Jack Knight: Artist of the Month - October 2013

Every month, we highlight the work of a different artist or illustrator through the title banner of our monthly newsletter - Penorama. If you don't already receive Penorama, you can subscribe here.

The artist of the month for October is Jack Knight, whose banner is inspired by October's most famous event - Halloween.

Here's the banner Jack made for us:

Here's how it appeared in our newsletter:

Penorama Banner vol. 9

Cult Pens: Tell us a bit more about yourself.
Jack: I'm an illustrator and artist based in the North West city of Lancaster. I love art, drawing, creativity and making things. I work as an illustrator and artist and I also volunteer at a local school to help them with their class room art projects and wall displays.

Cult Pens: How would you describe your work?
Jack: My work is primarily hand sketched, then inked and coloured digitally but I do sometimes go old school with acrylic paint on canvas. I'd describe my work as being bright, colourful, eye-catching and bold.

Cult Pens: What got you into drawing/illustration?
Jack: I've always been passionate about drawing, ever since I was old enough to successfully hold a writing tool I've been making pictures. It just seemed natural that I would pursue it as my career.

Cult Pens: If you weren't a illustrator, what was the back-up plan?
Jack: My backup plan is working with children. I get on really well with them, I'm a qualified teaching assistant and I really enjoy being able to teach them new skills and help out around the classroom.

Cult Pens: What are your favourite subjects/topics to draw?
Jack: It varies from week to week, sometimes I'm mad keen on drawing mechanical things like complicated machinery or steam punk devices, sometimes I draw abstract surreal stuff and sometimes I prefer doing concentrated object drawings in pencil of real life items.

Cult Pens: Where do you get your ideas or inspiration from?

Jack: Out and about around Lancaster, talking to people, perusing design websites and reading magazines. I don't watch TV much, but films sometimes can inspire me.

Cult Pens: What are you currently working on?
Jack: At the moment I'm designing business re-branding images for a homoeopath, an info-graphic for a fashion retailer and some character avatars for a computer software company.

Cult Pens: How long does it normally take to complete a project?
Jack: Hard to say, it varies obviously. I guess typically, two to three days.

Cult Pens: What are your top 5 pens?
Jack:

Cult Pens: What pen or pencil couldn't you live without?
Jack: A mechanical pencil with a rubber on the end. Maybe I should have put that as my #1 in the top five...

Cult Pens: Do you know when a work is finished or are you constantly tweaking?
Jack: I keep saying to myself, art is never finished, only abandoned. It's so true. I do tweak a lot and in the end I have to drag myself away.

Cult Pens: What work are you most proud of?
Jack: Had to think about this for ages! I think...I'm probably really quite pleased with "Flux". It's a really large acrylic and mixed media painting on canvas that took me 26 hours to complete.

Cult Pens: What tips do you have for aspiring artists/illustrators?
Jack: Don't undersell yourself. Be confident. Study more artistic techniques. Practice, practice, practice!

You can see more of Jack's work below or alternatively visit his website.

Isabel and the Troll - Jack Knight Protect My Bubble, Living Room Scene - Jack Knight Zombie Spotting - Jack Knight