Putting pictures to words and teaching others the art
Sinéad Thorpe is an illustrator, graphic designer, artist and art teacher
Tell me about your work.
I illustrate children’s books, and I would have to say this is what gives me the most amount of joy — getting to dream up characters and scenes. I work primarily in water colour when it comes to illustration, but I also work in a variety of mediums, including digital. I create art pieces for offices and homes — these are primarily charcoal pieces as this is one of my favourite mediums.
I also work as a painter and ceramicist. My passion for painting is what has led me to wall murals, and my passion for charcoal is what led me to teaching.
Fellow artist and kundalini yoga instructor Chelsea Selvan and I offer art classes to adults which combine yoga, meditation and breath-work with art.
Can anyone learn to draw and paint?
I believe anyone can create art but we often get stuck in the idea that “we are not creative”. Yet I find you don’t have to be anything particular to create art — all you have to be is gentle with yourself and open.
An artistic practice should be about you and your process — it doesn’t have to involve anyone else. So, if you can allow yourself a space where you can step away from judgment and what things “should” look like, you can create any art piece you wish.
Does your fine art degree help you in your work?
I definitely don’t think a fine art degree is a requirement for what I do. However, it has definitely helped shape my practice as well as made me think of the world in a way I never did before.
I also completed a three-month course at
Vega, which taught me how to use Adobe Suite, and that is how I got into graphic design. The combination of the art degree and the short course definitely helped me as an illustrator, as it allows me to offer people a full package — I can illustrate a book, design the front cover and put it all together, a “onestop shop”.
If I could have studied anything else, it would have been something specialising in illustration as I believe it would have really aided my journey as an illustrator.
What did you want to be when you were a child?
I wanted to be an animal rescue volunteer, which is why animal rights issues are still very close to my heart. However, as a young child I was also always creating art — I found the world through art made the most amount of sense to me.
What advice would you give someone keen to do what you do?
I would say first be gentle with yourself as the creative world is difficult and uncertain, and it is easy to feel like you aren’t good enough. Second, and I know this is difficult for a lot of people, you must come across as confident — even if you aren’t. Clients don’t want to hire someone who seems unsure as it makes them feel uneasy. They want you to believe in your work and what you are offering them. If you allow yourself space for your own personal practice to grow, and you place yourself in the world loudly and with purpose, there is no reason you shouldn’t succeed.