{These adorable hedgehogs are saying With Thanks and Thinking of You, respectively.}
While trolling through Etsy a few weeks ago, I stumbled upon these adorable hedgehogs speaking Irish and quickly found myself loving every card and print in Yvonne Kennedy’s shop. Yvonne was nice enough to answer a few of my questions and share a bunch of her new work with me. I thought it would be fun to introduce you to Yvonne – interview style!
FCV: Is there a particular medium you prefer over others?
Yvonne: I love working in Indian ink with a dip pen. I also love combining indian ink illustrations with vector illustration and using Photoshop to create layers and textures, usually from ink renderings or abstract elements from shots I’ve taken or even scanned lino prints. I experiment with textures a lot for my greeting cards.
FCV: What are you currently working on?
Yvonne: I am always working on new ideas and designs.
I love pigs and have just created a new pig card design ‘Pig with allium flowers’. I love Allium flowers…they’re very Alice in Wonderland, so the idea of a little quirky pig smelling these flowers came to me. I like to put them in untypical situations. I am also working on developing more limited edition prints. These are more time consuming and complex than the cards. Watch this space! Oh and I have started working on portraits, I plan to do a series, but I need the right faces.
{Looks like she found the right face here! Can you believe the detail in Dylan’s beard? Incredible!}
FCV: Where do you get your inspiration?
Yvonne: I’ve always been inspired by animals and nature and by people. I think my ideas represent my personality and sense of humour. I like the finely detailed almost forensic renderings in pen and ink, but equally I love splashes of vibrant colour, I guess it’s a balance of shadow and light. Also the response to my cards inspires me – it’s great to get feedback from people who are delighted to share the reaction they’ve had from the person they sent my card to. That always makes me smile.
FCV: Do you have any new projects coming up?
Yvonne: Well I have neglected my T-shirt work for a while now, so I will be spending some time on those again. Also I will be doing some collaborative work, but its too early to say anything. I have recently completed a project for the National Museum of Ireland. I illustrated 4 artifacts from the Treasury collection. I created special limited edition boxed sets, individual cards and a collection of archival pigment prints. This was a special job and every detail was considered. The collection is on sale in the Museum shop on Kildare street. I started working on ideas for an illustrated book last year, but shelved that as I am also in college and very busy in my final year!
FCV: Where do you work?
Yvonne: I am currently working from my living room, I have a sea view which is wonderful, but I long for my own studio!
Thanks, Yvonne! I love having an insight into an artist’s world.
Readers, you can check out Yvonne’s website, Etsy shop and keep an eye on her blog for upcoming work.
In an effort to change the world’s perception of Ireland, I’ll be posting weekly about fabulous Irish artists, designers, makers, crafters and creatives in a series called Truly Irish. I’m taking tips and suggestions – send an email to emily (at) fromchinavillage (dot) com if you know of someone I should feature!
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