Thanks for finding this Jo, iv emailed Kate and shes sent me some really helpful advice...


1. Where do you find all the different paper used in your work?

I think I began just by collecting envelopes and using the different patterns inside (there are so many!). I also use things like paper bags and patterns I find in magazines. Actually now I just can’t throw any paper away, I’ve got bags of it - old shopping lists, chocolate wrappers, leaflets. I did quite a lot of mono-printing while I was at uni to get big sheets of flat colour for backgrounds. This worked really well because the prints came out covered with tiny white dots – perfect for night skies! Or occasionally I do paint sheets of paper with acrylic. Gardening magazines are also good!



2. When you graduated, what was the first thing you did to begin your career?

Well, I was lucky because I had interest from publishers who had seen my work at the London degree show and at D&AD New Blood. This meant I already had people to see as soon as I graduated, which was great because it then gave me the confidence to approach others. Having a website was also useful, even though mine is really simple and to begin with only contained work from my portfolio. Even having a blog or something would work I think, if it was clearly a kind of portfolio.



3. Do you have an agent, or do you promote your own work? If so, what have you found to be the most successful method of self promotion?

No, I don’t have an agent, although I did contact a few on graduating and it’s definitely something I would consider. I try to promote my own work, which has so far meant emailing lots and lots of publishers. Having said that, not many reply! I think it’s really important not to be discouraged by that. Luckily, I’ve had positive responses from the few who have. Going to see people with my portfolio has probably been the most beneficial thing for me and I really enjoy it too! I get a lot of feedback and ideas for things they would like to see me do. They’re often quite happy to be used in the same way as a tutor at university and then you can just email them things you’re working on. This does depend on what area of illustration you want to pursue though, because for editorial work for instance, I think having a website is probably as useful and you don’t need to see people as much. Web presence is obviously a fantastic way of showing your work. I’ve found IllustrationMundo a brilliant resource and also having a blog, because I can update that much more quickly than my website!


4. Alot of your work seems to be based around nature or animals, a subject which inspires me more than anything else. I was wondering if you had any advice as to where to look for work on this theme?

You know, I’ve never actually thought about that! It’s actually really obvious isn’t it? I suppose it’s being a country girl at heart! That’s quite a difficult question. The really easy (and not at all useful) answer is everywhere! It depends what area you would like to go into. If it’s more editorial then just go to Borders (or newsagent of your choice!) and look through the magazines, find where you think your work might fit, write down the art director’s name from the front and ring them up/ send samples. I say this as though it’s something I’ve actually done, which I haven’t! It’s something one of my tutors at uni always said we should do, because you often find magazines you never would have thought of. Of course children’s books often deal with these themes/settings and publishers I’ve met say that mostly their illustrators are known for either doing animals or people because they’re usually better at one than the other, so this is an area where you naturally pursue your area of interest. While it’s good to have a wide portfolio, I don’t think there’s anything wrong with being identified with a certain subject/theme. I don’t know if you’ve seen Rob Ryan’s work, but he came and gave a talk at Kingston and basically said that everything he does has trees/birds/bells in! He does quite a lot of book jackets and… well everything really, so it seems to work for him. He’s definitely worth looking at anyway, one of the illustrators I first looked at when I started cutting things out and just shows you that there aren’t really any boundries with where illustration can be used. Although if you are doing more 3D work you do have to think about where it will fit. I used to make all these chaotic structures and then tutors would tell me I had to get it photographed to see how it would work flat. The photography/printing side of things took me so long to get right, and it’s still something I find difficult. When I’ve been working on something really big and 3D for ages, it doesn’t always look how I expected printed out flat.

I really haven’t answered that question have I? I will let you know if I think of anything better… Honestly, I did a project where I had to contact people for advice last March! It’s so strange to have someone ask me these things. It was useful though, so I hope I’ve helped a little bit - it’s lovely to be asked!