Meet the Artist: Jacqui Winter

Jacqui Winter is a mixed medium illustrator based in Penzance Cornwall. She discovered her unique, textured and vibrant style by using a combination of mediums that include sketching, mark making and water colour on some occasions. Winter will then upload them to a computer and work on them digitally. We sat down with Jacqui to find out more about the stories behind her works of art and more about her creative process.

 

Can you talk us through your method of creating a piece of artwork? 

I’m always on the look-out for new ideas for my next piece of work. Living in such a beautiful area of the country, there’s always a location or view in Cornwall that inspires me. I’ll often take a few photos when out on a walk or if it’s a nice day, maybe spend a little time sketching or dabbling with watercolours. I also start thinking of other elements I may want to use as a focal point to bring a composition together, whether some form of wildlife or plant native to a particular location and will work on those separately to potentially use at a later point. From here I sketch out a really rough layout of a scene inspired by my research and then bring it all into Adobe Illustrator to start working it up into the finished format. 

Jacqui sketching the landscape in the distance

 

My sketchpad. It’s where everything begins and ideas are formed. 

The colours I use in my work are most definitely inspired by my coastal surroundings. I tend to lean towards aqua blues with a contrasting splash of colour such as red, much like my Padstow illustration. This palette captures everything I love about the Cornish coast on a sunny day. 

 

 That’s quite an amusing question, as I’ve actually got a bit of a bird phobia! Living by the sea, it seems only natural that I include seagulls in my work as they’re basically part of the scenery especially in Penzance. They also help bring a sense of movement to my art. 

 

 Unfortunately, not! It was more of what I imagined the view would look like from one of those cosy St. Ives Cottages looking out across the bay. 

 

Loosely drawn lines, clusters of marks and a mixture of abstract shapes help give the impression of movement in my seas and sky's. As I explained before, these marks are normally created separately to the composition and I have lots of fun trying out different techniques placing them into the artwork playing around with them until I think they work.  

 

 

 I try not to be too restrictive in how I create my art, I prefer a piece to evolve as I work on it rather than have too much structure. It also helps that I do have the most amazing view of the sea from my studio in Penzance. I feel so lucky to be able to just look up and be inspired without even leaving the building.  
 

What piece of your portfolio are you most proud of? 
 
I’m really pleased with how my artwork of St Ives turned out. The viewpoint, colours and textures came together so naturally. The idea for the composition was actually inspired by the view from the Tate Gallery Café, one of those amazing panorama's only St Ives can deliver.