hereandnow…

Coming to the Gallery in March we have not one but two talented local illustrators, Anna Lewis and Laura Smith. Both have very different styles but are equally obsessed with drawing, together they will be showcasing work that will complement each other and provide inspiration for many others.

Anna graduated with a Graphic Design Photography degree in 2000 and has since worked in various creative commercial roles as well as teaching. However it is through her personal illustration work that she finds the most fulfilment as it gives her the freedom to speak from the heart.

Anna says “I am obsessed with making pictures. It is a way of communicating the happy and the sad, the mad and the magical things of life in a raw and honest way. I like to catch and record small and abstract moments of life onto the page, using a mixture of mediums, and make them into something beautiful and more than they may have otherwise been.”

See more of Anna at http://letshavealookanna.blogspot.com

Laura graduated from Glasgow School, of Art in 2006 and has since exhibited in both solo and group exhibitions, most often with large video and sound installations concerned with the spaces between illusion and reality, fact and fiction.

This work is encouraged by a primary affection for storytelling, which is used to create work that is not located wholly in reality but exists in a seemingly fictional sphere; narrative is the key and is fostered greatly by mythology and community histories.

Laura says “I have always used drawing as a tool, often this relegates it to the realm of research, however I have always felt this to be unfair and have sought to utilise my drawings autonomously in a manner which enables them to act out all of the above.

My drawings are chiefly concerned with themes of community and control as well as wider issues of the female and her role within this community. These somewhat abrasive notions are, I hope, soothed by the lyrical approach of the drawing.”