Creative Spotlight | Anna Lloyd
Published on 14 December 2020
Tell us a bit about who you are and what kind of creative work you make
I am a freelance illustrator. I have always loved drawing and painting. Out of high school I studied Graphic Design at University majoring in Illustration, and Visual Merchandising for retail. I moved to Perth with my husband for six years in our 20s and we moved back to Sydney when we had our first child.
Whereabouts do you look for creative ideas? Who or what inspires you?
I observe everyday details and beauty in nature and I depict this in my artworks. I like to take photos of things I see that catch my eye. I often get asked to draw birds, native animals and florals. I’m inspired by my favourite artists who I follow online. I try to do any short courses I can which keeps my work up to date with technology and trends.
How does your personal history, culture or experience inform your creative work?
I grew up in the suburb of Ryde in Sydney, however, my maternal grandparents had a small hobby farm with beehives and fruit trees and native bushland surrounding it, and my paternal grandparents retired in the seaside town of Kiama. As a child my parents took my sister and I on lots of bush walks. They were scientists interested in botany, so I had an early interest in natural history and science.
Are there any special processes, techniques or tools you use to make your creative work?
I usually start by looking at my photos and draw a variety of rough pencil sketches from those. I assemble my sketches together in Photoshop and print the image out to then trace onto my paper, digital or canvas surface to paint. I finish my final illustration in watercolour, gouache, acrylic paint, markers or digitally.
What is a creative project that you’ve worked on that you’re really proud of? Why?
A few years ago I did a mural for a paediatric office. I painted all the different elements in watercolour, scanned them and drew over some parts of them digitally. They were printed on vinyl and applied to the walls in the waiting room, hallway and clinic rooms.
What creative project are you working on at the moment?
I have just finished a collection of fabric designs for a client to be launched next year. Now I am completing some artworks for a group exhibition at Brush Farm House in March – April 2021. You can find out more about that exhibition here.
What has been the highlight of your creative career so far?
Drawing decorations on a 3D printed leg brace for a two-year-old girl with cerebral palsy. The 3D plastic soaked up the pigments in a way that I really didn’t expect! It was a bit like working in watercolours as the ink spread in a crazy unpredictable way.
What’s your favourite part of working as an artist / creative?
The variety of work you get. You never know what you will be asked to create next!
Website: www.annalloyd.com.au
Instagram: @annalloydstudio
Facebook: @annalloydstudio
Redbubble: www.redbubble.com/people/annalloyd