Kelly Thompson is an illustrator extraordinaire, fashion photographer and art director currently living in Melbourne, Australia where she creates intricate and refined artworks using an elegant combination of hand drawn line and Photoshop colouring. An embryonic career in fashion photography soon developed; inspired and stimulated by the models she photographed Kelly began to encapsulate her subjects as modern and sophisticated illustrations that have been published by notable fashion publications as well as brands such as Tag Heuer, M.A.C Cosmetics, Nike and Apple gaining Kelly a steadfast following of devotees.
When did you first know that you wanted to be an illustrator?
It wasn’t until my final year of university. I’d swapped over from a fine arts degree to a design degree with a photography major and in my final year, due to the cross credits I had to do an extra paper and chose illustration. I ended up loving it and getting the best marks of any paper I’d done through my whole degree, I wondered if I’d made the wrong choice! After graduating I worked as a photographer and when work was irregular, I was poor, too poor to party so I stayed home and started to draw, I had my first exhibition a year later.
What first got you into visual arts?
Since I was a kid I was always pretty hands on, loved to make things, build mud villages with the boys and paint and draw like crazy. I think my Poppa (grandfather) had a lot to do with it, he taught me how to draw 3D houses when I was very young and always encouraged me. When I was a young teen I was super gawky and unattractive and was bullied a lot. ‘Hidebeast’ (hideous + beast) was my nickname (motherfuckers), so in my teenage sadness (insert sobs), I would often come home upset and sit down and paint and draw. I had a book called Rembrandt to Renoir and became intensely focused on recreating the works in watercolour and coloured pencil. I was actually pretty good at it now that I look back. Although a shitty situation at the time, I think being bullied was good for my practice.
How does Melbourne influence your image making?
At the moment I’m pretty focused on running my agency Maker’s Mgmt www.makersmgmt.com, so I am being much more selective about the work I take on. Melbourne can distract from image making because there is so much to do here, but the strong creative community definitely inspires and encourages me to create and stay busy. I don’t think the city inspires my subject matter, but it definitely keeps me wanting to be a maker.
Is Melbourne a good place to be an artist?
Yes, unless you’re not busy because it’s an expensive city to live in. But if you can make a living from your work it’s really great because there are so many likeminded people, the creative community is very supportive and friendly and it’s an encouraging place to be.
What is your creative process from inception to creation?
It’s different with client work to my personal work. With clients a brief is supplied usually, although now I’m established I’m often asked my opinions and thoughts on the brief which is nice. After sorting the brief I then sit and ponder for a bit, google keywords and see what I find, write notes. Once I have a concept I then research imagery – I draw from reference so I usually build my own reference material in Photoshop prior to drawing anything. I do my drafts digitally, drawing on my Wacom in Photoshop, then once drafts are revised and approved I then take it to paper to redraw and refine. I do all my linework by hand, I love the process, and then I scan and take it back to Photoshop to colour digitally.
You have an instantly recognisable style, how did this develop and how would you describe your artistic style?
My illustration style is never what I intend it to be, it’s much more uptight than I imagine it in my head, but I feel like I’m so deep in it now I can’t go back and return as a gestural artist. Style unfortunately just takes a lot of time, it’s not something intentional, it has come about through a natural process of editing and learning. Lilli was really the first piece that paved the way for my style. I drew her around one metre wide, she took about a week and I very intentionally focused on using my line weight to represent shadows, instead of using actual shading. It was very purposeful and concentrated, and then after that I tried the process again and again and eventually it just became fluid and instinctual, now I don’t even think about it, I guess that’s now my style. I would describe it as delicate, confident, feminine, focused and somewhat uptight.
What inspires you to keep going and how do you keep yourself motivated?
If I’m honest my motivation has shifted a lot in the last couple of years, I used to say to people that the desire to draw was in my body and I felt I had to get it out or risk exploding. That’s not so much the case anymore. Previously I was motivated by the fact that everything was new and exciting, and I was propelled by that newness and quite simply the fact that people wanted to work with me and liked what I was doing. Now I am less romantic about it and I don’t find as much motivation from those sources, which is tricky because they were hell of a motivation at the start. Now motivation to create just for the sake of it in particular is harder to find, but I think this is because I have been doing it for over 13 years as a job in the same form, and taking a love and making it your job does change it.
Now I am motivated by applying my collected skills to other areas too. I’m doing a lot of creative consulting for brands and agencies, doing a lot more speaking at creative events and I’m really enjoying using my creativity and ideas and not having them restricted by my personal ability on the tools. I’m also finding better life balance because I caned some pretty long hours for a very long time. This need to expand from a piece of paper is part of the reason why I launched my agency too – engaging others in creative community, helping people see the possibilities of what they could do with the right creative, and helping to facilitate success in other creatives (who’s skills blow my mind) is my new motivation. In turn, being more selective about the illustration jobs I take on, and stepping back from full time illustrating is starting to bring my original drawing motivation back, so it’s a lovely perk on the side.
Which piece of work has given you the most satisfaction in producing?
I think probably Lilli because I had time and it was such a satisfying learning experience
What has been your most memorable client experience, good or bad?
