The first time I saw Faye Moorhouse’s work, I had to linger a little longer at each piece. At first glance they look simple – but I found myself trying to figure out the meaning behind each one and most of the time, I end up with a smile. Simple strokes are a thing of beauty, and they draw me in instantaneously, as in the case with her portfolio; where her quick strokes and wash of colors play out the scenes she envisions to great effect.
I couldn’t keep my questions to myself, so I decided to give her a quick interviews (I really enjoy this format more and more!) so I’ll let her do the honor of filling in the blanks!
Who/what are you inspired by?
I take inspiration from loads of different places, I’m always wandering around carboot sales and spend way too much time watching documentaries, particularly those shocking ‘My-head-grew-to-twice-the-size-of-a-giraffe-and-then-fell-off’ ones! I collect stories, mostly real-life stories, in preparation for my next projects.
Tell us about your award winning project, “A Cat Lady of Czechoslovakia” – what was the idea behind it?
The Cat Ladies of Czechoslovakia was the final piece for my final major project at university, my initial starting point for the project was ‘hoarders’ I’d planned to do a story about someone who got buried alive by their belongings or perhaps eaten by all their cats. Then suddenly this story popped into my head, it is totally imagined, but I wanted to present it as a folk-tale, something which might have happened many years ago!!!
How would you describe your style?
We were always encouraged not to use the word ‘style’ at uni for some reason, but if I had to choose one word to describe it, I would say it is odd. My boyfriend says I draw like a 2-year-old!!!
Who would be your dream client/Who would you love to work for?
I really want to get into animation but I’m not sure where to begin, I can imagine my illustrated story-books coming alive! Recently I’ve been exploring sculpture and ceramic-painting (plates, bowls etc.), which I love (I would actually really like to work in one of those paint-your-own-pottery cafes!). I would also like to find a publisher for my work, I saw a wonderful illustrated book recently by WIlliam Goldsmith which was published by Jonathan Cape (an imprint of Random House), so I plan to approach them at some point. My ultimate dream of course (like most other illustrators) is to work for myself, creating books and selling my work.
Thank you Faye! Also, you can buy prints and fantastic stuff she paints on, like plates and bowls over at her Etsy shop .
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Happy weekend everyone! I’m away from home this weekend, but I wanted to thank you for the wonderful support I’ve garnered for Camp Pikaland! It’s only a soft launch as classes will only be underway around September, but it’s been an amazing start so far!
