So, tell us about the name ‘Ladyface’…  Well, it was inspired by a friend of mine, who used the expression as a wee name for me and I liked it so much. I thought it would fit perfectly as a name for the collection of drawings I was currently doing.  I had started focusing my artwork on faces of ladies and so that phrase pretty much summed it up nicely!  So I have been very happy to use it as title for my work, or indeed as a sneaky name for me, the artist behind it all!

We are so jealous of you ability to draw!! How did you get started in illustrating?  I actually fell into illustrating a few years ago.  At art college, I studied painting, and back then I was combining papier mache into all my work.  It was a full on, messy way to create work, and I loved it.  But after graduating, it became harder and harder to create a space to work, as I moved around.  And so, illustrating – simply using pens on paper – seemed the easiest, most accessible way to keep myself occupied and happy, without wrecking gloopy havoc all over the place!  It has certainly brought my focus back to improving my drawing skills, something that was perhaps neglected while I was a painter at college.  And certainly, I have never drawn as many images of women and faces to the degree I have been doing lately.

What is the story behind your illustrations?  I’m quite a spontaneous artist, to be honest and I’m inspired by a variety of things. Initially it was flicking through images of Dita Von Teese that made me wonder if I could have a go at drawing burlesque style pin ups.  Once I started drawing, I quite liked the idea of fitting ambiguous slogans around my ‘ladyface’. Some of them were just meant as a little joke, or perhaps a poignant suggestion to the viewer about how we get gratification from images of women. I was amused by the idea that, although the female image on paper is meant to be passive and ‘consumed’ by the viewer, she might perhaps like to shout out “Hang on, I’ve got something to say here!” My way of conveying this is in the form of adding a sultry, witty, possibly feminist slogan. The ‘Propaganda Is Spoiling Me!” image is possibly the only piece I have particular thoughts behind why I did it  – the phrase is open to quite a few interpretations that I really like.   As I continued to draw, I moved away from looking at classic pin up images and thought about other ‘looks’ I admired, such as Edie Sedgwick, Bridgette Bardot, Marlene Dietrich and Bettie Page.  Often, I see a girl’s face I quite like the look of in a Sunday newspaper and just use that as a starting point. I really enjoy using humor and playing around with words, especially if double meanings can be found, and personally I quite like pairing coyness with a bit of devilment. Although, saying that, I find when I look back at some of my work now, I feel a bit of sadness creeping over me when I read the messages. Subconsciously I must have been thinking about heartache and longing in a lot of them, and in others maybe I was just plain pissed off!

All your drawings are centered around strong female figures. What it is about these women that interest you?  I just love interesting women, probably because I’d like to be one!  I’m a sucker for a cool look, cute face and smart attitude and drawing strong female characters appeals to me. I’m naturally a pretty shy, people pleasing’ kinda gal and I dream about one day being a confident force to be reckoned with!  So I guess my artwork is an outlet for me to live out my glamorous, ‘don’t mess with this chick’ fantasies. I am huge fan of vintage looks and enjoy being lost in an era that has gone before me.  I like wondering how these women may have felt at the time, and I guess if I wanted to go all theoretical on yo’ ass, I could even say I’m trying to make a historical, social comment!  But I suspect it’s really just the look of women I appreciate the most. Women look good, that’s fact!

What other artist do you admire and why? I love so many different styles of art, from comic art to fine art to the sheer genius of Quentin Blake’s illustrations. Any artist who explores a lot of colour, passion, pattern, style and humor.  I am a huge fan of the artist Gordon Brown and the wonderful creative designs of Heidi Soos.

Check out more work here and buy Lady Face prints as well as artwork by more talented folks of Inverness here.