Interview with Gemma Correll by Tomogotchi

Artist Interview: Gemma Correll

The lovely Gemma Correll is an illustrator of illustrations hailing from sunny Norfolk in the UK. Her pug’s name is Mr Pickles. I like her work.

After being shown some of her stuff from a friend I thought it’d be a grand ol’ idea to fossick around in her head and work out what makes those synapses fire in in such a manner that super awesome pictures come out of her marker-holding hand. So… after concluding that a lobotomy was a bit cruel, I sent her some questions…

What’s your personal favourite drawing that you’ve ever done?

I get asked that a lot but I find it difficult to choose because I’m not really particularly fond of any of my drawings. I look at them and see mistakes. Maybe my “Who invited the Herbivore?” drawing, because it made me giggle when I thought up the punchline and I’m flattered that it’s been so popular, because I wasn’t sure that other people would find it funny when I first drew it.

Have you always been a pug person? and um… why pugs?

Actually, no. I had never really seen a pug until relatively recently. I fell in love after seeing one in the US a couple of years ago… before that, I was more of a cat person, although I grew up with dogs- labrador retrievers- too. Pugs are just lovely dogs, they’re very friendly and playful and generally very funny. Mr Pickles makes me laugh all the time.

you do a pretty wide range of stuff (installations, murals, patterns, typography…) what’s your favourite thing to do/draw?

My favourite thing to draw is anything with a narrative- so comic strips, single page narrative illustrations (like my kitties) and my daily diaries. I like to combine text and image. I don’t think I’m particularly good at creating pretty pictures, it’s the accompanying text that gives most of my drawings meaning and saves them from mediocrity!

Do you keep drawing for fun now that you get paid for it too?

Yes, I do, as much as possible. A lot of the time, something I’ve drawn for fun will turn into something bigger, or become a card design, or inform a project that I do in the future, anyway… but I find drawing in my sketchbook a good way to de-stress.

your daily diaries are awesome – are you gonna keep going with them? what made you start recording your daily activities in drawings? (They remind me of RSA animate BTW)

Thanks… I am going to keep up with them, I enjoy drawing them but recently I haven’t had much time (although I have been drawing them, I’ve missed a few days). I’m moving to Berlin next month though, which I think will inspire me to start drawing the diaries again. I think my day-to-day life here in Norwich has become a little monotonous and therefore uninspiring (although I do usually find at least one semi-interesting thing a day to draw).
I hadn’t seen the RSA animations before, they are really brilliant but a little more intelligent than my drawings (or at least, the subjects are) but I guess the aesthetic is quite similar, especially with the red and black colour scheme.

what are you working on right… now?

A greetings card design for Hallmark, some work for an exhibition next month, and my first book!

Please describe your perfect Sunday.

First- Coffee and a long walk, preferably in the sunshine, with Anthony and Mr Pickles. An afternoon of sitting on the sofa doodling in my sketchbook, reading magazines and snacking on yoghurt covered almonds. Either Indian or Chinese food for dinner and then a movie.

http://youmightlikethis.com/2011/02/artist-interview-gemma-correll/