Me and Norman is the collaborative efforts of Me, Steph Simpson and my imaginary friend, Norman Nanimal.
Norman sits at my side and helps me make creative decisions - I’m the sensible one and he’s responsible for the chaos and a little silliness. With Norman, I am fearless and able to stare a blank page straight in the eye and conquer it!
I am very focused on the process and place that I climb into when illustrating – a world that I am unable to leave once the image starts to take form, where I am not so easily distracted like usual. Illustration is about storytelling, and making images is a kind of game I play to amuse myself. Above all else, I see myself as a storyteller and this extends into many spheres of my life.
My illustration style is not one set thing – I enjoy working in ink, gouache and collaging from old encyclopedias. My moto while creating is “Play until something happens” and the act of collaging is the most playful process. The creative process is all based on chance – it is by change that that one piece meets another and somehow, they make a new image.
If it helps to know: I have a B.Tech in Fine Art, specialising in printmaking (NMU 2010), an Honours in Visual Arts, specialising in illustration (SU 2014 cum laude). In 2024, after many years of working and studying (and surviving a pandemic), I graduated with my Masters in Visual Arts. I lecture Illustration at a creative college in Cape Town and freelance as an illustrator.
