“I was inspired by my father and brother who did a lot of drawing when I was a child. My father used to draw something for us to get us to go to bed, with the promise there would be a drawing for us at the end of our bed in the morning. I particularly remember a magnificent owl drawing he did for me in pencil.
“After school, in 1975, I went and studied for a BFA at Elam School of Fine Arts. In 1991 I completed my MFA at the same art school, and, in 1996, I gained a post graduate diploma in Plant & Wildlife Illustration, from the University of Newcastle, NSW, Australia. After graduating in 1975, I initially started off as a book designer for the School Journals but quickly found I loved doing the illustrations. I loved the fact that I was helping tell the story – extending it, in fact, by adding extra details not found in the words.
“My inspiration is the natural world around me. I am at my happiest sketching outdoors in the wide open spaces – birds, animals, plants, landforms. There are so many artists I admire, but to name a few: Quentin Blake – I love his wonderful lively drawing style and his great characterisations; Lisbeth Zwerger, an Austrian illustrator who won the prestigious Hans Christian Anderson Award early on in her career – she has a beautiful sense of composition, great awareness of the use of space and a great watercolour technique; Ivan Gantschev, a Bulgarian artist who used salt and alcohol on watercolours to great effect; and Lars Jonsson, an amazing Swedish bird artist with an incredible use of light and atmosphere, and a great watercolour technique.
Sandra Morris
