Romance in the Line
Interview
I find myself looking back to the classic works of illustrators like Carl Eric Erickson or René Bouché for inspiration.
Holly Van De Coevering speaks with Patrick Morgan
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When did you first get into drawing?
Some of my earliest memories are of watching my Father at his drawing board and easel, so drawing and creating has always felt like a very natural part of life to me. Art & Textiles were my favourite and best subjects at high school, with drawing being my favourite aspect but I went on to study Architecture which required me to get serious and acquire technical drawing skills. So I have always been drawing but I picked up illustration in earnest about eight years ago when I decided to become a freelance illustrator.
Why did you choose to make fashion part of your inspiration?
I’ve been doing freelance commissions on and off for eight years now, and covering a wide range of subjects like food, recipes, portraits, various editorials, but it’s only quite recently that I decided to focus on the Fashion sector alone. I was encouraged by recent positive changes in the industry, the increased diversity and inclusivity one sees and the conversation around sustainability that is gathering momentum. I have always adored Fashion and Haute Couture and drawing people has always been my favourite subject. The Fida platform gave me the faith that I could do it, discovering a community of fashion artists was a revelation and I am grateful for the many contacts I have made through Fida. For me the best aspect of Fashion is it’s potential to create magic, it’s playfulness that transcends the daily mundane, bringing sparkle to everyday life. Fashion illustration interprets that a step further, leaving enough out for the viewer to fill in and socially documenting beauty and culture at the same time; I find it endlessly fascinating and inspiring.
What is your particular working day as a creative?
I head to my studio first thing after the school run, which is a nice walk or bike ride in my home town of Haarlem in The Netherlands. Then always it’s coffee first and emails to check on deadlines and admin. It takes me a little while to settle to drawing and I am most productive in the afternoon so in the morning, unless I have a deadline, I may look for inspiration in magazines, browse Instagram, check Vogue and read the latest fashion news. Its only recently that I have a workspace out of the house and it’s great, forcing me to get more organised and plan my days as I have to stop and return home at the end of the afternoon. I’m getting accustomed now to my iPad Pro and hope to use that for drawing in the evenings.
What tools do you use when creating your images?
I normally work by hand although as I said I am practising with Procreate and would ultimately like to have a dual practise, one analogue and one digital but I’m still figuring out how exactly. Mainly I draw by hand, I love drawing and nothing beats pencils for me, Faber Castell and smooth Bristol paper. I add colour with watercolour sometimes or in Photoshop. Now that I have a studio space I can make a mess in I want to experiment more with paint, mainly watercolour but also gouache and acrylics. I’m also going to start some larger scale pieces, perhaps on canvas, I like moving between scales.
Who and what has influenced you over the years as an artist?
I have been inspired by so many artists and illustrators over the years that it’s hard to pinpoint, my taste is wide ranging. As a child I loved romantic portraits like those by Millais and drawings from the Art Nouveau period, as a young adult I enjoyed the colourful abstract paintings of artists like Rothko and De Kooning and now I admire the illustrations of so many contemporary fashion artists. I have recently started Drawing Cabaret Couture classes to develop my live sketching skills, which has been so much fun. It was a long time since I did any life drawing and with this being live fashion drawing I find myself looking back to the classic works of illustrators like Carl Eric Erickson or René Bouché for inspiration.
As a child I loved romantic portraits like those by Millais and drawings from the Art Nouveau period, as a young adult I enjoyed the colourful abstract paintings of artists like Rothko and De Kooning and now I admire the illustrations of so many contemporary fashion artists.
H.Van De Coevering
What advice do you have for younger artists looking to be part of this industry?
The best advice that I have been given is very simply just not to give up; that persistence can be the key to your success. Of course there will be rejections along the way and projects that don’t work out but keep going, keep making work that you believe in and at some point the commissions will come. I am still finding my voice, not satisfied yet with what I’m producing but I’ve also had some clients interested in my work already and that spurs me on. Some invaluable advice from Simon Sinek is to ‘Know Your Why’, as in finding your purpose. The science behind it is fascinating yet the method is simple and it can give a lot of clarity and focus.
What are you drawing today? Music are you listening to? Books that your are reading? Favourite artist/designer at the moment?
Today I am drawing Stella McCartney, from her recent launch of the world’s first Vegan leather ‘Mylo’ products. So inspiring that they were the first luxury house to never use leather, feathers, fur or skins, for their complete commitment to sustainability and to innovating new materials like this. I am listening to the new album by Tune-Yards and another favourite for a while now, Arlo Parks. I’m reading Spring by Ali Smith in the evenings. Favourite designer at the moment, that’s too difficult to choose as I have so many. I always relish the collections of designers at the big maisons like Pierpaolo Piccioli and Maria Grazia Chiuri, but I think really interesting work is being done by young designers looking at social change and sustainability, like for example, Bethany Williams and Richard Malone.