14 Artists & IllustratorsDAVID MCCONOCHIE
For the award-winning illustrator and artist, each artwork is
an adventure into the unknown. “I admire those who can
carefully plan and meticulously execute a painting,” he
says. “But I think part of being an artist is understanding
what makes you tick – and this is not how I work.”
David discovered his affinity for cut and paste and
experimental methods as a graphic design student at
London’s Central St Martins. “I like to stick things
down, paint over them – tinker with an image in a sort of
trial-and-error manner to see what happens,” he adds.
“I have an idea of where I want to go, but I don’t know how
I’m going to get there.”
As part of his studies, he created paintings and
illustrations that confirmed his love for the purer aspects of
image-making, which in turn led to an MA in illustration at
the school and a successful career. His recent book design
for the Folio Society’s Book of Ghost Stories was awarded
the V&A Book Cover Design Award last year.
But his brooding mixed-media work Forest’s Edge forms
part of series of personal paintings based on nature and
landscapes, inspired by the north-east woodland he grew
up near. Yet this paper cut and acrylic collage is not a
rendering of specific place but, rather, a memory.
“I had an idea of creating a series of paintings based
partly on the memories I have of these landscapes, which
I have obscured and romanticised in my mind,” says David.
“I enjoy creating landscapes from a more expressionistic
angle, so it becomes quite a personal experience.”
The trees were first drawn onto card, cut out and painted.
But David wanted a more ambiguous and moody feel for
the painting, so worked into the image with acrylic paint.
“Then I created another quite loose painting of the
foreground area with the figures and combined them
digitally,” he says. “At this stage, I decided I wanted to paint
into it some more and so used a transfer process and
transferred it to wood. I continued painting into the image
using oils until I was happy with it.”
And the result is a clear illustration of the artist’s
talent for knowing just how and where to place the right
materials to create hauntingly beautiful images.
David’s work can be found in the book Mix and Match:
Exploring Contemporary Collage, published by Ginko Press,
£40.99, on 25 May 2017. http://www.gingkopress.com;
http://www.davidmcconochie.co.uk >top tip
A reason images don’t
work is lack of variation,
whether in tone, line, or
scale – varying these
will stop pictures
looking flatRIGHT Forest’s
Edge, mixed media
on wood panel,
5 4x47c mfresh paint
12 Fresh Paint.indd 14 07/04/2017 11: