I am just back from a week in Wales with my family and feel full of new visual inspiration. I’ve written before about time away from home and how this keeps inspiration for my illustration flowing, and was reminded of this while away this time. We haven’t been away very much over the past year so I really felt the benefit this time. While the 6 hour journey with a baby was daunting, we took the train and it was actually ok!
A Welsh Connection - how our roots inspire our art
Wales is of particular significance as it’s where my family come from. Although I grew up in London, both of my parents have Welsh heritage and my Dad grew up there. I’ve spent a lot of time there over the years, historically spent visiting family, but in more recent years visiting places that now hold lots of childhood memories for me.
I remember going to visit my Grandmother in the house her grandfather built, tucked away down a winding lane in a coastal village in West Wales. She had lots of fascinating things like a bellows for her fire, stained glass in the front window, and some of my Dad’s old toys that were still in what was his bedroom. We’d visit her cousin on the family farm, where they had geese running around the yard, lots of dogs to stroke and a boiling hot kitchen where we’d drink tea. Summers were all spent on the beach rockpooling, swimming and eating sandy sandwiches, regardless of the weather.
My other Grandmother grew up in the valleys, where her father (my Great-Grandfather) had a butcher's shop. Here he is outside it looking very serious.
Childhood memories
That’s probably enough family history for one blog, but I find it fascinating how our roots, family stories and childhood memories all play a part in forming who we are, and certainly the kind of stories we might tell ourselves through art. I haven’t made a book about Wales - yet - but I’m sure it still comes through somehow.
When thinking up stories, for children or otherwise, writers often draw upon real things that have happened to them for inspiration. One Summer down in Wales my Dad and I went badger watching at dawn. I drew this memory a couple of years ago, trying to communicate the magical held-breath quality of that morning.
This painting, and subsequent series I made, is also inspired by my childhood trips to Wales. We were allowed to bottle feed the lambs who lived in the barn without their mothers and were hand reared by the farmer. They were very strong and keen on their milk!
The evocative nature of childhood memories make great inspirations for picture books in particular, because of their sparse words, emotional quality and ability to be immersive. The wise and wonderful Helen Stephens has a childhood illustrated prompt and hashtag over on Instagram that you should have a look at if this also interests you!
Wales in colours
When I’m going about my daily life I like to look at the colour around me and think about which ones feel most appealing or interesting. This is much easier to do when you’re on holiday, because I think your eye can spot things that if you saw them everyday you may not notice - for example the colour of a lobster pot in the garden.
Here are some photos I took with the colour pulled out. These are the real colours that appear - I’ve collected them by using the colour dropper tool in Procreate.
When put all together they make a palette that to me says ‘Wales’. I’ve saved this to inform work I’d like to make in future. It’s quite different to the bold colours I often reach for when making work set in London, where the colours are less informed by nature and more by the vibrant, diverse people who live there. While it sometimes feels like I’m pulled in two directions - one to the bright, bold modern London and another to the muted, natural and mythic Wales - I think this tension can also be very interesting. After all, tension and contradictions are what make us all unique.
The sea as constant inspiration
I find that being by the sea is very grounding, and that time spent there refreshes me - both personally and artistically. I know I’m not alone in this and I wonder if anyone has done a scientific study on this! Perhaps it’s something to do with being able to see the horizon, or the sense of scale you feel when set against the powerful waves.
I didn’t paint the sea on this holiday, but enjoyed being close to it and seeing it in all its moods from calm to violently wavy. I hope to go to the sea again before the year is over, to hopefully feel that refreshed feeling again.
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