We’re taking a leaf out of our cover girl’s book this evening, spending some time nose-deep in a gripping paperback before Monday’s alarm shocks us back into the real world. To celebrate the awesomeness of some weekend R&R (not to mention our spiffy 65th issue, which is out now) here’s a little interview with the artistic lady who brought our cosy cover to life.



Tell us a little about yourself. I was born in a little town in the south of Italy, but I have been living in London for the past five years. I live with my boyfriend John and my two-year-old English Setter Kira – we go for adventures in the trees, and she appears in my paintings sometimes.

How did you get into illustration? I always knew I wanted to do something creative. When I was younger I wanted to be an artist, or a writer (or an archaelogist). After I moved to London I started filling sketchbooks with little drawings, and experimenting with chalks and ink painting, then I decided to apply to the illustration MA course at the Camberwell College of Arts.

Who is the studious lady in our cover image? Probably me, a little bit, or someone completely immersed in their reading, not paying attention to anything surrounding them. After I finish painting a new picture I always realise it is a bit autobiographical. The ladies in my pictures portray something I wish I was, and I like how I can escape the reality/create a parallel one through them.

Did you ever expect you’d be drawing a cover girl? I find there is quite a lot of pressure in creating a cover. You have to sum up the mood of a book, or a magazine, make it look appealing. I had the chance of illustrating covers before, but this is the first time one of my ladies is on one.

Describe your creative process – how do your illustrations come to be? I normally spend some time thinking; I start planning the composition of the picture I want to draw in my head, rather than on the paper. I scribble little notes about the colour palette I want to use, possible references, little sketches. I start penciling my picture, then I paint it with gouache, adding all the details, painting patterns for the clothes my characters wear, the plants on the background. I use the computer to clean up the picture, sometimes adding textures.



Is there an underlying theme to the works you create? I would like my pictures to convey a sense of solitude, a reflection on those small moments between the completion of one action and another. My characters are lonely but not necessarily sad, they find company in books, plants, pets.

What do you love about what you do? Starting a new painting is probably the part I enjoy the most about my job; sitting at my desk with a cup of coffee and a fresh sheet of paper. I love the idea of creating pictures people would want to surround themselves with, or that they can hold in book, a magazine, or a piece of fabric.

To nab a copy of issue 65 pop by our online store or one of our lovely stockists. See more of Alessandra's work here.