The Design Process For 20 years Fay has used pen and ink to create pointillist illustrations.
The main influences in her teenage years were learning ink and watercolour techniques at summer art school and studying the work of Loughborough based artist Paulette Fedarb. Fay is also heavily inspired by William Morris, the Pre-Raphaelite masters and Japanese block prints by Hiroshige and Hokusai.
Fay finds inspiration from long walks taken with her dog, Sidney, and often returns home to her studio with a plethora of ideas ready to put onto paper. Fay can be working on Winter or Summer designs at any given time, she gradually builds up her range often through suggestions from customers or trends which are breaking through.
The pointillist technique is a labour of love often taking Fay 3 days to complete just one illustration before the colour is added. The process involves using different sized nibs ranging from 0.05 to 0.5mm using the pens to build up shape, form and texture which often gives her illustrations a 3D effect. Fay works on A3 and then reduces the work down to fit the greeting cards.
Customers can often be spotted touching the cards to see if the design is really flat or relief!
Glitter finishes are then hand-applied onto the specially selected FSC certified boards and envelopes. Quality, weight and texture, are all paramount when Fay chooses the paper for her creations.
