INTERVIEW
Introducing Rosie Barker
We're excited to welcome Brighton-based illustrator Rosie Barker to the Grand Matter roster!
Rosie draws dream-like and surreal worlds transporting the viewer into different dimensions and back in time, featuring iconography, recurring motifs and vibrant colour palletes, buzzing with 60s and 70s nostalgia. Influenced by European comic artists and pop art, Rosie's work is bold yet detailed and has a strong sense of place, often exploring themes of travel, culture and psychology.
Rosie collaborates with a range of Global clients, including The New York Times and London's iconic The Roundhouse, plus Bloomberg, Time Out and many more. To introduce her way of working in more detail, we spoke with Rosie about what she loves to draw, how her pieces come together and following her fitness dreams!
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I love to create my own unique and fantastical worlds. Within these worlds there are sometimes giant shoes, mysterious portals and people who exist there with their furry friends in tow.
– Rosie Barker
How would you describe your work in one sentence?
Whimsical and vibrant illustrative worlds with intricate details and playful colors.
What themes and topics are you drawn to as an artist, what do you love drawing?
I love to draw and create my own unique and fantastical worlds to transport the viewer somewhere whimsical and surreal. Within these worlds there are sometimes giant shoes, mysterious portals and people who exist there with their furry friends in tow.
I also enjoy developing the iconography that appears in these words such as types of stars, smiley faces and other geometric shapes. I try to imagine how certain things would look amongst the universe I am trying to create and these often repeat themselves in my work. Topics and themes I am often drawn to are personal stories of human psychology, nostalgic items and travel.
Where do you get your inspiration from?
I get a lot of inspiration from European comic book artists such as Herge and Mobius and the ‘Ligne Claire’ style of art. I love how they create immersive and detailed worlds with fine line work and dreamy colour palettes. I also really enjoy the bolder graphic work of Milton Glaser and Pop artists of his time so I consider the way I work to be a mash up of these various influences.
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I would love to work on anything related to sports or fitness as when I'm not drawing that’s what you will find me doing!
– Rosie Barker
What do you like to explore with your self initiated work?
I use my sketchbook as a visual diary so for my self initiated work I like to explore themes that have interested or inspired me in that given moment. Whether it's personal emotions, people watching in a cafe or something in the news – it makes the work feel like a timestamp and something to look back on as my work develops over the course of time.
How do you create your pieces?
I will often start in my sketchbook responding to the themes that the project entails. I sometimes draw from word associations which allows me to conquer a scary blank page and helps to spark ideas away from the obvious! When I start to like an idea I have drawn I then move onto my ipad and use Adobe Fresco to create a more refined digital sketch and then final artwork from that.
And finally, do you have a dream commission?
My dream commissions would be working on brand projects with the likes of Rimowa and Hermès – they are doing some really cool stuff with illustration at the moment. I would also love to work on anything related to sports or fitness as when I'm not drawing that’s what you will find me doing!
About Rosie Barker
Rosie Barker creates nostalgic, fantastical illustrated worlds using vibrant colour palettes and bold detail. Working across a range of outputs from packaging and branding to editorial, Rosie has collaborated with a range of Global clients, including The New York Times, The Roundhouse, Bloomberg, Time Out, and often incoroporates motion into her pieces.
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