We gratefully introduce our 2nd Artist in Residence, Rebecca Lowes, who profiles her work below and also gives us a rundown on her inspirations, achievements & plans for the future. Rebecca is a final year student at the University of Central Lancashire.

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Tell us a bit about your design / art background so far…

I have always loved drawing. After school I studied Art and Design at College, and then I went onto study Graphic Design. I felt like Art wasn’t for me. I did enjoy the more creative Graphic Design projects but on the whole it bored me. It was at this point that I become interested in Illustration. I am currently in my third year of studying Illustration at University. It was the right choice to make, I really enjoy the course and my skills have improved a lot since I started it. It’s a good middle ground between Art and Graphic Design and my work belongs there.

I am inspired by lots of things. I listen to a lot of music. Often song lyrics will inspire an idea. I also read a lot. I like a lot of Gothic, Horror, Fantasy, Science Fiction and Mystery novels. Sometimes a part of a book will stick in my mind. When I’m writing notes and ideas at the start of a project I will often recall certain scenes or characters and it can be a great starting point. I buy a lot of magazines, especially Fashion and Art magazines, I love anything that looks unusual. I love to go to flea markets and buy beautiful objects to draw. There are a lot of Illustrators and Artists that I admire but my favourites are; Sarah Beetson, Julie Verhoeven, Olaf Hajek and Dave Mckean. I also love Frida Kahlo; the way that she paints and the colours and symbolism are very inspiring.

I consider it an achievement when I am happy with a drawing or when a project really comes together after a lot of hard work. I am still at University so hopefully all of my achievements are still to come but I am entering a few contests and I hope something comes from those. I recently got contacted by The Bleed Magazine on Twitter and they told me that they loved my work and wanted to feature it. I did a painting for them inspired by their concept and the editor was really happy with it, as was I. I’d say that’s my greatest achievement, it made me feel proud of my work and I can’t wait to see it published in the magazine.

I want to be a successful Illustrator. That’s my dream job and I’m doing all I can to make it happen. I’m always trying to push my work forward and get it seen by as many people as possible. I can’t imagine myself doing a “normal” boring job, I feel like I need to draw and stay creative, to do it for a living would be amazing. After Graduation I’m going to have a few months of serious networking and self promotion, I’m hoping that I can get into Illustration right away though I realise it will be difficult. I walk past the dreaded Job Centre every day on my walk home from University and this is very motivating, I hope I never have to go there!

Useful links;

You can see examples of my work on my website: http://www.rebeccalowes.com

Find me on Twitter here

Find me on Facebook here

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