What was your inspiration to start your artwork?
I love cats and I wanted to draw them BIG, everything looks better when it’s big.
What are the steps you go through to prepare a piece?
I try to take all of my reference photos myself so I have a big camera with a big lens – I take it everywhere with me. I visit zoos and animals sanctuaries wherever I travel (I went on a trip to Europe and visited Rome zoo and Athens zoo when everyone else was visiting famous ruins) so as not to miss an opportunity. My pictures HAVE to be clear and up close so I can see all of the detail, when filling your picture with lines you need to know the information well and map it out beforehand. I try to do a pencil sketch of the subject first to map out all of the directions before I start scratching. It’s possible, but not easy, to fix something once you already scratched on the board but best to not have to do it at all. Scratchboard is not a very forgiving medium.
Check back tomorrow for more of our interview with Heather.