Moira Millman illustrates ‘Tricks of the Trade’ a feature on destination weddings in the January/February issue of Destination Weddings Magazine.
Moira Millman illustrates an article on Foods and Moods in the October issue of Best Health Magazine.
How and when did you know that you wanted to become an illustrator?
My first childhood ambition was to be an art teacher, it was only when I was a teenager that I really became aware of illustration as a job. I used to cut out and collect illustrations from magazines, particularly one we had in the U.K called ‘Just Seventeen’ and dream that one day it would be my illustrations filling those pages.
After leaving school I took an art foundation course at Plymouth College of Art which was a great experience and confirmed my chosen direction, and then I went on to study for a degree in illustration at Maidstone College of Art.
Where do you draw your inspiration from?
My work has quite a retro feel with a bold use of colour, a combination I think of my enduring love of the 1950′s and of growing up in the U.K in the 1970′s surrounded by all the bright colours from that era.
For as long as I can remember I’ve been a collector, I collected stamps and novelty erasers as a child and when I was a teenager I started collecting things from the 1950′s and I’ve never stopped. One of my favourite things from that era is an album of old matchbox labels which my dad collected as a boy and gave to me. It’s packed full of wonderful miniature artworks with fantastic offset printing and a real joy to look at. I’ve since started my own collection, and I particularly like the labels from Eastern Europe.
I also collect vintage pottery and anything quirky which takes my eye, and these collections offer endless inspiration for my own work.
Another distinctive feature of my illustration is a tendency to draw people in profile, perhaps I was an Egyptian drawing hieroglyphics in a previous life!
What is your earliest memory of creating art? (or drawing as a child)
I was always drawing as child but one particular incident sticks in my memory. I’m a twin and as toddlers myself and my sister took our mum’s lipstick while she had left us briefly to answer the door and decided to do some graffiti on the bathroom walls. As you can imagine she wasn’t too impressed, and from then on we just stuck to paper for our canvas!
What type of environment do you prefer to work in? At home or in a studio? Listening to music?
I work from a studio at home which I share with my husband who is also an illustrator. It’s packed full of art, design and reference books which we like to dip into all the time.
I like to listen to the radio while I’m working and enjoy the varied mix of music and speech although my husband prefers just music so we often have to compromise!
As a working illustrator, do you still find time to create art for yourself?
I try to do as much personal work as I can to keep things fresh and interesting and experiment. I recently bought a Gocco screenprinting machine from Japan with the aim of creating some art prints away from the computer, and this is something I’m hoping to do more of this year.
Who was the first illustrator that you noticed and admired?
While I was at school I remember admiring the detailed and realistic watercolour illustrations of Nicola Bayley and Anthony Browne. Later while studying illustration I was drawn to the collage work of illustrator Janet Woolley. She always created very interesting characters, and her work had quite a dark aesthetic which appealed to me at the time.
My own college work was very different to what I do now and had quite a sinister feel, influenced mainly by the writing of Angela Carter and Sylvia Plath.
What are your goals for your future as an illustrator?
I hope to carry on working in this field which I love, doing as much variety of work that I can. I’d particularly like to develop my hand written type and illustrate more book covers and I’ve also had a long term ambition to write and illustrate my own children’s book.
Moira Millman recently illustrated a safety campaign for the Salt River Project, a utility company in Phoenix Arizona. Working with Cramer-Krasselt, she produced bold, graphic images to be used on billboards, in print and on animated web banners.
Moira Millman illustrates ‘Seaside Soirees’ a feature on beach weddings in the July/August issue of Destination Weddings Magazine.
Moira Millman illustrates ‘Purge your purse’ in the January issue of Today’s Parent magazine.
Moira Millman illustrates a feature on wedding music in the latest issue of Destination Weddings and Honeymoons magazine.
Moira Millman illustrates ‘News Bites’ in the November issue of Family Circle Magazine. The spot illustration is about students who keep a pet while they are away at college.
Moira Millman has been making new colour screenprints on her Print Gocco.
Moira Millman illustrates portraits of Fritz Walter and Nilton Santos in the new book Football Heroes Gold.
The book is a collaborative project featuring the work of 45 illustrators and depicts portraits of the 150 greatest players in World Cup history.
All images Copyright © 1996-2012 Anna Goodson Management and/or the respective artist, all rights reserved