21 Jun Stockist Spotlight: Saffron Russell
Saffron Russell is one of the latest additions to the Qube shopping scene and we just absolutely love her cool and quirky artwork! We thought this blog post would be a great opportunity to get to know Saffron and a little more about her work.
What is it you find interesting about the materials and methods you use in your work?
I am always drawn to pencil and sketching out ideas on paper first because it feels very freeing, but after that, digital drawing offers up so much room for creativity and expanding those ideas further. For illustrations that have a humorous tone, I tend to stick to digital, as I like the sharp colour contrasts you can create and the flexibility to change things around with ease. However, if I am looking to create a more natural or peaceful scene, I tend to opt for watercolour, ink and coloured pencils as I think the movement and more unpredictable lines add to the piece.
What is the inspiration behind your artwork?
My work often features people chilling in their surroundings, whether that be in nature or urban environments, and I love to try and incorporate little quirky moments I’ve seen whilst sketching in coffee shops or people-watching out and about. I also love playing around with scale and drawing a tiny animal or person next to a normal-sized object – it’s fun to do and always makes me smile whilst drawing them. I was a huge fan of the illustrators and artists Tove Jansson, Jane Ray and Rene Magritte growing up, and I think they have inspired my work and style a lot.
Tell us a bit about you
I am a freelance self-taught illustrator originally from Church Stretton, but now living in Shrewsbury. I have worked on a variety of projects, from creating storyboards for short films to painting murals on the streets, and love the challenge of getting to explore new areas of art and design whenever I can. You can normally find me spending time with my cat, going on walks in the hills with my partner or trying out new art disciplines that look fun – I’m currently learning how to cut out wooden animals and shapes from plywood, so I can paint some colourful hanging artwork.
Be sure to come on in and have a peruse at Saffron’s beautiful stock!