There are a few artists who I've been wanting to post about before I get swamped with fatherly duties. I'll be trying to do that over the next week or so. Up first…
Meg Hunt is still a young illustrator but one whose details you can look at and see that she works hard to flesh out her images for her own development as an artist– her clients probably wouldn't notice if she spent half the time she does on her work. Which is exactly why I enjoy watching her evolve and why she's someone who will be working for more of the clients who DO notice the details.
She's also one of the few design-conscious illustrators that I enjoy. I can't really define what I mean by that (and there's probably an actual term for this), but all of her illustrations are very designed, have a smart color palette and textures, and emphasize shapes more than, say, a fully-formed setting. Most illustrators who do this do so at the expense of a soul to the work but Meg maintains life and a personal vision in what she does– the backgrounds still matter and evoke relevant setting.
Check out her Flickr page to see more process, including details on the handcut rubyliths that make up that screenprint above. I was happy to learn that she never composes her images in the computer, still preferring to plan it all out by hand, including her sophisticated, overlapping coloring.
Meg would be great for the children's book market. Are you reading this, children's book market? Call her.
MEANWHILE, that print will be in an art show here in Seattle that opens Friday at the Suite 100 Gallery.
