EXHIBITION: ‘ILLUMINATE - THE ART OF ILLUSTRATION’
Anglesea art space
10-21 june 2021
Michelle Conn Interview
HG: The artworks you have included in this exhibition are beautifully digitally created, how did you start working with an ipad and the software Procreate?
MC: About three or four years ago I had an idea for a book, so I was working on 30-40 drawings and wanted to speed up the process. When I was doing the watercolours, I would make mistakes and have to redraw, so it was a technique I wanted to explore to streamline the process and develop my colour palette quickly. I had seen this Chillean illustrator who was using an ipad Pro, I absolutely loved the work and thought I would get one to draw roughs. I really didn’t think I would end up doing all my work on it, I saw it as more of a tool to compliment my watercolours. I bought the ipad Pro about two years ago and initially used it for storyboarding and developing my colours, but I started to see all the things it could do, especially the ability to create light and shadows, and be able to use the brushes to create what I wanted, with the help of the layers function - that’s what inspired me to keep going. I couldn’t get that effect with watercolours, pencils or paint. Once I started understanding the program I just loved it so much and became a bit addicted to the ipad!
HG: Did you train formally, or are you a self-taught drawer?
MC: I’m self-taught. I completed a Bachelor of Design at the College for Fine Arts in Sydney that went for four years. It was a really broad course, I did environmental design, spatial design, object and graphic design and specialised towards the end. I went into graphic design but I didn’t like the field, it didn’t feel as creative and I had no autonomy over my work. So I went travelling overseas for a year and travelled on my own through Europe and the UK. I bought a tiny travel watercolour set in Sienna and painted postcards to send home but also painted in my travel journal. I ended up living in Japan for two and half years teaching English and was really inspired by the Japanese aesthetic and attention to detail. I took some classes in calligraphy and Shibori and would spend hours in art shops in Tokyo and galleries. I drew and painted a lot in Japan. I had my easel set up in my tiny apartment and was using pastels and watercolour a lot.
But I was always drawing. Always had ideas for books. I remember working in graphic design in Neutral Bay, I had just finished my course and was 21, and during every lunchtime I was in bookshops looking at children’s books. Always wishing that one day I could somehow get into that field. I would catch a train home, which took an hour and a half, and I would write in a sketchbook and draw ideas for stories. There’s a pastel drawing in my daughter’s bedroom of an idea I had when I was 20, which is such a lovely reminder that this is what I want to do. When my kids started school and I had more time, I was able to throw myself into learning about the industry and I spent most of the time drawing.
The first book I did took me about two years, but it was like an apprenticeship, because I was learning on the go. When I was at uni we only ever did classes like life drawing, we weren’t trained in drawing. It’s only recently that I did a five week online illustration course, but even then they didn’t teach techniques. I’d love to do that! Minerva (who is in the exhibition) did a children’s book illustration degree in Italy, how great would that be!
HG: When you were younger, did you dream about creating your own stories, or did it come later?
MC: No, it kind of happened when I was at uni. I wasn’t totally loving the course and I had a long train rode home every day where I would daydream about stories and illustration ideas.
I had this really warm ‘at home’ feeling when I would go into a bookshop and look at children’s books. I don’t like the word escapism, but that’s what it was like, I’d spend hours there. I remember coming across Shaun Tan and Chris Van Allsburg who created ‘Jumanji’ – the original black and white sketches would transport me and my whole body would tingle in response. People have superstars or people they admire, but for me anyone who could write a book or illustrate a book was my hero.
HG: You said you have already created a book…
MC: Yes, I’ve written and illustrated a book that I pitched to a couple of publishers last year at Kid Lit Vic, which was online because of Covid. They have a conference every year where you can pitch story ideas for picture books to middle grade, and you can have your work included in the illustrator’s showcase. I found out about it when I went to the Grant Writing Workshop with Harriet from the Surf Coast Shire Council. I looked it up that day and submissions were closing the next day! The pitches are only twelve minutes, so I had to read the story, show the pictures and they gave me a little bit of feedback. They said it was a ‘quiet’ book, which is an industry term I have since learnt that means it’s one of those gentle stories about family or friendship, without a lot of crazy moments – but there are definitely publishers who will be interested in this type of book. They suggested changing some elements but said I had a really nice style which was great to hear. But it was so much work, and as I said earlier, it was like an apprenticeship. Even though it’s not published I feel as though I learnt so much and I’m moving on positively from the experience. I’ve got about four different book ideas in my head at the moment and I’ve signed up with Kid Lit Vic again this year with another pitch! (Big sigh, laughs!)
HG: You’ll be sensational!
MC: And a very exciting thing happened, a publisher contacted me a couple of weeks ago through Instagram and asked me to send some work, including black and white sketches, so that’s been a confidence boost, validating I’m on the right track.
HG: You have been spending time recently in an informal mentor group with local children’s book writers Kaye Baillie, Renee Treml and Stef Gemmill. How did you meet them?
