Drawing was etched in Pippa Mcmanus' DNA

When did you first get into drawing?

Drawing is my earliest memory. And painting and sewing. My father was an engraver, (an art and industry now lost to machines) we would be surrounded by metal trophies and plaques covered in his beautiful script that he would create with a dentist’s drill. I may be the only person in the world who finds that buzzing noise soothing rather than anxiety inducing! And my mother was a craft artist with the most incredible drawing skills, I don’t think I’ll ever reach her level of talent. She is now in a nursing home with Alzheimer’s disease so her art is lost too.

Why did you choose to make fashion part of your inspiration?

I would get dragged to the local department store’s fashion parades as a child and quickly came to love them and fashion in general. My taste was a bit different to my peers during school, I was an early adopter of grunge but was buying Italian vogue every month with the money I made babysitting. When I graduated high school I studied fine arts and then fashion design with the intention of becoming a designer. I found that fashion illustration was the perfect combination of both degrees and was exactly where my passion sat.

What is your particular working day as a creative?

In the last few years I’ve started following my mood for the day instead of sticking to a weekly structured plan. If I’m not feeling like I want to sit down and draw I will email, shoot product pictures, research, chat to other creatives or read magazines. Likewise if I’m not particularly interested in admin and I’m feeling a strong pull to create something I will do that. It can be a little detrimental to my business (sorry to those people who get my late replies!) but I’m also finding I’m creating higher quality work as I’m not forcing myself to paint when I’m not in the mood.

What tools do you use when creating your images?

I start with reference images from magazines or catwalk photos to create a pencil sketch which I then scan and manipulate in photoshop by elongating limbs and adding movement to sections of the sketch. I then transfer the sketch to a ready-stretched canvas and lightly outline with charcoal. After that I use watered down washes of black acrylic paint for the girl which I then layer up with smudged charcoal and more solid black acrylic (you might recognise this as a watercolour technique). Then I finish by adding all colour sections in acrylic then a finally spittley sections of spray paint here and there for texture. Oh and a layer of workable fixative to set the charcoal.

Who are what has influenced you over the years as an artist?

Fashion is my main and pretty much only influence! I’m utterly obsessed and always have been. I am a magazine addict which is not always an easy obsession to have when you live in Australia! My rather large collection of Vogue, Elle, Pop, Lula and The Face is a daily resource and inspiration, along with current fashion shows. I tried not to follow too many artists over the years as I didn’t want to subconsciously absorb their styles but I think I missed out on a lot by doing that. It’s isolating enough being an artist and I feel less alone now that I’ve made so many wonderful artist friends from all over the world (thank you Instagram!).

What advice do you have for younger artists looking to be part of this industry?

Spend everyday developing your style, even if it’s just a 10 min sketch! The most exciting part of starting out is finding that unique style of yours, everyone has one and one day you’ll look down at your latest work and it will jump out at you. Document everything you do, it might come in handy one day. And try not to be too hard on yourself, it really does take time to be comfortable with your work. I’m still trying!

What are you drawing today? Music are you listening to? Books that your are reading? Favourite artist/designer at the moment?

Right now I’m working on a new embroidery series, hopefully releasing in the next few months, so mock up sketches in pencil today while listening to podcasts (currently Creative Conversations with Suzy Menkes). My husband is a jazz pianist so there are some scales going on in the background too as I type haha. I’m reading a great book aimed at creatives and their productivity called The Practice by Seth Godin. My favourite artist at the moment is Naudline Cluvie Pierre, an NYC based painter who creates the most incredible large scale jewel toned works of glowing winged figures. Oh an Irish artist Genieve Figgis. Both are great colourists and their painting style is so tactile. My current favourite designer would have to be Daniel Roseberry for Schiaparelli, just incredible collection after incredible collection.

In regards to the covers I have drawn: This was part of my 3rd #100dayportraitchallenge instalment. On the 1st of January I decided to take part in the challenge, I’d been seeing it all over Instagram and after I completed the first 100 portrait drawings (magazine editorial shots using lead pencil) I decided to start again with an different medium (catwalk shots using ink) and then again (fashion magazine covers using oil pastel and crayon). Some of the magazines were from my own collection, some were my favourites found online. In Perth it’s really rare to even come across an Italian Vogue let alone any of the other more niche fashion mags, this is because we are so isolated. I intended to do all the covers in oil pastel but at day 55 we moved house and both the sketch book and the oil pastels were packed in a box and I couldn't find them so I switched to whatever was on hand, a half filled sketch book from years ago and a pack of kid’s Crayola crayons! I found these much easier to use in the end. Magazine covers are great to draw from as a whole editorial team has spent a month deliberation over that exact shot and therefore the composition, colours and pose are usually spot on, especially for an illustrator to draw from! I decided to leave the masthead in as it really is part of the end consideration (from that team) so very relevant to the image. In the end I found the looser I was with my style, the more successful the illustration. I’d really love to do this challenge again with all the magazines I own, draw each cover. It would be a lifetime’s work but a fantastic thing to do as an illustrator!

www.pippamcmanus.com