{sneakypeek}

Great Scot! Sneakypeeking Katy Smail

Ever come across your favourite childhood frock wedged in the back of your wardrobe?

It’s that moment’s feeling of nostalgia and girly affection that we get from  Katy Smail’s illustrations.

Growing up in Scotland’s historic Edinburgh, Katy snagged a degree in honours from Edinburgh College of Art before moving to New York to continue drawing enchanting girls and designer dresses.

Since then, she’s been featured on Topshop’s site, illustrated a book and stolen Sneakypeek’s heart away with her whimsical creations. Please meet the sweetest Scot of them all.

{ How would you describe your style? }

fragile, melancholy, wistful, magical, story-telling, handmade, figurative, emotive.

{ When did you realise you could draw? }

When I was 16 and I finally got an inspiring art teacher who was kind to me (the previous guy had spent most of his energy convincing me never to bother lifting a pencil again).

{ If you could go back in time and illustrate the front cover of a classic novel, which would it be? }

Ah so hard to choose! Something beautiful with a terribly tragic female character; “Tess of the D’Urbervilles”, “Anna Karenina” or “Jane Eyre”.

{ What’s the story behind the the girls you illustrate? }

Each girl is different but there are recurrent themes of broken hearts, longing, desire, abandonment, and fragile love. I never really know the story until I start drawing; it tends to materialise on the page. Usually around the eyebrows…

{ What inspires you? }

The starting point for an illustration can be anything from a line in a novel to a hand gesture in a painting to a beautiful dress, but in a larger sense I am constantly inspired to make drawings that turn sadness into beauty. Old books, dusty trees and stolen kisses help!