Becca Thorne

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Children

Food & Drink

Nature

Foiled cover and slipcase for Hamnet by Maggie O'Farrell by Becca Thorne

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Linocut illustration of hands creating a flower crown by Becca Thorne

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Illustration of 17th century cottage garden and boy running in Tudor village by Becca Thorne

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Linocut of twins asleep holding hands with herbs and flowers by Becca Thorne

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Traditional timelessness

Passion for print

Becca’s enthusiasm for art, history and zoology rubs off on her clients, who are inspired by her genuine interest in these subjects. They know she has the knowledge, experience and professionalism to create the perfect imagery for their projects. Some of the world’s biggest editorial, publishing and conservation organisations turn to Becca for the traditional, handmade feel of her work. Nature and history are Becca’s passions and are the heart and soul of her work. Jackdaws hopping on decaying old castles, ancient burial chambers hidden on the moors and folklore from a lost age – all this and more is carved out in her prints.

Approach

Beginning with a pencil and sketchbook, Becca then develops roughs in Procreate. The relief for each colour layer of an image will be carved into biodegradable linseed lino then delicately hand printed using water-based inks. After scanning, the layers are assembled and edited, if needed, in Photoshop.

Style

Becca’s style is bold and graphic, playful and textured, jaunty and eclectic. The hand of the artist and the happy accident enrich everything she creates, which is why people relate so readily to her style.

Awards

2022 – Longlisted for World Illustration Awards – Science & Technology 2017 – Shortlisted for World Illustration Awards - Self-initiated 2011 – Longlisted AOI Images 33 2010 – Shortlisted AOI Images 32 2010 – Shortlisted Creative Review Illustration Awards 2008 – Winner of Harper Collins x Saatchi Gallery Book Cover Design Competition 2005 – Shortlisted Mercury Prize Art & Music

Impressions

Interview

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Interview

What led you to become an illustrator? Looking back, I think it was inevitable - I drew and painted from a very young age, and I was lucky that my parents and teachers always encouraged it. I actually fancied archaeology or zoology for a long time, but by the time I finished my GCSEs I was sick of writing essays and learning by rote, and the only subject I wanted to do was art. My A Level careers teacher suggested, based on my frustratingly diverse interests and stubborn refusal to do anything academic, that maybe I could 'draw pictures for history books', but no-one ever really talked about illustration as an actual job until I was on my foundation course at Hereford College of Art. That led to me doing an illustration degree, and now I really do draw pictures for history books! Did you study illustration in college? I studied BA(hons) Illustration at Falmouth College of Arts in Cornwall (now Falmouth University), followed by MA Authorial Illustration. It was an amazing place to be a student – I spent so much time on the beach, in the sea and wandering on the cliffs, plus I had some wonderful tutors who fostered the love of printmaking I picked up at Hereford. Where did you grow up? I'm from a tiny hamlet in the Forest of Dean, an ancient woodland that straddles the Wales/England border. It's full of history and wildlife, including wild boar and pine martens. I grew up completely immersed in nature (and often covered in snails). Do you have a childhood memory relating to art that you hold dear? When I was about 4, I drew a metre high rabbit on the wall under the stairs, where my toys were kept, and signed it 'Rebecca' in big letters. When my parents asked me about it, I told them my baby brother had done it. I think they found it so audacious they let it go. Where do you live now and what drew you there? I live in Bristol, UK. After studying in Falmouth, people seem to naturally gravitate here - there's an incredible arts scene, and it's greener than most cities, so I don't feel like I'm just surrounded by concrete and cars (not all the time, anyway!). Describe your studio for us I work from home - we made the biggest bedroom into my dedicated studio space. I've got a big south-facing window overlooking the garden, so I get loads of sunlight and I can watch the birds. I don't have space for a press, but my partner made me a printing desk that folds out from the shelves, where I can ink-up and hand-burnish. Do you have a studio pet? I don't, but in the summer I leave the back door open and our neighbour's cats come to visit and fall asleep in the studio. Who or What is your biggest inspiration? For subject matter, nature is obviously my biggest influence, but I'm also inspired by history and folklore, church carvings, gargoyles, Celtic and Anglo Saxon art, Medieval illuminations and woodblocks, 20th century printmakers, all sorts! What’s your favourite way to spend a day off? I love a long walk in the wilds – no road noise, no people, just nature and maybe a ruin or some standing stones, plus a picnic with a view and a pint in the pub to finish.What causes are you passionate about? I donate a portion of my shop sales to the Bumblebee Conservation Trust and Butterfly Conservation via Work For Good. I celebrate the natural world in my work, so I also use it to raise awareness of these amazing charities, and of little things we can all do to help. Do you adopt any environmental habits/practices to be more sustainable? I try to keep my whole practice as sustainable as possible. I use linseed based, biodegradable artist's lino rather than vinyl blocks, so all the bits I carve away go into the garden compost, not landfill, and I save any scrap lino for later. I print on Nepalese lokta paper, which is hand made from sustainably coppiced wood, in a very traditional, low impact way, and I use inks that don't require harmful chemicals for cleaning up. My tea towels and cards are printed in the UK by responsible companies on sustainable materials, and all my packaging is either compostable or recycled and recyclable. Do you collect anything? It's not deliberate collecting, but I've got a lot of things in my studio that I've found on walks – nice things like fossils, vintage bottles and snazzy feathers, but also things like fishing lures, empty mermaid's purses and animal skulls & bones. They sit on my shelves amongst the books. What was your favourite assignment ever? I'm lucky to have worked on lots of great commissions, but I think my favourite is one of my first: illustrating Seamus Heaney's translation of Beowulf for The Folio Society. Folio were a dream client for me, and the Anglo Saxon period was a dream theme. I loved every minute of it. If you were not an illustrator, what would you be? Maybe something in conservation, or I'd love to do woodworking. Or maybe one of the jobs I considered when I was younger, like archaeology or zoology - I'm still incredibly interested in those subjects, they form the basis of most of my work, and influence the things I do in my spare time too! Is there any random thing you consider yourself an expert on? Definitely not an expert, but I know quite a bit about bumblebees! I'm a BeeWalker for the Bumblebee Conservation Trust, so I can identify most of the UK's 24 species of bumblebee, and some of the solitary species of bee too. I can tell you whether a bumblebee's a queen, a worker or a drone, what they like to eat and, most randomly, whether they've got short tongues or long tongues! What career advice would you give your younger self? Don't wait for people to commission you, just do the work you want to do. It doesn't need to be fashionable or cool; work for the joy of it and to perfect your techniques. Oh, and keep your cutting tools well honed! What do you listen to when you work? It varies a lot depending on my mood, what I'm working on and the weather! Recently, I've been listening to a lot of Johnny Flynn, The Unthanks, Leonard Cohen and Eivor, and I like to listen to podcasts when I'm carving (especially Off Menu and You're Dead To Me), but sometimes I prefer to just enjoy the silence, especially at the start of a project when I'm doing a lot of research. I've got a playlist that I often put on for long printing sessions on sunny summer days. It's full of a lot of very nostalgic 90s tunes that remind me of hot summer afternoons eating freeze pops on the school bus.

Favourites

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