Freya MacPhail is a self-taught artist. Painting, illustration, and design. She has her own Etsy business where she sells prints and paintings. She also does freelance illustration and design work. Her cards and prints are sold worldwide through her publishers. She lives with her partner, two daughters, and cat Susie. @freya_macphail
Can you describe how your early life in Scotland has been a source of inspiration? I was born in Glasgow, Scotland, in the 1980s to a Scottish father and a Swiss mother. I moved from Scotland to Switzerland when I was 5 years old. We moved to a tiny village of less than 100 people in the mountains, which was surrounded by nature. The scenery was definitely a massive influence; however, I did also draw lots and lots of people. Silly little characters and stories to go with them. I would spend hours drawing homemade little picture books. I also spent time drawing with my maternal grandfather, who himself was a talented artist. I always loved picture books and the beautiful illustrations in them. To this day, I love drawing people and situations and little scenes that I might observe day to day. Illustration, especially that of the 1960s and 70’s, has had a big impact on my own style today. I also loved cartoons and again specifically the early ones, 70s cartoon characters like Mr Benn, Ivor the Engine, Roobarb and Custard, and King Rollo. I still love them so much.
When did you first fall in love with art and realize you wanted to be an artist? For you, what is the importance of the arts? I can’t pinpoint an exact time; however, the feeling has been with me since early childhood. My parents used to take me to the Kelvingrove art gallery in Glasgow from when I was just a tiny baby, and I still visit regularly now with my own kids. It has a special place in my heart. Maybe subconsciously it started there!
What does your typical day in the studio look like? Walk us through your studio and your most used materials and tools. I would love a studio! I don’t currently have the space for one; however, I have my eye on our attic space, which we intend to convert at some point in the future, and that would be the perfect place to have one. It depends on what I’m doing. I used to paint in our kitchen; however, we recently renovated, so I am a bit worried about painting in there at the moment. I still need to figure out where the best place would be to do this going forward. As for drawing, these days I will do most of my drawing on my iPad, which allows me to draw anywhere in the house. Quite often, I will sit on the sofa late at night, scribbling away. For my paintings, I have been using oil and acrylic paint. I am still quite new to painting, I feel like I have so, so much to learn still.
What projects are you at work on at the moment? And what themes or ideas are currently driving your work? I currently have some time to work on some personal illustration projects, which is my favorite thing to do. I am so inspired by early picture books. Again, my favorite era would be the 1960s & 70s. Lots of illustrations of people just going about their day-to-day lives. Most of the time, these are imagined scenes. I don’t tend to use reference photos for inspiration. I will see an image and get a sense of the overall feeling or color, and that might inspire and take me in a specific direction. I might see something on TV or something that my kids do or say. I like observing people. I am an introvert, so I naturally stand back and watch.
What do you hope people feel when they experience your art? What are you trying to express? I would love my work to translate a sense of nostalgia, fun, and a little bit of weird.
Which artists, past or present, would you like to meet? And why? There are so many I love, I find it almost impossible to just stick to one. Lots of illustrators, but my all-time favorite is probably David McKee. I also wouldn’t mind having a chat with Judith Kerr. Henry Rousseau, Marisol, Celestetino Piatti, Alasdair Gray so so many. I would love to just speak to them about inspiration and where they feel it comes from. We all know that feeling when we hit just the right groove, that flow when it just pours out of you. I wish I could bottle that and keep it in a cupboard somewhere and drink it as and when needed. They might be able to give me some insight!
Do you draw inspiration from music, art, or other disciplines? I don’t know where it comes from. What I do know is that I have to be on my own for some time, extended periods of time, for me to be able to let it happen. If I am at all too influenced by people around me or their opinions, it tends to shut me down. I have a need to be invisible to feel like I can create. I hate being observed. I think for me, being able to create and to share what I have created is such a weird thing. It is not in my nature to want to be in the spotlight, so it is this strange push and pull of wanting to be isolated but also wanting to share something of me with others. Music is another thing that I like to have on in the background. I find it guides the direction of whatever I’m working on, even if just in a subtle way.
A great thing about living in Glasgow is… I live just outside of Glasgow in a small town that has a lovely community feel to it. It is still close enough to the city when I feel the need to dip into that energy, but also close enough to nature that I can go for a long walk and not come across too many people.
Can you describe a project that challenged you creatively or emotionally—and how you worked through it? I started painting last year, and it has been a massive learning curve for me. At times, I really doubted if this was for me, as I can be a little impatient with the process, especially with myself. It really is just perseverance and the realization that you are likely to make a lot of rubbish before something just clicks and it turns into an idea or a technique you can work with. The frustration felt at times and not liking anything I was producing was and still is hard, but the overall well-being I get from painting and drawing has changed my life. The meditative nature of it, being absorbed in a bubble, not thinking about anything apart from what is in front of you, feels like breathing again for the first time. I definitely want to paint more in the future.
Tell us about important teachers/mentors/collaborators in your life. I wish I could have more positive things to say about my teachers in the past. I never really took to the idea of having a mentor or a teacher. Yes, a lot can be learnt; however, for me personally, I find it stifles my creativity. It blocks me from what I want to do. I have to come to the idea of something myself. I went through many years not believing that I could be an artist that anybody would even want to look at my art, until I just couldn’t bear not doing anything about it anymore, and I just had to do it. I am self-taught, and I think it suits me that way. I have toyed with the idea of going to art school, but I think again, for me, it just doesn’t suit my personality. Too many demands, and I tend to just recoil from that. Having said all that, I have had the opportunity to work with a few amazing people in the last couple of years doing Freelance design projects, which I have really enjoyed, and also working with my publishers to get my prints and cards out in the world has been really rewarding. I am so grateful that I have been given so many new opportunities in the last couple of years, it really has helped me learn how to work with people their needs and wants and how to communicate with them to ultimately get the best results for them.
Sustainability in the art world is an important issue. Can you share a memory or reflection about the beauty and wonder of the natural world? Does being in nature inspire your art or your process? Nature is definitely a big part of my art. Scotland has so much natural beauty, and a lot of it is easily accessible, not far from the city. I do love drawing and painting flowers, plants, and trees. I tend to go for long walks in the forest. I love seeing the seasons change. I do go through phases of going for lots of walks and being out and about and taking it all in, to then, on the flip side, isolating myself in my house and creating. It has its own little cycle, as does nature. It changes and ebbs and flows, and that’s how I like to think about my own inspiration and creativity.
AI is changing everything - the way we see the world, creativity, art, our ideas of beauty and the way we communicate with each other and our imaginations. What are your reflections about AI and technology? What is the importance of human art and handmade creative works over industrialized creative practices? I think, like many of us, AI can seem quite scary. For me personally, I don’t like to think about it too much, as it will send me into a spiral. However, I would like to think that art made by an actual human being is what connects us to who we are. It’s the process of a person having a thought and bringing that thought into being with a human touch. It could be argued that AI is doing the same thing, but I feel like it removes that essential human thoughtfulness, the meditative aspect, and flow from it. To see a piece that another human has physically taken time to think about and create is what makes art what it is. I may eat my words one day, but I have this feeling that people will always have a want and need for human connection, and art has always been one way of experiencing it. AI to me seems like a kind of consumerist way of mass-producing art. Having said all that, I am not against technology. As I mentioned earlier, I do a lot of my drawing on my iPad, which has streamlined the process for me in a way that allows me to fit my art around my family life. There can also be a snobbery around using technology, which I don’t think is particularly helpful. For me, as long as I am still physically drawing, I am happy with how these tools can help the process along. I do, however, draw the line with AI art.
Exploring ideas, art and the creative process connects me to… who I am and what it means to be human.