MC: I met them when I was working on PORTAL last year which was the Surf Coast Shire’s online response to the Arts Trail being cancelled due to Covid. Because they couldn’t go to bookshops and read their books for story time with lots of kids around, they asked if they could do an online story time at Torquay Books. So Harriet asked me if I would be interested in coordinating it because she knew how much that would mean to me. I got to meet them all which was amazing. I told them this was an area I was interested in and that I had written a book - they were so lovely and generous with the information they shared with me. Renee said that if I wanted her to look at my portfolio she’s be happy to! We met up for a coffee after one of the story times and she gave me tips about how a portfolio needs to flow and tell a story in itself, the way colours move through a portfolio so there is nothing jarring amongst it. Renee and Kaye read my manuscript before last year’s pitch at Kid Lit Vic and Kaye gave me so much feedback and helped me write it. Since then Stef, Renee and I have been away together for an incredible writing weekend. I’m just so blown away by how inclusive and passionate they all are. It’s a niche area, especially in our region, so when you find someone else who is interested in the same things it’s really amazing. It’s like “you want to talk about children’s books?”, “oh, I want to talk about children’s books… all day!!”.
There’s a group of about 8 of us now and we meet monthly to share what we are working on and talk books.
HG: You have obviously been working consistently on your craft, so I’m really happy that these connections and opportunities are flowing on from one another.
MC: I’m in my 40’s now and it all feels like it’s coming together at just the right time. I think that when you’re in your 20’s and 30’s you often believe that’s when you have to be successful, and if you’re not successful, you’ve run out of time. But when I’ve talked to people in the industry the overwhelming response has been that age absolutely isn’t a barrier. You can start being a children’s book illustrator in your 60’s if that’s when you want to start. If you have good work, they will want to publish you. So that was really comforting to hear. The validation from these mentors has confirmed I can do this! It’s not just family and friends saying “your work is great”. My husband who is also a film-maker has been such a huge support in helping me get to where I am. He’s all about creating for the process and not the end result. If you’re enjoying it, life is too short to not do it. I’m also a knitter and whenever I finish a piece, I think “oh, I’ve done that now, what’s next?”. The process of making is so enjoyable and the ideas are the exciting part, so when something is finished I’m always eager to start a new project.
HG: The thing I’ve loved most since moving down here is getting to know such beautiful talented people with big hearts, it feels very different to any other environment I’ve been a part of.
MC: Yes, me too! And I think with all the support you have down here it’s so achievable, you just have to back yourself. Someone told me recently that you really need to put in 10,000 hours to master something and there’s a lot of truth in that statement. I was listening to a podcast by The Good Ship Illustration group and they were saying three percent of your work is going to be incredible, so if you produce five pieces the chances you create something really good is not very likely. But if you do a hundred pieces then your chances of creating something amazing increases. It’s about doing the work. Keep doing the work and put yourself out there.
HG: So what’s next for you?
MC: My next goal is to send my portfolio out to publishers, because I haven’t really done that yet.
HG: Do you send you portfolio out electronically, or send a physical look book?
MC: You generally send it as a PDF but you can also send publishers and art directors postcards with the hope they’ll love it and pin it up in their office. You want them to remember you and when the right job comes up they’ll think of you.
HG: You mentioned earlier you wrote and illustrated a book, is writing something you would like to continue with?
MC: Yes I do write, but I’m more focused on getting illustration work at the moment and go from there. I mean I’d love to write and illustrate my own books. That’s the ultimate goal. You have to be amazing at both things to get published as an author/illustrator, so I would love to get some work collaborating with a writer. It’s definitely a passion project.
HG: Would you consider the idea of creating a digital book?
MC: Yes, definitely. The technology now is basically the same as drawing, except for that textual feel you get with different mediums and tools. I love watercolours and pastels and inks, so you lose that tactility, but the other benefits are really sensational.
HG: I guess it’s about becoming familiar with another type of tactile experience as you explore all the different digital brushes and effects, and how you use the technology to work with layering.
MC: You can also create effects by importing different textures, like photographing fabric to create a montage or collage process. You can get some really cool dynamics happening.
HG: Do you have your kids in mind when you’re creating, or is it still very much about your own inner child having a voice?
MC: It’s both. I have more insight now into kids’ worlds, and through reading children’s books to them I’ve learnt so much more. Children have this instinctive imagination which is so special and I get a lot of energy and inspiration from that. I think when some people have children they believe “I could write this, this is easy!”, but writing three hundred words is one of the hardest things. You need to condense the structure, have a polished story arc, strong characters and consider the overall rhythm.
I’ve been a primary school teacher for the last ten years and working casually in various schools, so getting children interested in books has been really rewarding. My favourite thing has been to ask “does anyone want to hear a story?! Does anyone want to go to the library?!” We talk a lot about behaviour management in teaching, but when I get a book out to read, they sit so quietly, completely immersed.
It’s like magic!
I remember sitting as a kid myself in a library with a big snake cushion that everyone could fit on, it was my favourite place in the world to sit there. The librarian would read us stories and I was absolutely transported when she read Where the Wild Things Are. I thought wow, what an amazing world. There was also a tree in the library that had headphones hanging from the branches, you could sit and listen to audio books. When she finished reading she would invite everyone to go and get a book to read themselves. We would rush to the shelves, with all the colours and smells – it’s a world I still absolutely love.
> www.michelleconnillustration.com
> www.instagram.com/michelleconn_illustration
MICHELLE’S BIO
Michelle Conn is a Torquay based illustrator and storyteller. She works predominantly in watercolour and digital illustration with a strong focus on the whimsical and imaginative world of childhood. Her small-scale illustrations pull the viewers into stories filled with big emotion and adventure and aim to capture the heart of their inner child. Michelle is inspired by the ocean and bush that surround her home and uses this as a backdrop for many of her characters.
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