An ever-evolving visual pop culture happening
At the start of lockdown we hosted a series of lunchtime talks with creatives and doers from the Black Country and beyond. We invited people that inspire us, who’s work we love and who are doing lovely creative things. You can watch a few of the chats here. One of the chats with Collage Artist … Read more Timetable
Eye candy is an ever-changing celebration of illustration, design and sign writing that takes place in many guises. From pop-up design-led shops to outdoor street works (including commissioning a 20ft wooden geo fox) we select exhibitors, speakers and designers from across the globe to showcase the best in illustration, art and design through a programme of events … Read more About
Launching January 2021 is our all new Black Country Collage Club. This year we are teaming up with the Dudley People’s Archive using sourced, found and shared materials from people’s own collections and using the borough as our inspiration to start a collage club. We’re inviting people from across the Black Country to join us … Read more How to Book a workshop
Following a recent trip to Peru, Michelle returns to Birmingham inspired by the bright neons of Peruvian chicha style artwork and invites you to sit for a FREE Peruvian chicha style portrait. Combining her love of portraiture and Peruvian chicha artwork you’re guaranteed a portrait that’ll put the colour back in your cheeks!
Join Michelle for your free portrait at the Eye Candy Illustration and Art Fair from 10am on Saturday 1st October at St Martin in the Bullring, Birmingham.
What is your creative process from inception to creation?
I would say my process is quite simple. Once I have received the brief my first point of call is to make a few rough sketches of how I want the page to look and once I am happy, I jump straight into making the artwork. I build my images in layers on individual sheets of paper so I start by drawing the image in pencil and then using another sheet overlay washes of ink to add texture. Once they are scanned in I clean them up and multiply the images, usually on Photoshop. Read more
What first got you into visual arts?
Art was one of my favourite subjects at school, so after my A levels I decided to do a foundation course. This was where I really got into illustration. Meeting new people on the course and sharing ideas in the studio allowed me to learn about so many great artists and illustrators, who I still admire now. Read more
How did you develop your style?
My style pretty much comes from any cartoons from the past 20 years, I’ve always watched them and tried to draw my own versions so I think that’s all fed into my current style. Read more
What first got you into visual arts?
I’ve always loved drawing when I was a kid and spent ages drawing my own fantastical beasts – I believe some of them even roam the depths of my family home still. It wasn’t until I had to chose my A-Levels that I knew I had to pursue the creative industry, I wasn’t even particularly fussed what discipline to follow at that point, all I knew was that I enjoyed it and that I had copious amounts of teenage angst against my father’s strong expectations of me becoming a doctor/lawyer/politician. The rest as they say, is history. Read more
How does living in London influence your image making?
Living and working in London is great! I find the large amount and diversity of museums here hugely inspiring. A lot of the ideas for my work come from drawings made in museums in London.
I also love drawing musicians playing gigs, especially jazz. There is a decent amount of good jazz bars and clubs in London with regular jazz sessions and jams, so it’s always pretty easy to find somewhere exciting to draw. Drawing to live music helps me loosen up and capture more energy in my work.
There is a lot of travelling involved with living in London, which is a great time to draw or plan new work. I always have a sketchbook at hand whilst sitting on the tube or bus, usually drawing the other commuters. Read more
We have put together 21 opportunities for you to get involved in making, crafting and doing with Eye Candy this year. We’ve chosen our favourite artists to run a host of fun and exciting workshops and NOW you can see what we have got. Take a look at the TIMETABLE page to see more info.
Are you an artist, illustrator, designer, maker or jeweller who makes items to sell? Then we’d like to hear from you.
We’re curating a 10 day pop up for this years Eye Candy event in Birmingham and looking for beautiful items to sell in our store. Ideally items will be limited runs and designed by you, a collective or duo but can come from anywhere in the UK. Read more
Eye Candy 