REPORT
“Like many, we found it pretty difficult to not be instantly drawn into Charlie Davis’ work,” says Stuart Whitton,
senior agent at illustration agency Handsome Frank, which signed the illustrator in early 2019 – and since then
Charlie’s worked across everything from advertising campaigns and billboards to pub signs. “His expressive
shapes, and considered colour palettes and textures allow his illustrations to tell an array of emotive stories,”
Stuart adds. Much of the artist’s work is sparked by simply “being outside,” Charlie says. “When I’m out and about I’m
looking at things and imagining how they could translate into pictures. It could be a ray of sunlight across a street, a tree
in a storm or some interesting characters in a bar. Often, experiences in real life are the most inspiring.”
Charlie’s work fuses classic, nostalgia-inducing illustration styles and contemporary takes on form, exaggerated
proportions and unusual textures, seen across work for clients including Adobe, Cadbury, Playboy and Smirnoff. One of
his major goals this year is to “keep refining drawing from observation,” he says. “This helps with understanding of form,
light and texture. I do this nowadays on the iPad and will often get some odd looks (hopefully smiles) off people when
they catch me drawing them on the train!”
behance.net/charlie_davisCharlie Davis
REAL LIFE VIEWED THROUGH NOSTALGIA’S DISTORTION LENS