Illustrating Her Way Forward

LEAH SEATOR reports on the work of young Orcadian artist Britt Harcus

STRAIGHT OUT of university, facing the prospects of how to make a life for herself in the art world, Orcadian illustrator Britt Harcus is already well on her way.

The 23-year-old artist has just published her first children’s book, ‘Made-Up Muck?’, published by The Orcadian Ltd, and her illustrated calendars and Christmas cards have sold like hotcakes – quite a feat considering she only returned to Orkney from Dublin last summer.

If she is honest, Britt admits that before she left home, she didn’t really know what she wanted to do with her life, but her determination to succeed is enough to inspire any budding artist who might be unsure of their next steps.

She left school and took a course in business studies at Orkney College – an experience she values incredibly now, but at the time, she missed being creative. She spent the following year doing portfolio art at the college, and still with no firm plan, applied to art colleges in Edinburgh and Dublin.
 
She explained: “I applied not even with the intentions of actually going. They both said yes, and then I had the choice. I was panicking about what to do, but I had to go. I got a reply from Dublin first, and I thought it would be good to try it for a year – if I didn’t like it I could always transfer. I had never even been to Ireland.”

Britt was nervous about moving to the Emerald Isle, but the opportunities that lay ahead were too much of a pull. With nothing to lose, she took the plunge, all set to become an art student. In her first year, Britt had the chance to dabble in a wide range of things.

Britt is now establishing herself as a freelance illustrator, and the release of her first book, initially designed for her degree show, has gone down a storm.

“The first year was what they call a ‘core year,’ studying all the disciplines, like painting, metalwork, sculpture and graphic design. In the last three months of that you select what you want to specialise in. Even then I was still thinking, ‘what will I do?’

“I went off the idea of doing painting, because it’s something I’ll always have, and I decided to do visual communications instead. I hadn’t heard of it before, but it was a collaboration of a lot of the things that I was interested in, including photography, typography, layout, illustration and graphic design.

“It offered a really good balance of skills – both hand rendered and computer generated work, and I thought it would give me a really good grounding.

“I knew I enjoyed it and that was the main thing, but I also knew it would give me many skills in such a lot of areas. We also got many visiting lecturers, which kept us in touch with what was going on in the real world. This was very motivating.”

Enjoying her course, Britt found that when the time came to produce a final project, she was more certain of her direction. By the time the degree show took place in June this year, she had two finished pieces of work to exhibit.

“We had to write, design and produce two briefs which would show off our skills to their best. I decided to produce an illustrated children’s book, and in contrast, a more serious, sensitive book based on my grandparents – demonstrating my interest in type and photography.

“The show was busy. The college has a great reputation over there, and there were a lot of folk interested in coming to see it.”
 Following a successful degree show, Britt was keen to get out into the real world, and launch her career, choosing Orkney as a starting point.

“I came straight home to Orkney and started right into it. I was very keen to keep working. I feel that if I leave my artwork, it can be difficult to get back into it. I’ll be the first to say after two or three years if this is not working, but I want to give it a try. I think enjoying your work is very important.

“One of my friends in Dublin said that maybe we have got an advantage, living somewhere small. She applied for thousands of jobs with no luck, not because she’s not talented. It’s good to start small and aim high. Orkney the Brand stands for a lot of things,” she added.

Britt soon found herself setting up a studio with fellow designer and school friend, Kirsteen Stewart. This was a dream they had joked about since studying together in Orkney.
 “We share a small studio together at the moment, “ she said. “I think it was a joke at the start. It was one of those huge ambitions that you never really took seriously. She was at Orkney College at the same time as me studying textiles and has also graduated this year with a degree in fashion design.

“I had done a young enterprise project when I was on the business course at Orkney College, and after that myself and Kirsteen decided to keep the small card company going – we called ourselves ‘Muddy Funksters.’ It was good fun, and we’ve kind of kept it going. I think we would like to do a joint project some time in the future, combining our new ideas and experience.

“One of the things that has really helped me is working beside somebody creative. It would be ten times harder alone. We both know how important it is to be motivated and disciplined, and we really have pushed each other. We work very well together.”

Britt is now establishing herself as a freelance illustrator, and the release of her first book, initially designed for her degree show, has gone down a storm. ‘Made-Up Muck?’ is inspired by life on an Orkney farm – a lifestyle which Britt holds close to her heart.

“The theme was very much farming in Orkney. For the show our projects were to be about work we were familiar with and interested in. I have lived on a farm all my life. My brothers were always more into the farming side of it than me but I always had my horse and was always outside in my rubber boots. I have always loved animals, and being outdoors.

“I think animals are something that I have always drawn, and I have always been interested in. They can be really funny and I like putting a bit of humour into my work. Drawing is so much easier when it’s something you see the whole time. You are studying it subconsciously, even though you’re not aware you’re doing it. This book was aimed at sharing this way of life with small children who have little or no access to the countryside and maybe can’t get near a farm or farm animals.

“Book illustration is the main thing I’m interested in. I know there will be lots of other things, but that is what I love doing. I’d be keen to do another one. Interest in the first one seems to be fairly healthy, and everyone has been very supportive.”

Britt values platforms such as the annual County Show, which has helped both her and studio partner Kirsteen to meet people, and demonstrate their skills.

“We had a stall last year at the County Show, and I think we’ll do it again,” she said. “When you get 10,000 people in one place it’s great advertising.”

Since coming home, Britt is as busy as any working artist could ever hope to be, and she has plenty of plans to keep her working well into 2006.
 “There are various projects that I wanted to get stuck into this year, and I was amazed at how work for Christmas was generated. I have been doing several painting commissions and a wall mural recently, plus a few other smaller projects.

“With any spare moments I’ve been emailing, phoning and trying to make more in-roads for next year. I enjoy the variety of work.”

Settled for now, Britt feels that for young up and coming talents, Orkney could well be the place to be.

“I’m very keen to be at home working in Orkney. In the field I am in, you have to make contacts on a much bigger scale and get your name around. It is all about contacts.

“This won’t be me forever. I’ll be hoping to make trips further afield for work. I’m looking forward to travelling with my work. As much as I love Orkney, and I’m inspired by it, I think time away is healthy to help with new ideas too.

“I have training in design as well as illustration work, so there are lots of things I would like to try and find out more about, like animation, which is huge in Scotland at the moment. Maybe that is something to look into. I’ve got various things up my sleeve, but at the moment I’m learning so much from doing my first book.

“I have an exhibition in March at The Orkney Gallery, although the details of that are still to be confirmed.”

Britt’s calendars are available in local shops now, as are copies of ‘Made-Up Muck?’

© Leah Seator, 2006