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A pet portraitist and story lover recently turned her illustrative skills to a new spe-shell-ism... bringing a gigantic tortoise sculpture to life.
Jamie O’Neill is an illustrator known, among other things, for her pet portraits.
She studied traditional animation and pre-production design at the Arts University of Bournemouth, which is why she says storytelling, expression and narrative are always at the heart of her artwork. When she is not illustrating, she works in social media and creative marketing.
This summer, her creativity has been unleashed into the real world as part of the Durrell Tortoise Takeover sculpture trail, but, as she put the finishing touches to her design, which is now out in the wild, we asked her a few questions about her work…
I’ve been a passionate doodler for as long as I can remember and always loved learning how to get better at drawing and improve my skills.
Pictured: Jamie has a particular love for creating pet portraits.
I remember my teachers at school always encouraging me to pursue art as a career.
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I’m known to carry a sketchbook around with me at all times, as you never know when inspiration will strike!
I’d describe myself as an eclectic artist. I love working on a huge variety of projects, from portraits – especially pet ones – and local landscapes to children’s book illustrations and more casual observational drawing in my sketchbook. I just love to create, so I’m never afraid to experiment and take on a project, medium or style I haven’t pursued before.
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I’ve always been fond of digital painting and spent years learning the ins and outs of creating illustrations in Photoshop, and these days most of my work is created in Procreate on my iPad. I have been eager to get back into my first love of watercolour and ink drawings after my fiancé gave me a beautiful new watercolour kit as a Christmas present.
A lot of my work is often inspired by colours and patterns in nature, the seaside and the amazing landscapes around my island home.
With my children’s book illustrations, I strive to create busy, dynamic and vibrant scenes. I love creating details and can spend days working away on a design to get it just right.
Over the last few years, I’ve worked on some amazing children’s picture book illustrations as well as editorial projects for UK clients.
Pictured: Jamie with her Tortoise Takeover sculpture which can be found at St. Catherine's breakwater.
More recently, I was overjoyed to be selected for the Durrell Tortoise Takeover, and I’ve been busy bringing my design to life. I’m hoping it will be one of the more unique designs on the trail this year!
Pick up a copy of the July edition of Connect Magazine for your FREE official Tortoise Takeover trail guide or check out the digital edition below...
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MEET THE TORTOISES #1: A berry good shell-ection of sculptures
MEET THE TORTOISES #2: Strike a cosmic connection with a p'tit pal
MEET THE TORTOISES #3: Dodo you like to explore? From Eden to Eco Ninjas...
MEET THE TORTOISES #4: My tortoise family and other sculptures
MEET THE TORTOISES #5: Keep going, as the trail keeps growing
MEET THE TORTOISES #6: Will you be the 'lucky one' as the trail continues?
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