Wendy Marchbanks: Balance

Balance, by Wendy Marchbanks.
15% of the sale of this print goes to Smile Train.

Wendy Marchbanks graduated from Central Saint Martins with a degree in Textile Design, and then went on to do an MA in Printed Textiles at the Royal College of Art in London. She now lives in Buckinghamshire with her boyfriend, a graphic designer, and works as a freelance textile designer/illustrator.

Wendy is currently freelancing in London at a company called Skew, designing print, patterns and products for children’s licensing brands. Wendy loves that in freelancing, no two jobs are ever the same, and that you never quite know what’s going to come up next. Freelancing keeps her on her toes.



About the print:
Throughout this piece I was thinking about how you can create movement within a static artwork. This piece gives the viewer the suggestion of movement, but leaves them to imagine what happens next.

This is a digital print on acid free, Neenah uncoated matte 100lb cover paper that is 80% recycled. It was digitally signed by the artist and was numbered by The Working Proof.

PURCHASE $30!

What is your process?
My first port of call are my local antique and charity shops. I love sifting through the strange assortment of objects and books, looking for something unusual to spark off an idea. I then refer back to my own collection of antique books, to find interesting illustrations, patterns and mark making. I spend a lot of time drawing objects, so I have a selection of things I can work with. I find that the more drawings I have to play with from the start, the more interesting my compositions become. After drawing everything by hand, I then scan everything in to the computer. I love the freedom the computer gives you when you are building a composition. You can move objects around, and change colours so easily, until you have something you're really happy with.

What has inspired you recently?
I recently visited the Salvador Dali museum in Barcelona. I love the imagination and strange quality of Dali’s work. I’m really drawn in by pieces that tell a story, or take you into another world.

Why did you choose to pair Smile Train with your print?
I think what touched me about this charity is the fact that the operation to fix a cleft palette is a relatively cheap and standard procedure, and a child born into a more wealthy country would have access to this surgery. For children with this problem, born into some of the poorest countries, it is impossible for the parents to ever afford this surgery without help from charities such as Smile Train. Two hundred and fifty dollars, which is the price of the cleft surgery, is a really small price to pay to give a child a new start in life.



How have you seen art transform the world around you?
I think art is a form of escapism. To me, the reality of day-to-day life can be pretty dull. Art is like reading a great book, or watching a film, it can really take you away from the mundane to a more exciting place.

If you could pick one artist to mentor you, who would it be?
My favourite artist/ designer is a guy called Josef Frank. He was a Scandinavian designer, and they have a range of his designs for sale as fabrics in Liberties, London. He had such a great eye for colour and composition. I think there is lots I could learn from him.

Who are some artists you think people should know about?
Tove Jansson, the illustrator and writer of the Moomin books. I also really love Marc Boutavant's work.