


Tell us about yourself!
My love for drawing and my love for animals have always gone hand in hand. I taught myself to draw as a kid by obsessively drawing all sorts of creatures, but mostly horses and cheetahs, or whatever animal I happened to be obsessed with at the time. When I started working in animal rescue, I didn't have a lot of time for drawing as it is the kind of job where you get up with the dawn and work through until late, or even through the night if you are rearing an orphan animal. But the 10 years of working so closely with animals gave me a lot of time to observe then and also come to appreciate how everyone has its own personality and quirks that I love to try and capture in my illustrations.

When I had to leave animal rescue during lockdown for health reasons, I picked up painting and finally had time to develop my style pulling lots of influence from Japanese art and tattoo art. I also had a lot of time to watch artists on YouTube and especially pottery videos, it didn't take long for me to buy myself a wheel and start to teach myself to throw. To begin with it was located in my bathroom and I had to throw with my head right next to the sink, but I soon found a studio and started selling my hand thrown and illustrated pots. Now I have times of focussing on painting and times of working on ceramics, but both compliment and nourish each other.
Where do you work?
I have recently moved my studio back home, and although it is a little cramped it does mean my bossy Siamese, Ghost, can chatter at my while I work (and sometimes persuade me to take a cheeky day time nap with her)

What do you get up to when you aren’t illustrating or making ceramics?
When I am not painting or potting, I am usually baking for friends. For a while I had a vegan cooking blog and still like to be in the kitchen tweaking recipes. I also like to teach myself new crafts, Fair Isle knitting and shuttle lace making being the two latest ones I've picked up.
Most frequently played tune in the studio?
Folk goddess Joni Mitchell features heavily on my playlists, especially her album Blue.
Find out more
Shop Alex Harvey

Printer Johnson, Alex Harvey | Leap into the New, Greeting Card

Printer Johnson, Alex Harvey | Fly High, Greeting Card
