This months etsy interview is with Rachel Victoria Hillis.
Rachel is a freelance editorial illustrator and artist, currently based in Liverpool, and her lovely artwork can be bought from her etsy shop as prints and cards.
Fascinated by nature, Rachels work has beautifully painted plants and botanical gardens galore. If you're a budding plant lady (or plant man), you're gonna be soooo happy you found her work!
Lets get to know a bit about Rachel shall we.
Grab that cuppa.
1. Can you tell us a bit about you and your background?
I grew up in North London and I used to spend a lot of my childhood with my mum in Highgate and Hampstead where she would sell her artwork to lovely independent shops. She wanted to show me how inspiring this was and these areas in general are very creative and inspiring places. I would make drawings and collages based on houses or shop-fronts I had seen during these trips. I even made illustrations for some of the shopkeepers my mum knew!
2. Tell us about a typical day for you...
I work as a freelance illustrator illustrating for different magazines, as well as running my own small independent illustration business so I literally do everything myself. My days are different depending on what jobs I have on but I always like to draw as much as I possibly can. I love tending to my houseplants and I feel most inspired when surrounded by greenery.
3. What's your favourite item listed for sale in your shop? And the most popular?
I like ‘Rainy Day’ because it is a portrait of my Italian Greyhound son Alf. I also like my Barbican pieces because they were created at the beginning of my illustration journey just before I graduated.
My ‘Rainy Day’ and the Barbican prints are very popular!
4. How would you describe your style/ work?
I wouldn’t like to describe my work because I feel good artwork always speaks for itself!
5. Can you give us an insight into your creative process?
The way I approach creating work differs depending on the type of job it’s for. When working on editorial illustrations with clients I will sketch out my ideas very vaguely, and then from these sketches I will make some clearer roughs. After agreeing with the client on the final idea I then have fun painting using watercolour and gouache. If the work is personal or not client based then this process is less structured and a lot more fluid. I like having fun when working and try not to ever take anything so seriously because I think my work can lose quality when I take it so seriously.
6. What's your guilty pleasure?
Trash TV! Things like Love Island and Ghost Adventures. I find them comical.
7. Where do you work? Describe your studio/ work area...
At the moment I work from home, in my studio room. I’m aiming to find a studio space next year though. My desk space right now is a mess and in need of a real good sort out.
8. What are your favourite books from your childhood?
Moomins books were always my favourites when I was little. I also loved Lauren Child’s Clarice Bean books too. When I was a little older in my early teens I was obsessed with the illustrator Jordi Labanda, after discovering his editorial illustrations in my mums magazines. I was bought his artists book ‘Heyday’ as a present, and although it was definitely not entirely suitable for kids I was absolutely in love with it and found his work so inspiring. I suppose that is what originally gave me the idea of being an editorial illustrator when I grew up…
9. Tell us ten random facts about yourself...
1. I am vegan (and it’s easy, contrary to popular belief)
2. I love sewing and making quilts to relax.
3. I am addicted to buying houseplants. I’m trying to propagate some of them at the moment.
4. My favourite meal is Ramen with Tofu.
5. I used to have a phobia of insects but now I love bugs (with the exception of a few creeeeepy crawlies).
6. I have 14 tattoos and all of them (with the exception of one) are based around nature.
7. I have road-tripped from London – Croatia a few times when I was younger and I would love to do it again.
8. I love birdwatching.
9. I make my own natural / non-toxic /
plastic free cleaning products and household goods.
10. I love nearly all fruit and vegetables but I really cannot stand Rocket, Celery and Melon.
10. What's the most rewarding thing about being a designer/ illustrator?
I think the most rewarding thing for me personally about being an illustrator is knowing that I’m doing a job that I have wanted to do all of my life.
A big thanks to Rachel for taking the time to be part of the etsy interviews.
You can see more of her work here...
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