This week I sat down with an incredible artist from Edinburgh College of Art to discuss their work and see what drives their practice. Bertie Bone is a student on the MA Illustration course and the best way I can put it is that Bertie’s work is bursting with life. Before we get into it, you can find Bertie on Instagram @bertie.art.comics if you are interested in exploring their style.
Bertie’s art emphasises a love for storytelling and character development, which began through comic book making as a child. Influenced predominantly by their artistic friends, their grandfather’s printmaking, and the easy accessibility of webcomics, it’s no surprise that their work is so full of love and life. Exploring these webcomics gave Bertie a sense of possibility, realising that “if they can do it, I can do it!”
After growing up in Portugal and attending music school from age six (clarifying, “don’t think I went to private school, please!”) Bertie went to university in London to study music. Following such a stressful and competitive course, Bertie took a year away from studies, before finding the MA Illustration course at ECA, and feeling the excitement about their craft that is so crucial.
Mainly utilising digital drawing softwares and coloured pencils, their work is vibrant, fun, and expressive, both through content and colour. With a distinct style that reflects their personality, Bertie’s skills translate through various mediums, including collage and printmaking. They expressed a desire to further develop their printmaking skills and use of colour, as well as trialing other projects such as board game design, children’s books, and making an analogue-style comic.
Bertie has a wide range of beautiful artworks and sketches that I had the privilege of seeing, with one of my favourite pieces being a dutch lino print of a woman, using a limited colour palette and incredibly distinct line work. Their use of shape and colour is what I find to be most expressive throughout their characters, but this piece holds a sense of vulnerability and depth that’s incredibly beautiful.
They also discussed one of their long running projects, a comic series called Monstrous Youth “following three teenagers in Devon, going through magical transformations and falling in love.” This work epitomises Bertie’s art, full of love, life, colour, and expression. Seeing the artworks involved in this project, and the process behind it, really emphasises Bertie’s skill both as an illustrator and storyteller. I will definitely be giving it a read!
Sitting down to learn about such wonderful art and the process behind it was fascinating, and seeing the passion behind these pieces was incredibly special. Art is such a unique way to learn about, and express, oneself. As put by Bertie, art is a way to “get things out of my brain and into the world.” I would definitely recommend checking out Bertie’s work to bring a bit of joy and whimsy into your day.
Image courtesy of Bertie Bone.
