Interview with illustrator Courtney Brims
Courtney Brims is a very talented Brisbane artist and illustrator. She was given her big break in 2008 as the winner of Mooks Artspace competition that allowed her to have her first solo exhibition in Sydney.From there, Courtney was able to make a few contacts and learn enough to to set herself up as a freelance artist. Most recently Courtney had a solo show at LA’s Black Maria Gallery and Brisbane’s Nine Lives Gallery.
In this whirlwind past few years, Courtney has already worked for a string of good brands including Element Clothing, Something Else, Hurley, Pony Rider and the Finders Keepers markets. Her work has been featured in Frankie, Yen and Kingbrown Magazine.
Courtney’s work reflects her curious love for fairytales, and the darker elements of stories. I love that each work has a hidden message, reference to a movie or story to uncover. Her work is also influenced by old photographs, daydreams, nightmares and ghost stories.
Courtney is working towards the Woven Dreams group exhibition at Retrospect Gallery in Byron Bay which starts in November.
You can buy prints, postcards and gift tags of Courtney’s artwork in her online store, or follow her blog for the latest updates. Courtney’s website has a beautiful gallery of her work as well.
How have you got to where you are today?
My mum is a graphic designer so I grew up in a world that revolved around Pantone colour swatches, type fonts and Rotring pens. As a kid I found the art world really magical and always wanted to be a part of it because it was what made me happiest.
Back in 2008 I won a competition to have a solo exhibition at Sydney’s Monster Children Gallery. That got my foot in the door and opened up a host of new opportunities and from there started making a living from drawing pictures.
In a few words, describe yourself…
Redhead, daydreamer, weird and shy.
What are you spending your time on at the moment?
Currently I’m working on a fabric print for clothing company Element and a couple of pieces for French stationery company La Marelle.
Do you have a ritual for getting into the creative mindset? Or a creative process?
If I’m experiencing a bit of creative blockage I usually go for a long walk or mess about on the piano or watch a childhood movie to get the juices flowing again.
What or who inspires you?
It’s cliché I know, but practically anything can be inspiring and trigger a story or a concept to evolve in my head…plants, animals, movies, music, photography, fashion, dreams, architecture, ghost stories, fairytales… The people who inspire me most are Hayao Miyazaki, Tim Walker, Walt Disney and Tim Burton.
What are you most proud of?
Making it this far as a self-funded artist. I honestly didn’t think I would have lasted this long doing what I love doing.
When you were a child, what did you want to be when you grew up?
I remember wanting to be a zoologist. I think I was really keen because I thought it meant working in a zoo. I also wanted to be a mowerist, which is what I called someone who sits on a ride-on mower mowing grass all day.
