By Jess Woodward
Rowan is an illustrator based in Brockley who has recently graduated and is now exploring the routes she can go down harnessing her passion. she talks about
how her family have always been a source of inspiration. Her mum coming from a conservative background, raised by an Irish catholic, wasn’t allowed to do art
despite wanting to and instead she had to go into nursing. It is for these reasons that it is so important to celebrate women in the creative industry and celebrate
both how far we’ve come but also understand the journey still to come. when her brother got into CSM, this seemed to be a pivotal moment in rowan deciding to
do art. Apparently he was bigging it up explaining how it was the ‘best art uni ever’, it was at this point that she says her mind was blown at the thought of being
able to study art, she went to the teachers in the playground saying she wanted to go to that school and beat her brother!
Despite digital work becoming more prominent, Rowan loves traditional medium, she prefers getting messy mainly using oils and sketches. Rowan enjoys realism
because it feels like a puzzle with the colours and the placement. I asked her about a specific painting she has done of Peckham Rye market, Rowan explains how
she focused on colour and shape instead of line work and details, and if you zoom in you can see that its all almost nonsense! I found this a really interesting
insight into the specifics of how rowan creates and enjoys her art. She explains although realism is really satisfying and therapeutic , she likes to add abstract
elements to her realistic paintings because the end result is more exciting and gives an opportunity to show off a bit!
Rowan studied illustration, recently graduating from Camberwell College of Arts with a 1st. Some would say she did beat her brother! In terms of what’s up next for
Rowan, she wants to specialise in something, potentially art conservation and easel restoration as you are exposed to old art work up close and personal.
Alternatively, Rowan could work with her brother who is both a welder and a product designer. Either way Rowan has got exciting things coming!
Escapism seemed to be the key word I took away from this interview, Rowan talks passionately about the meditative nature of art.Rowan has always been open
about her ADHD and her painting is what provides her with that headspace.
