'For more than forty years, Sue Dray has been communicating with her art in many capacities and on many levels – starting as an illustrator for pioneering feminist publications such as Spare Rib and The Women’s Press, both now considered cult magazines and historical treasures, archived and faithfully preserved as study material by The British Library. Throughout the 1980s, Sue illustrated book covers for renowned authors such as Fay Weldon and Margaret Atwood, put her talents to use illustrating cookbooks and magazines such as Gay News and Gai Pied, completed a master’s degree in art that led to her teaching at universities in the United States and produced some of her most personal work, inspired by her two young daughters. She has since drawn live alongside the catwalk during shows by designers such as Pam Hogg, Vivienne Westwood and Zandra Rhodes, illustrated behind the scenes for Andrew Logan’s ‘Alternative Miss World’ and appeared drawing backstage during the 2018 film ‘Westwood: Punk, Icon, Activist’. Her style is a combination of strong lines, painterly textures and intense, contrasting colours. Yet, despite her constant search for evolution and change, these characteristics of her artistic language have remained intact since the beginnings of her prolific career, during the golden eighties. Today Sue is regularly commissioned by magazines and designers for the drawings and sketches she creates during the unveiling of collections in all the major fashion capitals, throughout fashion season. In 2018 she was Fashion Scout’s first resident artist for the Spring/Summer collection of London Fashion Week, during which we could see her standing in a sea of surrealism at her elegant easel, a mouth full of paintbrushes, surrounded by throngs of press photographers, all competing with her for the best images from each collection. Following an approach by Apple in 2015, she has also found time to experiment with digital drawing – a medium she has come to appreciate when working under the hectic conditions of fashion shows. In 2019 she was an Artist in Residence and Creative Collaborator at The Villa Lena Arts Foundation in Tuscany – a fabulous opportunity that allowed her to immerse herself in the history of classical Italian painting, in order to influence and inspire the more pictorial side of her work. Last but not least, it is impossible to ignore the extent of her teaching experience: Sue has taught in the United Kingdom, Australia and the United States and was, for eight years, course leader of the Fashion Illustration Course at The London College of Fashion. She continues to contribute to this renowned institution as a guest lecturer, nurturing future generations of fashion artists with her vibrant teaching style and a faith in the arts that exudes life, spontaneity, authenticity and innovation. And now, enjoy the interview! ___________________ Links to references made by Sue and Carla during the interview can be found on our website, where you can also read this text in Spanish and Italian: http://www.carlatofano.com/sue-dray/ ___________________ If you would like to make a donation to Metralla Rosa, please use this PayPal link: https://paypal.me/metrallarosa Your generosity will help us to continue producing free content and will primarily be used for the creation of English, Spanish & Italian subtitles. Thank you so much. ___________________ Further Information: Sue Dray Website: https://www.suedray.com Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/suedraylcf/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCBVP5E0B56YIX4UfgQOA1Dg'
Tags: fashion , fashion illustration , LONDON FASHION WEEK , artist , illustrator , Vivienne Westwood , fashion illustration course , zandra rhodes , london college of fashion , spare rib , pam hogg , gay news , Carla Tofano , Metralla Rosa , Sue Dray , Venezuelan Journalist , Venezuelan Model , Margaret Atwood , Fay Weldon , The Women's Press , Gai Pied , Villa Lena Arts Foundation , Westood Punk Icon Activist , Alternative Miss World , Andrew Logan , Art Tutor
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