Born in a seaside town in the south of England in 1988, illustrator, author, and designer Rob Hodgson took to art at an early age. “I think drawing comes before words and I’m still really interested in that level of communication,” he admitted in an interview with Artflakes.
After several years working as a pool boy and listening exclusively to sad music, he enrolled in art school. “At university, I learned so much,” he says. “I read as much as I could and soaked it all up. I lived with diverse image-makers – comics artists, filmmakers, painters. It’s so healthy to be around a lot of people, otherwise, I’d get too serious and fall down a hole.”
Today he lives in Bristol where he spends his days making a mess and turning it into quality illustration projects and books. Approaching his work with a curiosity of techniques, he is equally to be found rummaging around in the trash for unlikely materials, as he is buried in a computer working on new digital processes.
“I make pictures in quite a traditional sense,” he says. “I am concerned with elements of design in an image- shape, line, color, and composition. Early 20thC ideas. I like to write and draw.” The result is whimsical and child-like, evoking feelings of nostalgia. Here are some highlights from his Instagram page:
