Pippa McManus

Every series of Urban Walkabout Guides is unique and visualised by a local artist whose illustrations grace the covers. Their expressions work with ours to bring you Perth precincts in all their colours. There’s always a story behind their practice and outputs, so here we give a little more on The Artists. Meet Pippa McManus, her artwork is featured on the first editions of the Urban Walkabout Perth guides for 2011

Tell us a little about your artwork.
I love drawing people the most, especially in a fashion context. I try to convey something about the subject’s character through what they are wearing mostly. My medium is usually Prismacolour pencils but sometimes inks and watercolours. I am actually really enjoying mixing all of those together at the moment especially when rendering fabrics.

How did your journey start?
I'm an only child from two artistic parents so I grew up drawing and painting and making things. I was encouraged to do so from a really young age. I went to the Western Australian School of Art and Design to study Fine Arts but found the course way too contemporary for my tastes, I just wanted to learn how to paint and was not in the mind set to explore anything more deeply. I then went on to complete a 3 year course in Fashion and Textile design which had always been my main passion from the beginning.

What have been your biggest challenges?
I think my biggest challenge was working out what to do with my self! I loved drawing but did not want to be a fine artist and I loved fashion and everything to do with it but did not want to be a fashion designer. It was actually so obvious I couldn't believe I hadn't thought of it before, why not combine both and be a fashion illustrator?! Since I was able to define that it has been pretty smooth sailing!

What keeps you motivated to continue creating?
It's really something that just happens, it's a strange thing, I find that I can’t just not create. I can’t see myself doing anything else and I know I wouldn't be happy doing anything else so it's not really an option! The motivation comes and goes but I always try to do something, last month I didn't have much so I sat and made friendship bands for all of my friends! I love a craft project.

Who or what inspires you?
I think the constant change in the industry inspires me, seeing new things all the time or old themes with a new take. I have a ridiculous amount of magazines, it really is an addiction! Sometimes I sit there wondering why I have no money and then I'll think about how many magazines I bought that month. They really do fuel me to do more work and create new things, It's inspiring to watch everyone else doing it season after season, so I try to keep up!

What is Perth’s best-kept secret?
It's hard to find a place in the city for a quiet after work drink on a Friday, especially where you can get a seat! So my friends I always find ourselves at The Bird on William St, it doesn't get too busy till later but you can always get a booth and a Little Creatures Bright Ale easily.

What's the story behind the artwork that features on the cover of the Urban Walkabout guide?
There is always a model of the month with me and the month of the Urban Walkabout cover it was Saskia de Brauw. I stalked the images of her online until I came across the cover image. I had been painting in lots of inks and drippy black mediums and found I was completely over it and wanted to tighten up my style again. It was so much fun to render the fabrics on her dress and the colours are so bright and happy. And of course she needed a friend in a Prada-esque knit!

Whose artwork have you collected or would you like to collect for your home?
We have mostly urban art with a few prints from my favorite Aussie fashion illustrators thrown in. Our first was from an exhibition in L.A at Scion Gallery its a black pen illustration of a boy surrounded by zombies with a speech bubble saying 'I hate Mondays', it's by an artist named Brian Ralph. I got a beautiful Kozyndan print from Outre Gallery in Northbridge called Uprisings which is a play on the famous Japanese work by Hokusai, "Great Wave off Kanagawa". Instead of foam on the lip of the wave there are hundreds of little white bunnies. My current favorite is a gouache painting by Perth low-brow artist Sean Morris called Superlycra. It captures 15 women in 80's pastel coloured work out gear forming a cheerleader type pyramid. I hope to have a Stormie Mills sometime this year too!

Tell us about your latest project?
Along with a few little personal and collaborative projects I'm busy doing Claremont Quarter's new Spring Summer '11 campaign. They are holding beautiful lunches and high teas and I'm working on a few illustration for published and in store promotion.I am also working on a mural design for swimmer Eamon Sullivan's first cafe in Subiaco [due to open] in early August. All very exciting!

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