Michael is 27 years old. He is quite tall and lives with his girlfriend, Vivien, and their daughter, Ramona, in Edinburgh. He makes pictures for a living and also for fun. He plays badminton on a Tuesday night at Meadowbank sports centre which is just across the road. He likes swimming in the sea once he is in, but he normally spends a long time at ankle depth beforehand trying to get his nerve up. Then Vivien, who has already been in for 5 minutes, throws water all over him and he realises he might as well just dive in.

What are you currently working on?

I’m waiting to see if a test piece I sent off yesterday will lead to a job. I really hope it does. This morning I’m doing some roughs for a Japanese magazine. This afternoon I hope to have some time to work on a personal project; it’s a story in pictures about a young woman on a significant holiday.

How did you get into illustration?

It was seeing David Hockney’s Brothers Grimm illustrations that convinced me it was the discipline to commit myself to. So I studied it, graduated, trawled around London with my portfolio, got a few jobs, did a bit more trawling, got an agent, got lots more jobs and that’s where I am now.

Please describe a typical day?

Wake up, breakfast with family (normally porridge, sometimes weetabix), then work (drawing, researching, thinking etc.) from 9:30 to 5:30 with a quick lunch. Have tea with the family, give Mona her bath, put her to bed, then either hang around with Vivien in the evening or continue working if there’s a deadline looming. I also teach two days a week in term time.

What is your working environment like?

We have quite a big kitchen and I work in a corner of it. It contains my desk, two computer screens, a pile of things that I only vaguely remember what they are and a liberal scattering of books. We’re selling our house at the moment, so I’m really hoping to get a room to myself in the new one.

What is your favorite type of commercial project?

I spend most of my time doing quite short editorial jobs, so I always relish the longer publishing/design type ones. I like a mix though.

Do you have an art rep? 

I’m with Heart because they get me all kinds of jobs that I might not get otherwise and because they’re very nice people who are extremely good at their jobs. It also helps my confidence seeing my name alongside the other artists they represent.

Who are some of your favorite illustrators?

David Hockney and Ben Shahn (when they’re being illustrators), loads of the Heart people, Jillian Tamaki, Reg Cartwright, Janet Ahlberg, Carson Ellis, Fritz Wegner, Raymond Biesinger, Jon McNaught… because their pictures make me forget they are just pieces of paper with ink on them.

Who / What are some of your influences and inspirations?

I think a big thing about illustration is that it’s not photography, so I suppose that makes photography a significant influence on my work: I am always thinking about what it is and what it isn’t, what it can and can’t do, what holes are left to fill. The thing that makes me feel inspired is the challenge of bridging the unbridgeable gap between two people’s imaginations. I have a theory that if your basic life goal is completely impossible then you’ll probably be okay… or go insane.

What is something new you have noticed or learned recently?

That you can use the eye dropper tool in photoshop to pick the original colour of a layer that is set to x% opacity and buried under countless adjustment layers and semi-opaque layers. I don’t know how I missed that. I have wasted a large part of my life bringing layers to the front and turning them up to full opacity just to pick their colour.

Top 5 favorite things in life

    * My family (immediate & extended)
    * Engaging in creative endeavors
    * Consuming the creative endeavors of others
    * Trying to work things out
    * Jumping and climbing.


Top 5 bands/singers

    * Magnetic Fields
    * Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark
    * tUnE-yArDs
    * Sparks
    * Galaxie 500

Can you suggest 3 artists or illustrators we should check out?

    * Laura Carlin
    * Jon McNaught
    * Blex Bolex