I haven’t really had any bad clients really so I’m lucky. A few kinda ugly jobs, but I just don’t show anyone those haha. I guess my most memorable was working with Grey Paris for the Escada campaign, not because it’s my favourite work (I would do it completely different now), but because of the memories of it. At the time it was my biggest job ever, I won a pitch against seven others which made me feel like I was sitting in a new arena, and I just remember seeing it for the first time on packaging and POS in Dubai airport, and seeing it flood the internet. It was a really cool experience for me, hopefully one I will have again.
What books, blogs and online resources do you use for creative inspiration?
I think that the transition of my job as an illustrator to an illustrator who works on a computer, although necessary for the desired aesthetic is a drainer for inspiration. Computers take away my inspiration, big time. When I’m working on illustration I don’t look at other artists because I want my work to be mine and not influenced by accident. I try not to find inspiration online, it can be such a time hole, but particularly with the agency I love to scroll Behance, Designspiration.net, and Instagram, occasionally Pintrest for clients. For my personal work I like Vogue.com, a book I have called Masters of Fashion Illustration, The Purple Book, Pourquoi Pas? Showstudio.com, and numerous artists I have bookmarked in a tab I call “artists to watch”. I also love to listen to podcasts a lot, from fashion to design to theories on happiness I often get lost in a lineup of talks that link up like spiderwebs. Usually though I find the best inspiration when I’m away from a desk, I have a new thing I do where I get a sandwich from the cafe down the road and I walk while I eat my lunch, no phone scrolling, just snacking and strolling, it’s so good for sight seeing and thinking and refreshing my mind for the afternoon. I also try not to use my phone too much in the weekend and I find by Sunday after a break my brain is back and inspired again. I think time out is the best way to find inspiration and have you gagging to get back into it. Take more holidays.
When did you realise you could make a career out of your art?
My first exhibition was in 2007 and I sold 30 prints, after that I was like hell yeah!
What soundtrack do you work to?
Usually podcast chats, or a random mix of songs from the 60s and 70s. I like people like The Rolling Stones, Led Zep, Bowie, The Mamas and the Papas, Bob Dylan, Simon and Garfunkel… I have a playlist called ‘Old People Party’, that says it all really. My Mum used to have the radio on from 7am until dinner at 6.30pm every single day so I think my music taste is heavily influenced by what I heard as an 80’s child…I know the words to everything! There’s a radio station here called PBS 106.7FM and a guy I know called Jeremy is a DJ on there, he’s kinda getting me into Disco and Soul a bit lately too, I like the energy, and I’m also going through a bit of a 70’s glam fashion phase right now too, so that might have something to do with it.
Who are your heroes and what other artists do you dig?
I don’t really have specific heroes, but every time I read about a farmer with no money rescuing 30 dogs from the Yulin dog meat festival, or a guy growing gardens roadside to feed poor neighbourhoods, I think fuck you’re awesome. I like everyday heroes who make me feel like I need to do better. I just wish that more wealthy people and celebs would jump in and do things like that. Maybe whoever takes out Trump would be my hero (not that I condone violence).
I guess I kinda collect some of my favourite artists through my agency now, so there are a few on there. Eero Lampinen fills me with childhood nostalgia and envy of his magical imagination, I love Paul Blow’s humour and Velvet Spectrum’s enthusiasm, pop palette and candy vibe. I also really admire artists like James Jean, Tomer Hanuka and David Downton for their epic skills and how they have made it to a point where they can go back to being artists again. I’m really obsessed with Kelly Marie Beeman, I would love to own one of her fashion paintings, or represent her. Richard Gray was one of my first inspirations, always love him.
What project are you working on now?
I’m working on a charity piece for the Bridge the Gap project who help disadvantaged youth in NZ. I also have a very slow moving project called ‘The Everyday Girl Project’, it’s in the spirit of my older work, I meet and photograph girls from all walks of life, they answer a questionnaire about their life, joys and struggles of being a female, and various personal things and then I create an artwork about them inspired by my experiences of them. It’s pretty lovely to be part of, I am meeting some inspiring women doing all sorts of amazing things and it’s incredible that they give me the opportunity to photograph them in their homes or spaces, often semi nude, it’s a beautiful experience. I will eventually have a show, and make a book of Everyday Girls….I just have to find some extra time.
Do you collect work of any other artists?
I am almost out of wall space.
What is your favourite piece of artwork by someone else?
I have a stunning polaroid by NZ artist Adam Custins who I am soon going to be stocking on my new online store called Maker’s Mrkt coming soon. It has been blown up to almost a metre wide and features a nude female lying on her stomach in a forest full of burgundy Autumn leaves. She looks so pale and beautiful and I love the darkness of it all. Being a polaroid it also has fascinating texture and spots through it, he’s one of my favourite photographers.
What is the number one piece of advice you would like to tell new artists?
It won’t just happen, you have to work very hard, make lots of work, tell people about it and get it out there. Also don’t be afraid to edit, don’t hold on to everything in your folio for personal reasons. Look after your body too, it starts to hurt 10 years later after hunching over a page all day, remember to stretch, get air and don’t feel guilty if you take time out. Also be nice, nobody likes a dick.
What do you dislike about the art world?
People undervaluing the time it takes to create the work and the value that art can bring to a brand, or your life. I also wish clients would give up on offering “exposure” as payment, exposure is bullshit and doesn’t pay my bills.
You can only visit one City, watch one film, read one book, listen to one album for the rest of your life. What would they be?
OMG I have no idea. I feel like I’m too young to know the answer, I don’t know all the awesome options yet. I’ll tell you in 15 years.
