Laura Callaghan

Laura Callaghan’s distinctive illustration style has earned her clients, plaudits and almost 300,000 followers on Instagram. Ahead of talking at Offset, she fills us in on the journey from Dundalk to London via Dublin and the women of her world.

– Your illustration style is quite unique. How would you describe it, where did it emerge from and what informs it?

I think the best shorthand way to describe it is ‘part fashion illustration, part satire’, Women are at the centre of most of the pieces I draw and I use a lot of vibrant colour and patterns, trying to cram as much detail into the page as I can. My illustrations are always hand drawn, then, depending on what the drawing is for,

I’ll either paint it in watercolour or gouache or scan it to colour digitally. Ideally, I would love to paint everything. I think it’s the truest expression of my style – but it’s not always possible!

– After studying VisComm in NCAD, you moved to London in 2009 to undertake a Masters in Illustration in Kingston University. Was moving from Dublin always on the cards, predicated by the course you selected or the time in question?

I had figured out that I didn’t really want to work in Graphic Design by my final year in NCAD and had started looking into illustration courses out of curiosity more than anything else. I’d always incorporated illustration into my projects, drawing was what I felt most excited about, but illustration wasn’t offered as a standalone course in NCAD at the time. I reckon I would have just tried to pursue illustration on my own after graduating alongside working but by 2009 the recession was at its height and there was no work available for anyone, never mind for recent art school graduates. It seemed like everyone was emigrating, so I took it as an opportunity to try my luck somewhere else.

– What were the initial steps you took to establishing a base of clients and garnering awareness for your work?

I sent a lot of emails. I started making lists of publications I saw on shelves, magazines or sites I had seen other illustrators get hired to draw for, googling lists of American/Canadian magazines I would find out the art directors email address (or oftentimes guess what it might be!) and send some samples of my work. About 95% of those emails went unanswered but a few places got back to me, some commissioned me, and that was encouragement enough to keep going. Social media was in its infancy when I was starting out, so I updated my blog frequently and posted self-initiated work on Flickr and Twitter. Once I started drawing what I wanted to draw, rather than what I thought I would get hired for, my work started to gain traction.

– You’ve built a base of just shy of 300k followers on Instagram. What is your advice for someone curating their own account? Do you have any rules you observe regarding quantity and type of posts. Do you strive for a balance between promoting your work as well as informing them? Has it led to work? I’m not sure what I can offer in terms of advice other than post what you want! I think once you start to let your engagement figures dictate what you post then it takes the spark and all of the fun out of it. I don’t set any rules for myself. If I have something interesting to post, I do, and I like to use stories as a way to document my process and what materials I’m using. I think that’s what is great about the app, it’s a good way to document how my work changes and answer people’s questions about how things are made and give an insight into my work. However, the algorithm changes have messed Instagram up indefinitely, I think. I don’t feel compelled to post as much anymore and don’t see content from the people I want to see it from as organically anymore.

– Can you talk us through some of your more high profile collaborations (Stella McCartney, Nike etc...) Do you set yourself any ground rules for engagement or best practice for the process?

I see client work almost a separate entity to my personal work now. There are elements of my personal work that will inform my client work, but I know I’m not going to have the same creative freedom or voice when undertaking commissions. It’s really important for me to keep up my personal work as an outlet to experiment and do what I want to do. Having said that, I enjoy responding to a brief and collaborating with people and it’s obviously exciting when the client is a brand or publication that I’m familiar with.

I’m lucky that I’m at a stage in my career now where clients know what they are getting when they commission me. When I first started out I did whatever was asked of me but, as time has gone on, I’ve become more confident pushing back on any aspects of a project that don’t sit right and making sure the final outcome is something I’m happy with.

– Have you always been drawn to drawing women? What considerations do you take into account when drawing the human form?

I started out drawing women because I was making narrative work and I wanted to tell women’s stories, it was a very natural thing to do, and I just really enjoy drawing women. As time has gone on, my work has evolved and a lot of the themes I touch upon are universal, but the characters I draw are still almost exclusively women. It’s a reflex now more than a conscious decision! Because I’m constantly drawing the human form, I don’t know that I think too much about it. I’m aware of proportions, of course, but aside from that I just try to draw bodies as they are.

– There is considerable detail in your illustrations where decorative objects form part of the narrative. Does this lend to a more immersive experience for the viewer?

I think so. I like my illustrations to draw the viewer in and for the images to be layered, so what you see on closer examination gives the piece more context or meaning. I used to love those books where you had to find the same object or character in a busy scene on every page, so I think I’m just trying to replicate that with my own work!

– You recently had a show called Natura

Naturans’ at Queens University in Belfast. What did you choose to exhibit and how did you thematically approach it?

‘Natura Naturans’ is a phrase that was coined in the Middle Ages and translates to ‘nature naturing’ or more loosely ‘nature doing what nature does’. There’s always been this notion that nature will take care of itself and it’s a soothing idea, a way to understand our place in the world, but many of our beliefs about the stability of nature have been upended in recent times. I wanted to examine how we interact with nature; the chaos and havoc humans inflict on the ecosystem, how nature in turn betrays us, and our own inherent human nature. The gallery space was quite long and narrow with a wall of windows on one side so I wanted to break up the space with some objects and texture rather than just showing 2D work. I painted a series of ceramic vases which were placed on a row of plinths and hand painted life-size cutout figures which were dotted about the space, I also got these huge digitally woven tapestries made which hung from the walls. I started painting more large format pieces last year, so I exhibited some big paintings alongside my smaller framed pieces also.

– You self-publish an annual zine called Fancy. Do you treat this as a calling card, a best of or a means to explore new pathways for your own style?

Neither really, it’s a way for people to own some of my work in a very affordable form. A lot of the people who follow my work online are young girls and women, so it is important for me to sell some items at a lower price point so my work is accessible. It’s also a great way to collect everything I’ve done over the past year in one place and take stock.

– Who or what is currently inspiring you?

I always find it really hard to nail down inspirations. For me the catalyst for new work just comes from… life – conversations I have, news headlines, the weather – all of it!

– Have you attended Offset before? Who are you most looking forward to seeing at it?

I did back in 2014 and loved every minute of it! I’m most excited to listen to Andy Gent’s talk because I truly cannot get enough of puppets.