Something I don't talk about much here is the work I do with Yo Illo. For those that don't know, Yo Illo is an illustrator's meetup in London. It's a monthly meetup where illustrators can get away from their lonely studio and meet up with their peers, colleagues and partner's in crime. It's been a vital part of my journey as an illustrator.
It's been running for almost 5 years, steered by the steadfast captain, Rob Barrett and over the last few years I've become more involved by running Yo Illo Berlin and co-ordinating some of our events.
This month became an exciting turning point for Yo Illo as we hosted our first ever Yo Illo Talks! It's something we'd been thinking about for a while, so we were really excited when we were offered a space by digital agency ustwo to host our talks.
Our first event saw talented and successful illustrators, Kerry Lemon and Vic Lee coming along to talk about their large scale and mural work. Both Vic and Kerry have been coming along to Yo Illo for a couple of years, so it's rewarding to be able to hear what they've been up to in detail and to discuss their strategies and process.
It was a real success. In part because of the generosity of ustwo (so much pizza and beer!) but mainly because of the wonderful people that came along. It made me feel blessed to realise how much YoIllo has developed a community over the last few years. There were a lot of regular faces of course, but lots of new faces too and it gave me a fuzzy feeling inside to note that no-one was sitting on their own. Illustration can be a solitary career, often occupied by introverts and worriers. It's sometimes difficult to put yourself out there; especially when you're starting out. I'm glad that YoIllo offers a place where we can feel at home.
Here's some pictures by the ever lovely Rob Cartwright. If you'd like to see more, then head over to the Yo Illo facebook page.