Sophy Hollington is an illustrator and artist residing in Brighton. Her work takes the form of relief prints created through lino cutting often, with a subject matter of meteoric folklore, the occult and alchemical symbolism.
Her clients include The New York Times, The New Yorker, Bloomberg, WIRED, Penguin, Faber and Faber, The Wall Street Journal and many more.
Your work has an irresistible darkness and menacing quality amongst its beauty. Has your work always had a similar theme of folklore storytelling?
At university the projects that I remember gaining the most from were the ones that somehow wrangled literature and I’ve definitely carried that forward. I feel that what my work can offer is a communication of that liminal space in between what’s inside our heads and what’s outside our heads…responding to prose and folklore is a great way of manifesting this.
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Have you always known you would be an artist?
It’s a cliche, but yes! I have. I remember saying I’d like to be an illustrator when I was 5 years old. I suppose when you’re born with a knack for something that you start doing from a really early age it’s easier to seem divinatory.
You were a guitarist in the awesome band Novella. Do you ever have the urge to perform again?
I do. But I’m not sure it’ll be happening any time soon. Writing music is more like therapy for me nowadays.
Lino cutting is a slow paced, considered medium. Do your ideas grow as you carve or do you try work within your concept?
I very much plan everything before any cutting starts – It’s an unforgiving medium where mistakes can’t be undone. As I work commercially a lot, I need to make sure that a very fine tuned sketch is approved by the client which I then transfer to the lino and carve.
Can you give me a brief description of a typical day for you?
I get in to my studio for about 9 or 10, and then it really depends on what jobs are happening, but I’ll either sit down to a day of carving lino which will end in a print being made, or a day sketching on my iPad. I always take my dog Patty for a walk at lunch time, which stretches both of our legs.
We live in a rapid world of impatient consumers that expect speedy results. Are your clients sympathetic to the time it takes to produce when working on commission?
Amazingly, yes they are. I think I work quite quickly which helps, but my clients are really respectful of the process and its idiosyncrasies…be that the time it takes or the difficulty in making any changes once the print has been made.
Is living in Brighton, with its sea and landscape, an inspiration to your work? What else inspires you?
I’m not sure if it directly inspires my work in a way that can be seen, but being able to feel like there’s space around me (be that the sea or the downs) is a need of mine which totally aids my creativity. When ideas aren’t coming to me in my studio, I’ll go out for an hour’s stroll on the beach and something will always pop into my head.
What art hangs on the walls in your home and what artist, if given the chance would you like to meet?
Amongst other things I’ve got a couple of big brass rubbings from local churches framed alongside some 60’s music posters by my favourite artist from that era; Victor Moscoso. I’d be up for having a chat with him for sure.
Finally, what advice have you for all the gifted, struggling creatives out there?
Never give up and don’t overwhelm yourself by looking too far into the future. Set yourself achievable, small goals and take them on step by step. Also, personal work is so important when it comes to moulding yourself into the artist you want to be.
