Interview with Helen Nehill

Retro Junkie Helen Nehill tells us she was closer to Descartes than design while studying, until coming to the end of her arts degree…maybe god really isn’t dead…What is your name and where are you located?

My name is Helen Nehill and I live in Sydney’s inner west.

Where did you learn your craft?

I studied Design & Illustration at Enmore Design Centre and also did a few terms of weekend life drawing classes at Julian Ashton’s, but I think I learnt a lot more by just drawing and messing around on my own than from any course. I started doing my best work when I stopped trying to conform to my teachers’ idea of what was good.

Your preferred medium is ink on paper. Why that medium?

I love the process of drawing with ink, it’s very meditative. I draw slowly and deliberately and like to watch the ink glisten and then soak into the page. I don’t make pencil outlines to guide my ink drawings because I like the “mistakes” that push the drawing in an unexpected and more interesting direction. Using a dip pen means that there will be occasional blotches and unevenness in the lines which I prefer to the precise and uninteresting lines of a technical pen.

Have you always been focused in this particular area?

No, I didn’t even think of doing anything creative professionally until I was getting towards the end of an Arts degree majoring in philosophy. I’d always liked to draw, but until then never thought of pursuing it seriously. It didn’t occur to me as an option. Then one day I was drawing a comic strip based on a conversation overheard on a bus and realised that I really liked doing this and I could try doing it professionally. Everything fell into place after that. I went ahead and applied to TAFE and somehow got into the illustration course and suddenly my life had direction.

Whose work do you relate to most? Who inspires you?

My first big influence was the cartoonist Ronald Searle. I collected books with his cartoons in them as a kid and drew comic strips that were heavily influenced by his work. I’m interested in the methods and approach of Paul Klee even though the images that I make are not much like his. Egon Schiele’s drawings of buildings and towns are a big stylistic influence and I also find Aubrey Beardsley and the art deco aesthetic of the Little Nemo comics by Winsor McCay inspiring. Terry Gilliam’s animations for Monty Python inspired me to use Victorian scraps and etchings in collage.

Do you prefer black & white over coloured artwork?

I love colour, especially when used in moderation! Images with minimal or muted colours or in black and white tend to appeal to me the most. When I make a drawing in black and white it’s because it doesn’t seem to need more. I generally like to keep it simple when it comes to colour.

Your illustrations have an air of yesteryear about them. Are you drawn to eras gone by? What do you think of current design trends?

I’m a big nostalgia/retro/vintage junkie. My favourite period to draw on is the first half of the 20th century. As for current design trends, that’s a difficult question because it’s such a broad field. I like some aspects and not others. One thing I can say for sure is that I’m disappointed to see fluoro colours coming back into fashion!

How do you think/want other people to respond to your art?

When people have their own interpretations that maybe I didn’t think of, that’s my favourite response.

Can you let us in on any trade secrets?

Small business skills are useful!

Related Links

Visit Helen Nehill’s website.

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