Artospective: Illustrations from Lucy Fleming from UK.

An Interview with Lucy Fleming.

Who are you and where are you from?

My name is Lucy Fleming, I'm a children's book illustrator born in the UK. I was a very bookish child, interested in making up stories from an early age. As I grew up I saw a future in combining a love for drawing and the practice of making books. I went on to study illustration at Lincoln University and am now represented by the Bright Group.

How you got into this?

I loved to doodle all throughout childhood, but It wasn't until the age of 14, studying art at secondary school, when I seriously considered it as a future career. It was my secondary school art teacher who planted the seed - just the word 'Illustration' was all I needed. I wen't home and researched what it meant, what I could be, make and do as an illustrator, and that was when I was inspired to pursue art forever.

What is your driving force?

I love being part of story telling, especially for children. It's a wonderful thought that if you are a very lucky illustrator, you might be a part of someone's childhood nostalgia, or put faces to the characters in stories that will stay with people for the rest of their lives! I think it's so important to share stories and imaginative imagery with children from a young age to help them on their way to becoming well adjusted and creative adults one day. These thoughts are what keep me going through thick and thin.

What kind of work you do and why?

I would describe my work as playful, it's a style that doesn't take itself too seriously but still aims to create charming and whimsical pictures. I don't seek to challenge with my illustrations, but I do seek to bring a smile. My illustrations are often centered around animals, nature and a sense of fantasy. I see making artwork for my self as a form of escapism. Professionally my work is versatile within the children's book genre in that I work creating baby books, picture books (both commercial and trade) Fiction books, novelty (Activity books) and educational works. I have worked with publishers such as Simon & Schuster, Bloomsbury, Macmillan and more.