Artists and Illustrator Ruth Arnold

Ruth Arnold

Artist and Illustrator

Hello. I’m Ruth.
I hold a BA in Visual Communication (Illustration + Graphic Design)
My work is created with a combination of traditional mixed media and Procreate, using watercolour, acrylic inks and photographic textures. I also draw and paint on that old fashioned stuff (paper).
Years ago, I became chronically ill and bedridden for over a decade. I then spent time as an electric wheelchair user, before progressing to mobility scooters and other aids. These days my mobility and quality of life is much improved but I still have difficulty maintaining an upright posture for long periods of time. Consequently I make most of my artwork lying down.
You’ll have noticed a reoccurring theme of magical imagery. I’ve thought about this, and I blame C S Lewis. He made me quietly obsessed with entering another world and I’ve never wanted to leave.

 

I always feel as an artist and illustrator, you are supposed to say ‘I grew up with a pencil in my hand because I was always drawing.’ But I wasn’t. I was usually outdoors. My happy place has always been around animals, especially horses. A long time ago I was lucky enough to have my own horse. I’ve also had house rabbits, who would scamper around under the gentle gaze of my large dog. I miss them all. For now we have Misha, a grey cat with a white moustache (Frida Khalo cat?) who likes to supervise my creativity. A furry art director perhaps…

So my love of magic is coupled with my love of animals. I’m not sure I would want to illustrate if I couldn’t at least sneak a small animal into the picture. I mean, what would be the point?

For anyone curious about influences, I’ve always gleefully hoarded childrens books. I have my mum to thank for this. Consequently, I’ve never felt the slightest bit embarassed about enjoying anything that is apparently ‘just’ for children. I still have favourite books from childhood, there are the well known ones, such as Beatrix Potter, but the first person who made me want to be an artist was an author/illustrator called Kate Seredy. She wrote tales of her Hungarian homeland, accompanied by exquisite drawings of people and, yes, horses.

Skip forward to now, I admire Shaun Tan, Jackie Morris, Anthony Browne, Raymond Briggs, and fine artists such as Wangechi Mutu. And so many others… 

Like many illustrators,  I enjoy music and have a healthy addiction to podcasts. When ‘off duty’ I love to read – fluff is great but I also belong to a local Dystopian book group… This is mainly because I’m not an introvert and I need a people fix whenever possible. And I really couldn’t resist something so niche.

Well, thats probably enough nattering for now. The cat is beckoning me back to my sketch pad. I better put the kettle on too. 

Artist and Illustrator Ruth Arnold lives in Exeter, UK