Gallery – Richard Wilkinson
36 year old freelance illustrator, Richard Wilkinson, has taken his merry time to find his niche in life. It all started in York, where he studied fine art, “In the 1st week I was told not to use black lines. Don’t go there. They sucked all the joy out of it for me. After that I worked in sound design and then in commercials production until I remembered I wanted to be a commercial artist. That was 3 years ago”. And some where in between, he had a brief career in music, although he is rather modest about it (he was signed to Ninja Tune you know!), “I used to make music but was rubbish at it. I still listen to it though. I’m good at that.”
We pinned down the multi talented maestro to quiz him about his work and got together a selection of his illustrations for you to devour…
Who influences you.
Eyvind Earl, John Currin, Chiho Aoshima, Goya, Ingres, David, Jacques Gautier d’Agoty, Clayton Brothers, Steve Ditko, Jack Kirby, Tony Hart.
How did you develop your style/ how would you describe your style
My style developed when I decided to stop trying to develop a style. I’d been trying to get a portfolio together and had a disparate bunch of pictures in lots of different styles – all pretty derivative. So I decided to work as fast as I could on 26 pictures (an alphabet) all at once. A style kind of emerged. It’s still hard for me to see my style though. I suppose its one of those things that only other people can see. The obvious recognisable ingredients are old paper textures and a muted palette. But I suppose my drawing style is recognisable to other people.
Which clients have you worked for
Saatchi & Saatchi, TBWA, Time Magazine, Harper Collins, Penguin Books, Random House, The Telegraph, GQ, We Are Replay.
Any record covers etc…
I did a series of covers for an old friend of mine Lee Jones. The theme was ‘Safari’ so I did a Zebra, a Giraffe, and a half Bongo/half Gerenuk. All had red patterns. It was a very open brief and possibly my favourite job so far. I was also part of a cool group show at Gallery 1988 in LA where we all adapted the cover of one of our favourite records. I chose Thriller and Trout Mask Replica but 2 of the more important artists got there first. In the end I did ‘The Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan’.
Natural Beauty
Prisoner
Miracle Molar
Safari (record cover)
Brave New World (book cover)
Work It
giraffe
Robot
Intestines
Genesis
Bees
Measles
Eye Laser
Birds and Bees
Exercise
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