Meet Louise Cunningham

Yellow House is honoured to represent the best art talent in the business, including the prolific and well-respected illustrator Louise Cunningham.

We were naturally delighted to be approached by Louise, whose fluid and colourful artwork is as diverse as it is creative. We went behind the scenes with Louise Cunningham, the latest exceptional artist to make Yellow House her home! Read on to find out more about Louise and what inspires her work...

Have you always wanted to be an Artist/Illustrator or did the vocation find you? I wanted to be an illustrator ever since realising the images in children's books were done by real life people, and not magicked up from this air. I believed this for a long time, I was a strange child!

How did your style evolve? I started off making collages from sheets of prepared papers which I had painted and torn into little bits, then glue them together. Then I evolved to creating the collages on screen by scanning the prepared papers into Photoshop, and playing about with them on there. I still do a bit of that, combined wth dip pen and ink line-work.

Where were you born? Kirkcaldy in Fife, Scotland

Where were you brought up? Gienrothes, Fife

What was your favourite subject at school? I really enjoyed Art of course, but also English and Geography. I enjoyed making up stories and poems in English and I think I had a bit of a crush on my Geography teacher.

What piece of your work are you most proud of and why? I'm really pleased with a set of 4 biscuit boxes I've illustrated for a Japanese design agency. They've really pushed my style forwards and it's great having my images on a solid object for a change. Oh, and I got free biscuit samples!

What's been your best-selling design or piece of work to date? I did an image a few years ago which has been published as a greeting-card, repeat pattern on fabric, and a mug for Sainsburys. I didn't think it was anything special!

What part of the the process do you like most? I enjoy adding colour and textures and wathing the image really come to life.

Which part do you like the least?! Amendments!

Do you carry around a sketch-book at all times? I would like to say yes, but no. I do have an impressive pile of them mounting up at home though!

What's your favourite thing to illustrate? It used to be flowers and girly things, but more recently, it's people and buildings.

What would your dream project be? I'd really like to do some book covers, and more packaging. And a children's book would be wonderful.

Who would be your dream client? a really quirky food packaging company like Doves gluten-free, or creating a Marks & Spencers biscuit tin. Oh and a big publisher like Penguin.

Who or what is your biggest source of inspiration? I adore vintage illustration from the likes of Miroslav Sasek, Brian Wildsmith, Ezra Jack Keats, Alice and Martin Provenson, and Eric Ravilious.

Which is your favourite Yellow House Art Licensing artist & why? I think Sean Sims is great. His work reminds me of Alain Gree but with his own unique spin. Brilliant use of colour and very charming.

Which is your favourite Yellow House Art artist & why? (our closely associated on-line gallery www.yellowhouseart.com) I really admire Ken Eardley's ceramics. First off, they're ceramics which was never my forte so I really admire anyone who creates them, and they are so deceptively simple and stylish. Timeless.

Do you have your own work at home? No, I work at my studio as part of an artists co-operative in the heart of Bristol city centre. There are around 30 of us, all working on weird and wonderful things, from animation to bike building.

When designing your studio, what was the most important factor? Keeping my tea mug and my dirty water cup at a safe distance from one another. It's no fun getting them muddled up!

What's been your biggest mistake?! Not asking for enough money for certain jobs, and working at home for too many years. Having a studio is much better for your sanity.

What's on your drawing board right now? I create a weekly recipe for an online magazine, so currently drawing some courgettes and a hunk of Parmesan. It's making me hungry.

What is the last exhibition you went to? Last month, I visited the Peggy Guggenheim museum in Venice. Absolutely brilliant.

What's been your biggest challenge? Trying not to copy other illustrators and keep my own style.

As well as being as amazing artist, do you have any hidden talents? I used to play the violin, hopefully still can but haven't checked recently. Oh, and quite a whizz at ping pong.

Do you have any top tips for being an artist? Even when you're having a terrible day and nothing is going right, remember it's still probably better than a day doing any other job.

Do you have a favourite paintbrush or tool? I have a really flexible drawing nib for my dip pen, and I am obsessed with gouache at the moment.

What attracted you about working with Yellow House? There's many artists on your books who I really admire, and it's a select group too. Quality not quantity is very important.

Is there anything you would like to ask us? What's the most exciting job you've managed to secure for an artist(s) on your book? It's always so exciting for us when we sell a design for an artist for the first time in their career! Our license to Wild & Wolf for Paul Thurlby has been really exciting as the range covers so many beautiful products; Fridge Magnets, Wrapping-paper, Mugs, Plates, Egg-cups, Espresso cups, Dominoes, Lotto, Wooden Block Puzzles, Wooden Trays, Alphabet Pairs, Wildlife Snap cards, Notebooks, Card holders, and Coasters!

What's your favourite joke? I'm not too hot on jokes. I much prefer rambling observations on life. My favourite comedians are Eddie Izard, Dylan Moran, and most recently James Acaster. His gag about being at the head of a conga had me in stitches. Look it up!

“Leadership looks fun, but it's stressful. Just look at someone leading a conga” - James Acaster.