Katie Harnett grew up in Sheffield, and graduated from an Illustration BA at the University of the West of England followed by an MA in Children’s Book Illustration at Cambridge School of Art in 2015. She received the Bologna Children’s Book Fair ARS IN FABULA Grant Award in 2015, and her work was selected to be exhibited twice at The Illustrators Exhibition at the Bologna Book Fair.
To find out a little about her work, we asked Katie the following questions:
What inspires your work?
My work is often influenced by a sense of nostalgia. I take inspiration from old films and photographs, and also from books and the work of other illustrators and artists. I also love the natural world, pattern and texture.
Tell us a bit about your process…
When I have an idea, whether for a story or a single illustration, I usually have a clear picture of the outcome in my mind. I then do some research and some loose drawing and painting to get more familiar with the subject, during which time I often find that the idea has changed quite a lot. When I’ve solidified the composition, or book structure, I then try to do the loosest roughs that I can, so that the final artwork still feels fresh.
