Welcome to my
monthly interview feature! I’m so excited to be interviewing all the fabulous
artists, illustrators and designers I’ve meet over the years (both personally
and virtually!) and sharing their artwork and experiences here on Bird Meets
Worm. Look for a new interview on the first Tuesday of every month.
This month I’m pleased as punch to be catching up with the
effervescent Illustrator & Designer, Victoria Johnson! I’m a long-time fan
of her beautiful artwork and was thrilled to get to see her gorgeous Surtex
2014 booth in person. She is an English artist/designer in Rome. She lives there with
her Italian husband and two children. Before that she lived in New York
for twelve years, owning and running a design studio in NY and London. Her work
has been featured on a huge variety of products, from women's and children's
wear, to paper products, home furnishings and giftware and is lucky enough
to have worked with some of the best known companies in the US and Europe.
You can view more of her artwork here!
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| "C" is definitely for CUTE! |
Q:
How has your time living in each England, New York & London influenced and
inspired your artwork?
A: I lived in NY for 12 years
and worked in the Garment District, mainly designing womenswear prints. I
think this influences my work. I gravitate towards feminine palettes that
are very wearable. I also love vintage womenswear fabrics—the way that
contemporary art was so influential on fashion print trends during the 20th
Century.
Q:
You've spent many years as an independent illustrator and have recently signed
on with Jennifer Nelson Artists (Congrats!!). Dish with us about the pros and
cons of representation vs. being independent and why you've chosen to be
represented at this point in your career.
A: I was very happy being
independent and would definitely recommend that route— even though it's very
demanding and requires an awful lot of self-discipline. However, it's not
everyday that an agent of Jennifer's caliber presents an opportunity.
After one conversation with her I knew that my career would benefit
massively from her support. I was finding it difficult to make time to
send my work out as often as I wanted and was starting to chase my tail.
I knew that Jennifer would get my work seen regularly by the companies I
wanted to work with. I felt she was 100% invested in my success and was
keen to maintain regular contact with me (and her other artists), working as a
partner in a joint venture. This is unusual and offset any reservations
I'd formally had about representation (that sense of sinking into a vast sea of
anonymity with multiple other artists working under the name of the studio). I
sensed that I was incredibly fortunate from the outset.
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| How adorable is this floral repeat?! |
Q:
Describe your artistic process. How do you begin? What comes next? How do you
choose a medium and color palette?
A: I choose a medium based on the idea.
They're kind of linked. I keep a running list of ideas in a single notebook.
I've worked like this for years. I might be inspired by something
I've seen online or in a shop (the usual sources) or want to progress from
something I've already done or I might know that I need to cover a commercial
theme like Christmas, Valentines, etc. I write my ideas on my list and
then decide what needs doing most urgently and what I fancy doing! I
always try to establish my palette at the outset and work very hard on making
it beautiful—and hopefully a bit original.
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| Come fly away on a Victoria Johnson dream!! |
A: I struggle daily. My children are both school
age so I have all their school hours to work, but my husband's away or working
long hours a lot so it's difficult. I often start work again after the
kids go to bed.
Q:
What advice would you give to an illustrator attending Surtex regarding prep as
well as what to actually bring to the show?
A: I don't know where to begin. I could
write a whole blog post about this. A whole book even. In a
nutshell— don't make yourself ill. Be super organized. Make sure
everything is cohesive—that it screams you and is high impact. Go the
extra mile because you will not believe how much effort people make on those
stands. It blows your mind!! Just when you think you've done as much as
is humanly possible, you'll realize someone else has done MORE!!! Also,
establish relationships with key clients beforehand. It's not like a shop
where strangers just stroll by and pluck your goods from a shelf. It's
very much an opportunity to expand on and cement existing relationships and
show your clients that you are professional and serious.
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| So lovely! So gorgeous! So fabulous! |
A: Waking up at six am, leaping out of bed and
going for a 5 mile run, getting back and eating fresh, crushed raspberries,
organic oatmeal and a kale smoothie before taking my children out for a very
educational tour of Rome's finest art galleries. I've NEVER done this.
EVER. But I imagine it would be quite nice and I would feel pure
and saintly afterwards.