characters and lots of pattern are running themes.
I feel that I am constantly developing my style and ability to produce images I am happy with. I take every opportunity that I can and feel that success in this industry rides high on my own determination and will to succeed. At the moment I am focussing on selling my work, my etsy shop has helped with this, and will hopefully have an exhibition and other exciting projects coming up in 2011.


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