Meet Owen Davey | Illustrator

We had the good fortune of connecting with Owen Davey and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Owen, what was your thought process behind starting your own business?
As a kid, I was asked what I wanted to do when I grew up and I said I wanted to write and draw pictures for children’s books. I was pretty single-minded about that throughout education, and most illustrators work freelance, so that’s why I’ve built my own business.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
I like to work with simplification and geometry in my work, limited colour palettes and fun and engaging imagery. I’ve worked on everything from advertising and apps, to editorial spot illustrations and children’s books. The project I’m probably most proud of is my ‘About Animals’ series with Flying Eye Books. I have so far created 8 books in this series, and each one explores one particular groups of animals at a time; Mad About Monkeys, Smart About Sharks, Crazy About Cats, Bonkers About Beetles, Fanatical About Frogs, Obsessive About Octopuses, Curious About Crocodiles and Passionate About Penguins. They’re won several awards, but most importantly, I’ve received messages from numerous biologists and parents (sometimes both), praising the books and sharing how much they enjoy them. Non-fiction books are still a little niche (although becoming much less so), so that kind of feedback means a lot to me.

I’ve been working in the Illustration industry for 13 years and I’ve had a lot of luck along the way, with people taking chances on me, and getting me jobs when I’ve felt very much out of my depth. But I’ve also worked very hard and I pride myself on always meeting deadlines (no matter how intense), and creating the best quality work for my clients. One of the things I’ve had to learn along the way is to stick up for myself with certain clients because not everybody respects creators in the way they should and it’s important for both myself and the wider industry that people are treated right and that commissions are conducted in a professional manner. Some people have the viewpoint that artists should just feel thankful to get work, and of course, we are, but this artistic pursuit is also our career, and we have put many years into practising our craft and getting good at what we do – we should be paid appropriately and treated as the professionals we are.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
I’m based in Worthing and it’s an amazing thriving community full of creatives and amazing food. So I would most likely take them to ‘Found’ and ‘Inspired’, two excellent illustration-based shops full of awesome artworks and products by local sellers and companies such as ‘Hello Dodo’ who create fun, bright and ethical clothing. I would take them to the excellent Colonade House to look at whatever is on at the gallery and maybe visit some of the brilliant illustrators and animators who work in the studios upstairs, like ‘Persistent Peril’, an excellent animation studio, or John Bond, who is the author/illustrator of the ‘Mini Rabbit’ series. A wander along the seafront promenade shows various other open-air galleries, the lovely pier, numerous ice-cream shops and some more beach-facing studios. I’d probably take them to a film at the Dome too, which is a grade II listed cinema showing a full range of movies.

Food and drink-wise, I’d head to Coast for a cake, which is right next to the beach and has a great sandy play park behind it, as well as a splash pad for kids to run around and play in. Level One is a great place for a drink and for a group with mixed tastes – you find your table and order from the range of street-food style vendors around the outside, including pop-ups from companies like ‘Vegan Noms’ who do excellent vegan burgers and chips. You can find some great vegan doughnuts from ‘Cat Burglar Dough Co.’ in Hisbe, an ethical supermarket, or pootle down to ‘Baked’ for the best brownies I’ve ever eaten. In the same area is Yamu Yamu which does delicious Japanese street food, and ‘Pizza Face’ which does great pizzas and sells ‘Boho Gelato’ for afters.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
There are obviously many people that have helped me out in my career, from the friends that have helped give me feedback on work, to my parents who never once tried to dissuade me from my artistic ambitions (which is definitely not a given for many people). Professionally, I was given amazing foundations by the tutors at Falmouth University, and my agents Folio Art have helped me turn that into a thriving career. And I genuinely couldn’t do the work I do without the support and help from my partner, Amy.

Website: www.owendavey.com

Instagram: @owendaveydraws

Twitter: @owendaveydraws

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