Meet the Shropshire illustrator bringing joy and colour to the world
Gemma Gould loves bringing a splash of colour and a bit of joy to people’s lives with her fun and quirky characters.
Her eye-catching artwork combines vibrant geometric shapes with textured details and is inspired by traditional printmaking techniques.
She’s been working as an illustrator and designer, based in rural Shropshire since graduating with a degree in visual communication (illustration) in 2014.
“I discovered my style through printmaking at university – I loved the bold colours, shapes and texture you could achieve with lino-printing and spent hours in the print room. However, it’s often quite difficult to cut curved shapes into lino, so I adapted by only using straight lines and that way of drawing stuck,” says Gemma.
She has been drawing for as long as she can remember and believes being creative definitely runs in her family.
“My dad is an automotive designer and my mum has always enjoyed painting. From an early age when I was spending time reading with my nose in a book, I was drawing. I would draw the stuff I had read about in the book and how I imagined the characters to look,” explains the 27-year-old, who lives near Church Stretton.
Gemma, whose colourful designs have featured in a range of materials from children’s books to CD covers, describes her illustrating style as “bold, fun and quirky”.
“I like to keep it as simple as possible as it makes it more accessible and I like to make it as colourful and vibrant as possible,” she says.
