Art editor at Stripes Publishing Paul Coomey commissioned me and other LGBTQ+ illustrators to create the artwork for the publishing house’s book Proud – an anthology of LGBTQ+ short stories for young adults.
The story I was asked to illustrate centred on a shy young lesbian girl whose life revolved around a record shop. There are references to panic attacks and the swirling of grief, and towards the end of the story she meets an older girl who reaches out towards her. It’s a magical wonderful story and I was delighted to be involved. I can’t recommend the anthology highly enough.
This was my first paid illustration created with lino cutting, after developing this practise on my MA at Falmouth, so it’s pretty special to me for lots of reasons!