Olivia Kemp creates highly detailed illustrations, using black colored pen almost exclusively. Working her way through, one section at a time, her creative process includes little to no sketching, making the finished product all the more incredible.
“I don’t worry about the whole,” she explained in an interview with MoMa. “I think it stops the size of the paper from overwhelming me. But mainly I do it because in the past, when I’ve sketched the whole image out beforehand, filling it in bores me. It feels like paint by numbers, like the whole drawing is a foregone conclusion and the excitement of the unknown is lost. That’s also what is great about pen, you’re always on the edge of making an irrevocable mistake. It sharpens my focus and gets me absorbed in what I’m doing.”
Indeed, her work seems to require a sort of meditative headspace, which suits Kemp just fine. “You’re always trying to get into that mood where you’re not thinking about anything other than what you’re drawing when hours just escape,” she says. “That’s what’s addictive.”
The result is wonderful black and white landscapes that are created right down to the details of the land, plants, and creatures that may inhabit it. An imaginary scenery we’d like to step right into. Take a look for yourself:
