ABOUT ME
Lemady is a queer, feminist artist, illustrator, storyteller and teacher. Lemady is originally from Derbyshire in England, but has been living in Switzerland for 9 years. Her illustrations are made through a mixed-media collage approach, layering digital drawing in procreate with hand-made elements and photo textures. Her pictures are distinctive for their emotion and atmosphere. Lemady is particularly interested in portraying stories and relationships through her pictures, depicting feelings such as love, tenderness, joy, sorrow or humour. Her fresh and distinctive multi-layered approach is suited to a range of projects.
More about me....
I work mainly in Procreate, combined with other media such as pastels, pencil, Indian ink and watercolour. Some illustrations incorporate other elements such as acrylic, charcoal, children's crayons and felt tip. I often use my photos for inspiration or to add texture or lighting effects within my work, many of these photos I take in the Swiss mountains outside Zürich or in the small villages around Einsiedeln.
This fresh, collage style is suited to a range of editorial and publishing projects, particularly within Children's Publishing. Past clients include Cricket Magazine, Family Matters Parenting Magazine, MDLM Books, Custom Food Lab, Folkestone Pride and Kent Wildlife Trust.
As an artist I need constant visual stimulation, so I enjoy travelling. I collect images to create a huge visual library I can refer to in my work! I find myself particularly inspired by what's around me, my family life and the beautiful countryside in Switzerland. The changing colours, fractal patterns and textures of the landscape continually inspire me. I love the visual effects of the weather and seasons on the mountains outside my window and how they can seem to change a place entirely. As a SAD sufferer I find a lot of inspiration in the weather and this obsession with light, colour and mood constantly feeds into my work.
I have always found materials particularly interesting as they rust, fade and decay. I love old things, vintage rooms, old brick buildings and heavy wooden furniture full of stories. I hoard scraps of patterned paper, fabrics and old broken buttons. I also continue to take inspiration from the immediate and vibrant nature of children's art, folk art and modern art. I am greatly inspired by abstract artists such as Kandinsky, Klee, Hundertwasser, Rothko and Miro, as well as favourite children's illustrators such as Helen Stephens, Shirley Hughes, Alois Carigiet, Chris Haughton, Rebecca Cobb, Quentin Blake, Benji Davies, Jarvis and John Burningham.
I am also an art teacher and manager of the Storycraft Studio in Rüschlikon and have been involved in collaborative and community projects such as art festivals and work in schools. I have been awarded grants for community based Visual Installations and Workshops, 'The Memory Tree', and the 'Faces of Fairytales' as part of Thalwil Kultur Tag.
When I'm not making, I love camping with my family and exploring new places. Coming from the North of England I also enjoy drinking a lot of tea ... preferably made in a pretty teapot!
