International Artist Feature: United Kingdom | How To

Michael Driver

Michael is an illustrator and designer based in London. Featuring extraordinary graphic illustrations for many editorial pieces, his work highlights diverse cultures and common themes.

See more in his portfolio and follow him on Instagram.

Culture Trip

There are a lot of things to really love about living and working in the UK!
The quiet countryside, the hustle and bustle of the busy cities as well as
the sheer volume of interesting and odd characters that inhabit here.

Boundless Magazine

I love the cities! At the moment I live in London and there is always
something going on, be it theater shows, gigs, arcades, festivals—the
list is endless.

I think all of these fantastic things going on all
the time help me to really stay inspired visually.

Culture Trip

Culture Trip

The art community here is fantastic! There are always exhibitions going on
throughout the country. I try my hardest to see as many shows as I can
wherever I go but sometimes it can be a real struggle as there is just
so much!

Josy Bloggs

Next up is Josy, a freelance illustrator based in Wakefield, United Kingdom. Inspired by the beauty of the countryside, she creates exciting, textural illustrations for magazines and more.

See more in her portfolio and follow her on Instagram.

Dinosaur Landscape

I love living in the UK because I have a lot of freedom to choose what
type of career I want. I am a freelance illustrator because in the UK
there is a lot of support for the various creative industries.

Space Girl

Because the
culture is quite supportive, I have been
able to
work with a wide range of publishers, from greetings card
publishers to more serious editorial commissions for magazines.

I believe I am less distracted being away from the hub
of the UK publishing world. I find a lot of my inspiration comes from
spending solitary time thinking and walking in the countryside, and
scribbling ideas down for later use.

Nocturnal Nature

Explore Travel Posters

The art community in the UK is very diverse and this is very much
reflected in the area where I live. I am lucky to live in a town where
the investment on art is fairly high. A brand new art gallery was
built recently (The Hepworth) and nearby there is a sculpture park
featuring the work of another famous northern artist, Henry Moore.

My
local arts community is also great, with lots going on from print workshops to street theatre. So yes, the UK is a great place to be for art and
design.

Craig Black

Wielding epic, flowing colors and paints as one of his many mediums, Craig Black is a brilliant lettering artist based in Glasgow. Check out his incredible typographic skills in the following works below.

See more in his portfolio and follow him on Instagram.

The Unknown

I am originally from a small coastal district in Scotland called
Inverclyde. It’s truly a hidden gem on the West Coast. And after three
years of working and living in the hustle and bustle of London, it was
time for me to come home. It’s such a beautiful area and is an ideal
location for transport links to Glasgow and across the United Kingdom.

Borderline

My studio is literally 100 yards from the water. So every morning I walk
along the esplanade—the water being so calm and tranquil is
great for my mental well being.

The community is also so friendly which breeds a positive factor, so I embrace
that and try to channel those factors into my work. I’m a big believer that the area and people you surround yourself with can definitely
influence your work.

Typographic Window Mural

London Calling

From music and architecture to art and film, Inverclyde has always had
an incredible creative community. To build on that community, I’ve
collaborated with Riverside Inverclyde to develop Creative Inverclyde, a
series of talks and events from local creatives with inspiring stories
to tell.

Designed to encourage discussion, share ideas and foster
collaboration, we want to champion our creative community and make
people aware of the undoubted creative talent from Inverclyde, who are
making a difference in our local community and on a global scale.

The result has been incredibly positive in the area with new
creative hubs and opportunities created due to this event. Creatives
from far and wide are now moving to the area to become a part of this
community.

Mira Miroslavova

Next, we’ll dive into the dreamy illustrations of Mira Miroslavova. A self-taught artist with a love of Manchester, United Kingdom, she creates beautiful traditional and digital pieces full of whimsical characters.

See more in her portfolio and follow her on Instagram.

Princess Stories and Other Extraordinary Events

I grew up in Sofia, Bulgaria. A small, colorful country in Europe. When I
was a young teenager I moved to Manchester, UK, where I immediately
started high school.

Not long after I engaged in this new environment, I started to
spot the similarities between Manchester and Sofia. The cultural life
was very active, and a lot of artists were coming up with new and
amazing ideas.

I had a small contribution to the cultural magazine “See No Evil,
Hear No Evil,” where I had the pleasure to meet and experience the work
of so many talented artists.
I met amazing people there who inspired me to become an artist and to pursue a career in illustration.

On My Way

Even though, to most people, Manchester has very melancholic weather, I
was immediately drawn to that. The wind and the air have this magical feeling, like opening an old book in a garden and taking a deep breath.
And I catch myself staring at pictures I took years back to get
inspired when I pick my next palette.

I am a slightly melancholic person and I just clicked with this
city. I started appreciating its beauty and wanted to
embed it into my work.

Rush Hour

Bedtime Story

At first, I did not have any contacts within the art community
in the UK. But later on I started to spot them all. I wanted to
participate in everything so I could find what was that thing that made
me, me.

The
community really helped me to gain confidence and taught me to work
hard for what I wanted. Afterwards, when I came back to Bulgaria, I felt so inspired and thankful. And I
am happy that the art community in Manchester still reaches out and we
still keep contact with each other, exchanging ideas and appreciating
everything we do together.

Scott Balmer

Our final pieces feature the mind-blowing work of Scott Balmer. An illustrator from Dundee, UK, he creates vibrant digital illustrations inspired by nature and pop culture.

See more in his portfolio.

WestWorld

I live up in Scotland, so I’m largely away from the sprawling
metropolises and general hustle and bustle of the city, while still living
around the outskirts of the city that I grew up in.

I would say that what I love the most is seeing more green in my
surroundings than grey and that’s largely due to being able to be
surrounded by some lovely scenery in the countryside. But I can also experience a city-based environment that’s not too far away.
It’s nice to have a break up in scenery in that respect.

Beetlejuice Postcards

Growing up in Dundee, there have been a few things which have played a
role in the type of creative influences within my work. Dundee has played a large part in the comic book industry and this has shaped some interest in me wanting to create
illustrations for a living.

Video games have played a much bigger role though, and this is one area
where Dundee has had an interesting history. Back in the
80s/90s when the zx spectrum was still a thing, many created with interesting
limited palettes.

The city itself is also inspirational as it is based near the River Tay and features some vistas.

Super Mario Super Art Show

Neon Mountain

Though I haven’t played a large role in the art community here they are
largely passionate about art and design and have had a few good public
events which I think will grow even further.
With the new V&A
opening soon, I think that Dundee’s art community is going to see
a large bit of growth which will be fun to witness.

Love these art collections? Check out more from this series:

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Many thanks to the artists who took the time to answer my
questions and share a bit about themselves and how their country and/or culture
has affected their work. You can check out more of their work in the links
below:

• Michael Driver
• Josy Bloggs
• Craig Black
• Mira Miroslavova
• Scott Balmer