Welcome to Bex Parkin
I am absolutely thrilled to welcome the exciting illustrator Bex Parkin to our roster. I have long admired her work which combines magical layers of illustration and surface pattern reminiscent of my design hero Josef Frank. Vibrant, diverse, fun, characterful, colourful, and full of leopards!
Leopard in Leaves, copyright Bex Parkin 2018
We have been working on a variety of projects pre-launch. Bex is a joy to work with and impressively fast in moving ideas to final artwork. Bex Parkin’s style and professional approach has a huge amount to offer licensees and publishers.
Read our recent interview to find out more about BEX PARKIN:
“I am an illustrator and artist living in the Staffordshire countryside with my three children, partner and dog. I have mostly lived and worked in London at various art galleries, museums and art publishing companies. I also had a fun job sourcing antique textiles for large fashion houses before leaving London to have a family. I have always been creative in one way or another, but it is my career as an illustrator that has been the most rewarding and exciting one!
Joining together with Jehane has been the highlight and I’m incredibly excited to be part of her group of talented artists. She has a clear enthusiasm and passion for not only her own artists but for all art and design. I could see through Jehane’s Instagram feed that there was a genuine excitement for the work her artists produced and I was drawn to her friendly professionalism.
Now that Jehane and I have been working together on projects I’m thrilled with our new relationship – Jehane has been invaluable at dealing with clients, organizing me and my work, she is bursting with new ideas and her approach is innovative and refreshing.
Place of Birth: I was born in the Midlands
Where were you brought up? I’m a bit nomadic and have lived in Oxford, Reading, Florence and most of my adult life in London
Where do you live now? Very very rural Staffordshire
Lioness copyright Bex Parkin
Tell us about yourself, what makes you ‘tick’ ? Travel
Where and what did you study? I studied History of Art and Architecture at Reading University and I also did a Graphic Design course at Central St Martins
What made you want to become an artist ? I’ve always been creative but I got to a ‘it’s now or never’ point in my life and was encouraged by my girl friends to give it a go! Working for myself when I have a family was important too.
How did you find your style ? Mostly by studying the work of artists I love and playing around with ideas in sketchbooks. It was something I used to stress about until I allowed myself to believe in my own work and not care so much. Then one day I looked at a piece of work and thought that’s it -that’s my style!
Has it changed since you started ? Yes – it’s definitely loosened up and I find my work is better the less tight it is. I’ve recently started working with mixed media to create texture and I’m really happy with the results.
How would you describe your own work? It’s fairly traditional but a bit quirky too! Decorative and colourful
Swimming Tiger copyright Bex Parkin
What mediums do you prefer? Preferred subjects? I always paint in gouache and recently have been adding chalk, ink and coloured pencil for added texture. I have a love of painting wildlife, birds and plants. I probably paint too many leopards!
What is your favorite piece of work in your portfolio & why? That would be Leopard in the Leaves. It’s the only piece I have on my wall!
Which piece of work has attracted the most attention? There are three – Leopard in the Leaves, Swimming Tiger and Cheetah
Cheetah copyright Bex Parkin
How do you come up with new ideas ? That’s never a problem for me! I have a brain that never stops coming up with ideas and I see inspiration everywhere. I love looking at photos of plants and animals too.
Do you have a process ? There is a small leap from idea to painting – it happens very quickly. I use my sketchbook to perfect an angle or pose and I study reference photos a lot .
Who is your favourite artist/illustrator ? Rebecca Green – seeing her work started it all for me. I just thought – I want to do that!! Also Sandra Dieckmann and her book work
If you hadn’t been an artist, what would you have been ? Travel writer - I would love to illustrate a travel journal one day. Or a classical musician
Professionally, what’s your goal ? To be able to illustrate for a job is amazing and I feel very lucky! Ideally, I would like to develop my artwork and push it in exciting directions stylistically. I would love to be constantly busy with lots of lovely, happy clients – I seem to work at my best the busier I am! I would also like to travel more for my work or even live abroad eventually (when the kids have flown the nest!)
What’s the best piece of advice you’ve been given ? Believe in yourself and just go for it!
Who would be your dream client? Working with any sized client who is passionate is a dream but it would be amazing to work with someone who I might impress my kids with!
What’s been your favourite professional project ? That would have to be a large scale packaging project that I’m working on now – I have learnt so much and it’s been incredible working with the art team who have given me a wonderful brief to work on.
What's been your biggest mistake/error?! My biggest mistake was not starting earlier as an illustrator. I should have realized in my 20’s that this was the right career for me.
Any other hidden talents? I’m very musical
Any fun fact about you? I did the Inca Trail to Machu Picchu last year – it was hard work but a life changing experience
What’s your favourite joke? A woman gets on a bus with her baby. The driver says ‘Ugh that’s the ugliest baby I’ve ever seen’. The woman walks to the back of the bus and sits down, fuming. She says to the man next to her ‘The driver just insulted me!’ The man says ‘Go up there and tell him off! Go on, I’ll hold your monkey for you’
Bex Parkin is exclusively represented by Jehane Ltd to clients worldwide