a chinwag with rosie caitlin

We hope you enjoy the subscriber-only art poster for issue 132! Sometimes, we all need a reminder to keep reaching for the stars. We chatted with UK-based graphic designer, illustrator, and all-around lovely pal Rosie Caitlin about her inspiration and creative style. 

Tell us a little about your creative style. I’d describe my style as simple, playful and colourful. I love distilling my drawings into their simplest form, using a restrictive colour palette (maximum four colours) and black lines for details. I’m learning to let go a bit too, and to embrace wobbly lines and rough edges, and to be less precious – which is hard when you’re a perfectionist like me! I also really love hand-lettering. 

When did you begin making art? It’s a cliché, but I’ve been drawing and doodling since I was a kid. I used to love going on the Groovy Chick website and copying all of the characters. I’ve always loved creating, whether it’s drawing, painting, sewing or collage. I have to stop myself from trying new creative hobbies which I know I won’t keep up. When I first got my iPad it really changed how I worked, as I love how quickly I can get ideas down without being too precious. Although I’m now trying to go back to analog and get the paints out more when I can. 

 

 

 

 

 

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A post shared by Rosie Caitlin (@rosiecaitlin)

How did your artwork (now featured as a frankie card!) come to be? Twice a year, one of my favourite illustrators Mélanie Johnsson hosts a pattern challenge. Last year, one of her prompts was ‘orbit’, for which I did a space pattern. One of the characters in the pattern was the astronaut, and I thought he was cute enough to deserve his own illustration! 

Where do you find inspiration and creative motivation? Everywhere really! Nature, old books and ephemera. A lot of my inspiration and motivation comes from my kids. My son especially is so creative, and I just love watching how he creates so freely and passionately, without the need to make it perfect. I try to create things that are relatable, both to kids and adults. I recently did a series of kids’ art prints as a collaboration with a brand called Earthling. We wanted to make kids, especially neurodivergent kids, feel seen and understood. I think this is so important, and art is an amazing way we can do this – having something on their walls that they see every day. 

What’s next on your ‘to-create’ list? I feel like my ‘to-create’ list is never-ending. I would love to create more prints, more digital party invites, do more collaborations, more stationery, and increase my greetings cards wholesale. I would absolutely love to illustrate a children’s book – that’s definitely high up on my list! And also explore surface patterns a bit more, perhaps get into kids clothing.