How do you describe what you do?
I call myself an illustrator, which essentially means I make pictures to accompany or illuminate some text or a manuscript, tell a story or help show or sell an idea. I now work mainly for publishers illustrating children’s books, but I have also worked for design groups, advertisers, magazines and greeting card companies.
How did you get started in illustration?
I have always enjoyed drawing and making things so I followed a path after taking A levels, which included Art, onto a General Art and Design BTEC course, then onto a BA Hons Degree in Graphic design and Illustration at Kingston University (although it was a poly back then!).
I really enjoyed my degree course just outside London and was fortunate enough to enjoy completing it knowing that I wanted to and was ready to specialise in working as an illustrator.
Being an illustrator to me means working as a freelancer, being very self-motivated as well as needing a good head for business. I feel very lucky to have found a career in something I think I have a talent in, I am passionate about and still really enjoy!
What makes your work and/or process unique?
I create images using a very similar process to that with which I graduated and that fortunately people still want to commission me for! By trying out many techniques including painting I found by learning from mistakes that I could make colourful marks that I was happy with.
I now read the text and/or brief, have a long think and ponder about ideas to solve the brief, draw very loose thumbnail sized sketches, then redraw many times at the correct scale until the idea is clear to the Art Director at the publishing house.
I then stretch paper to transfer my rough pencil image onto which I then paint with acrylic paints, colouring and graphite pencils as well as collage.
I finally scan it into my computer to tidy up and add a little finesse in Photoshop, before sending to the publisher to print.
I think a lot of artists now work only digitally, so I have found that my work is still appreciated for it’s hand-drawn quality that works well in picture books.
What would your top tip(s) be for anyone considering taking up art/design?
To make art and design your career, I think you mainly have to have a natural talent but also be very motivated, even when the work is hard to come by. Those who make it long term are those who have stuck it out even when there are knock backs, which are frequent.
It is also very important to be willing to show your work to those who actually commission illustration i.e. find out what Art Directors want to see and contact them directly by phone or email. Just sharing your work on social media is not nearly enough as there are so many people out there now doing the same. I am now fortunate enough to have a wonderful agent, Artist Partners, who works on my behalf to do this.
What piece of work or project are you most proud of?
I am usually proud of the most recent thing I have made as I’m always searching to make new and more interesting images. I get bored of things I made last year! I do, however, think some pieces still solve a brief well, such as a book I illustrated called Yawning Yoga and an illustrated map of my now home town, Chelmsford.
When you have the dreaded creative block, where do you get your ideas and inspiration from?
I find the best way to help ideas flow is to just keep thinking about them and if any image at all comes into my head, scribble it down as an image. I sometimes find doing something completely different, like getting fresh air or by digging in my garden, going for a walk or making ceramic pots, helps ideas to pop into my head as it then feels like there’s less pressure.
What other artist or maker do you admire and why?
It is very easy now to be constantly aware of other people’s work online - sometimes to the detriment of trying to be original. However, some of the children’s book illustrators whose work I always enjoy includes Carson Ellis, Victoria Semykina, Jon Klassen, Isabelle Arsenault, Laura Carlin and Beatrice Alemagna. All of them create pictures with style, seemingly effortlessly (though I know this isn’t true!) and suggest a certain naivety of line but clearly have complete control of what they’re actually creating.
Any books on your shelf or exhibitions and events coming up that you can recommend?
I’m a member of the Tate which encourages me to keep going to exhibitions even when I think I'm too busy. I'm looking forward to visiting the Olafur Eliasson show at Tate Modern that everyone I know keeps talking about. I’m also excited to see the Willam Blake exhibition at Tate Britain as he was a favourite when I was a young student and have never actually seen his work in real life.
Why is Colchester MakerSpace important to you/or and your work?
I have been illustrating for about 30 years and so sometimes it feels good to learn something new creatively so as to not get bored as well as to indirectly feed some inspiration back into my commercial practise of illustration.
I have wanted to try making ceramics again after a very brief dabble with clay a long time ago during my art foundation course. Watching The Great Pottery Throwdown series inspired me to try and find somewhere to learn to do this again and so I was delighted to find out about the Colchester Makerspace when talking to Marc De'Ath.
After enjoying the Throwing a Ceramic Pot course with Caroline Rhys-Lewis and Martin Bridges I was inspired to become a Makerspace member and have been practising whenever time allows me. I’m still very much a novice in terms of understanding how to make something round and controlled, but I really love the process of getting messy and not worrying about making mistakes. I feel no pressure of deadlines with it as I’m not doing it as a commercial venture, but purely as a personal creative outlet. The more I have been making, I realise pot-making is evolving into a surface for me to make illustrations and decorative with pattern, almost like a sketchbook.
I moved to Chelmsford 14 years ago and have raised my young children there since then. I am increasingly inspired by both the city we have explored together and the nostalgia I now feel for my young children (they are now 14 and 13). So I have been decorating the pots I make with images exploring these places and memories and I love the precious jewel-like quality ceramics gives to them, as well as the fact that I love the process and unpredictability of the outcomes. It’s such a thrill if something turns out successfully.
I just have to be aware that, as my husband reminds me, we do have limited need and space in our house for a never-ending outpouring of pots…!
LINKS:
Website: www.dianamayo.com
Online Porfolio: www.artistpartners.com/portfolios/diana-mayo/
Instagram: www.instagram.com/dianamayoillo/
Twitter: www.twitter.com/DianaMayoillo
Facebook: www.facebook.com/dianamayoillustration