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Whoever said a happy place had to be a physical space? For Geelong-based artist Kimmy Hogan, illustrating brings ultimate contentment, wherever it happens to be done. She creates art on a virtual canvas, merging the fluid, organic look of the hand-drawn with the crisp, perfect lines of the digital medium.
Creatively inclined since childhood, Kimmy undertook a Bachelor of Communication Design and worked in the commercial design industry for more than a decade, before delving into digital art over the past couple of years. This new direction has married Kimmy’s love of home interiors with her computer skills.
Kimmy’s aesthetic, however, is inspired by more traditional methods. ‘I like to explain it as a “digital oil painting”, as the finished art looks loose and natural,’ she says. ‘It was my love of oil painting, with all it’s lovely blobs of colour, that influenced my technique in the first place.’
Kimmy will often raid her local florist, camera in hand, to collect inspiration for the botanical arrangements and still life scenes she creates. Returning to her home studio – a ‘jungle’ of plants itself – she draws using the Adobe Illustrator pen tool, carefully resisting the urge to neaten lines up afterwards.
An artwork emerges through layer upon layer of fluid, colourful shapes and can often take weeks to complete. The works are then printed digitally on cotton rag card, using archival inks, and Kimmy signs each individually. ‘It’s really beautiful to see a digital file turn into a piece of art,’ she tells.
As Kimmy’s little boys, Walter and Arthur, begin to spend more time at kindergarten and daycare, she hopes her business will grow alongside them. ‘I’m getting so much fulfilment out of it, even at it’s small size now, I can only imagine how many more amazing things lie ahead!’
Kimmy Hogan’s digital artworks are available from her website, with a new collection out mid-year. You can also browse her children’s linen in collaboration with In Bed with Fred here.
