a visit to emily's pad

emily lives in a huge glasgow tenement flat full of character and great views of glasgow and beyond. given the fact it's rented emily is kinda stuck with the 'granny' style decor which strangely enough has a comforting charm about it. in the summer she moves her drawing table up lots of narrow winding stairs to her turret room studio with little round windows. it has an 'alice in wonderland' feel to it. i will show you soon.

a moment of joy

i took these photos a couple of weeks ago during a wee trip to glasgow's winter gardens with a friend. the woman was dressed so beautifully and we sat and listened to her play many lovely tunes on her wonderful instrument (i have no idea what it is). the kids all around were fascinated and i'm sure she made their day a lot brighter, she certainly did mine!

other good things: stine has a fab new blog!, a cool exhibition over at the owl and lion gallery that incudes a print from emily. a great design blog - gentle pure space -takes its name from this lovely poem.

he sleeps with the fishes

today i had a sneeky wee peek of the upcoming 'he sleeps with the fishes' exhibition of drawings by emily chappell at the tron glasgow. emily was busy getting her work ready for viewing in the long gallery. it runs until 28th march and the preview is tomorrow between 6-8pm.

happy when creating interview: emily chappell

apart from being a dear sweet friend of mine emily chappell is also a very talented illustrator. she is ultra busy at the moment with many projects including taking part in the prints charming exhibition at welcome home and selling her limited edition crimbo cards at glasgow's other wonderful newish shop goodd.

emily has also been actively trying to change the face of some of glasgow's duller shops, hairdressers and cafes starting with one of my local charity shops marys meals in duke st. when they started selling retro and vintage clothing emily decided on a visit one day that an injection of colour and humour was much needed. i spent a couple of sunday's sitting in with her while she waved her magic paint brush and pens to create a super fabby (and cannot be missed) murel! you can see the finished result here.

the 3 top photos above show some of her amazing recent design commissions for gig posters.

i asked her a few questions to let you know a wee bit about herself and her illustration.

emily why do you create?

i am an only child who grew up in bland-ville next to beige village. i learned from a young age that you do really have to shape/re build your life. i get a kick every time i realise a vision on paper.

what do you create?

i create drawings and paintings that have dream-like qualities. they are both truthful and other-worldly.

where do you create?

either out and about waiting to meet friends or in my tiny (tree-house like) attic room.

what materials do you like to use?

pencils, felt tips, gauche, inks, spray paints, dirty hands and (i have to admit) spit when i'm out drawing and have no water.

what are your first creative memories?

making pasta shape faces on paper plates, and before that, tipping up washing powder boxes to make powder mountains.

art school or self taught?

i went to the glasgow school of art but have to admit that my work did not flourish until i left and shook off all that self doubt.

what inspires you?

spoken and musical truths, comedy, the seasons, my friends, drink, exhaustion.

who inspires you?

a few illustrators: luke best, luke ramsey, maxwell holyoke-hirsch, ralph steadman, quentin blake, i also appreciate artists/musicians who cross boundaries: nick cave, daman albarn, bjork, vivian westwood.

what projects are you working on at the moment?

i'm preparing drawing for a solo show at the tron glasgow early next year. the theme will be: he sleeps with the fishes. using drawing to connect with the environment. thoughts of community and togetherness conjured up through waking dreams.

what would you like to be doing in the future?

have a fleet of interesting commissions behind me, then teach, then retire to a seaside retreat with a piano and a coffee maker to fuel my senile moments!

thank you emily, good luck with all your future projects including (possibly) a wee collaboration with me one day!