Chronicles of Kelly Smith.....

Back in June I was fortunate enough to work on a collaboration with one of the most talented fashion illustrators of the moment, the gorgeous Kelly Smith of birdy and me. Kelly’s blog has created a cult following worldwide for her mind-blowing inspirational illustrations featuring some of fashions biggest names. Kelly’s work has been featured in countless publications including Vogue, Cleo and Shop Till You Drop and recently she has collaborated with Portman's and ROC eyewear for their spring summer 2011 campaigns. Here Kelly takes five to talk all things fashion and fill us in on what exciting plans she has in store next...

Five things that best describe your personality and style?

Random, Girlie, Classic, Loud, Soft.

How did you get your start in the industry? 

I started submitting my illustration work to various websites and magazines and picked up a few features and commissions that way. I then started my blog and etsy shop and through the support of the online community, as well as print publications, I was lucky enough to be able to keep heading in the right direction.

Where do you find inspiration? 

All over the place! But most commonly via fashion, film, pop culture. I take alot of visual inspiration from both fashion and nature. Both are very aesthetically rich.
But I think some of the best ideas are born from films and books.
I love children's books - fairytales. There's always a sense of fun and frivolity to them which marries well with fashion I think.

Is there a particular person you most like to draw?

I think Sasha Pivovarova is currently in the lead for being the girl i've drawn the most! Second is probably Marion Cotillard. I have a real obsession with faces and I always get quite attached to certain girls.
They become muses in a way. At the moment I am totally in love with Lara Stone and Edita Vilkevicute.
Models are amazing as their beauty is always a blank canvas. You can make them into whoever you want them to be.
Actresses have that same quality but of course we always have more of an idea of who we think they are.
So it's more that you're playing with those ideas rather than giving them their own character.

You’ve recently been involved with some major collaborations.. How did these collabs come about? 

I should really try to remember to ask people how they come to find my work. I think alot of the time people stumble upon it via a blog, or maybe a magazine. However there are times when I've been lucky enough to work on something big which creates alot of exposure, and I think people talk alot amongst themselves in this industry. So you can sometimes hop from one client to another based on a recommendation. But it's always exciting to receive an email regarding the opportunity to work on something big!

ROC eyewear SS11

Portmans SS10

 What's next?

I'm currently working on a few projects. I've just finished up illustrating some images for Lindy Klim's new website,
and at the moment i'm sketching up a couple of proposals for possible future jobs. We'll see what happens there.
There's definitely some exciting things in the pipeline - i'm really looking forward to the next few months! I'm also working with another Tasmanian illustrator, Beth-Emily Gregory, on a series of images we plan to exhibit hopefully late 2010/early 2011. The whole concept centres around birds and girls. It kind of has a Thumbelina-esque feel to it.
I think it'll be really beautiful if we can pull it off!

When you’re not illustrating.....

I'm watching movies, hanging with my friends, reading in the bath, mooning over various red carpets and fashion shows.

What is your best piece of fashion advise?

Wear what suits your body, not what you WANT to suit your body.

 What style quote do you live by?

" Less is more..." 

Check out Kelly's blog and her amazing work at birdy and me