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• On The Street, Tokyo… Aya X Marguerite Sauvage Illustration

  You know, you’re talking to a self made illustrator, so my technique is like working in the kitchen without a cookbook ! Hopefully I’ve got good ingredients and luck
  - Marguerite Sauvage

  

  _________________________________
  
  Illustration by Marguerite Sauvage

  

  Hi Marguerite, how are you? You are a French illustrator currently living in Sydney, Australia, is that right?

  Bonjour, I’m fine, and yes, you’re totally right.

  How did you end up in Australia? Some might think that for the creative arts (especially fashion) someone might make the reverse journey - Australia to France? Does lifestyle come into it?

  It’s a long story, and it has nothing to do with fashion, you know ! And guess what : Australian people, specially in Sydney, are very very fashionable ! The street style is quite gorgeous in some areas, for example in Surry Hills or Newtown or Glebe, I could define it a little bit like Shibuya streets in Tokyo (not the Harajuku funny mixed style, but the much more elegant inner city style) mixed up with the fantasy of a Londonian Camden…and…a lot of hipsters !

  I got to know about your work through having collaborated with Ëlodie - I saw a post she shared on Facebook with a very large illustration piece of yours in the Paris Metro for the Rock en Seine festival - it looked awesome! How was that as a project to work on?

  We’ve never collaborated together, but we’re colleagues and some kind of Facebook warm friends (which means we exchange some nice PMs with each other). And yes, she helped me to get some photos of the Grimes poster I did for Rock en Seine. It was a fantastic project ! It’s first of all a lot of pressure because I was working on a huge scale, plus I was selected among some very talented and very famous (much much more than me) artists ! The Rock en Seine staff were very cool and helpful, and I got total freedom. It’s the kind of project you dream of in an illustrator’s life !

  Aside from that project, you’ve got a really great body of work and list of projects/clients on your profile: Elle, Flaunt, Apple, Motorola (to name a few), features in books by Taschen and Monsa (and more) and quite a few illustration awards too. Although when I mentioned about your projects and profile to you in an introduction email you replied in a very modest way. Do you feel like you’ve already achieved something quite significant or is there still a lot more you want to do?

  Hum, first of all I’m just shy and simple living, which really means my client list is just that and I suppose I’d only say that I’m a good professional ? My career now spans ten years, so yes ok it’s a fact and I guess I’m conscious about it, but there’s still plenty of challenges, dreams or desired works, and I’m pretty sure I can still improve my art again and again in the future ! Secondly, I answered your email with enthusiasm also because I found your work very very nice !

  Too kind! But I appreciate it and I love how people within the creative community can feed off each other and work together for collaborations. Getting into the specifics of your illustration and style, colour seems to be a dominant feature of your work - bold blocks of colours, coloured lines, use of complimentary colours. But also it has kind of a graphic design element. Would you agree with that? I suppose it’s hard to break illustration and art down to just techniques?

  Yes I agree, and you know, you’re talking to a self made illustrator, so my technique is like working in the kitchen without a cookbook ! Hopefully I’ve got good ingredients and luck.

  And illustration isn’t the only focus in your work right? - you also do animation, creative direction, script writing as part of a creative studio?

  I don’t work on the animations as an animator, I do character design and art direction in the field of animation, especially on Monsieur Loutre, a program I co-created for children. I’m just a fidgeting artist, I’m happy to feed my creativity with new fields, medias, meetings, etc. I’m fond of a lot of art types, so if I get the opportunity to have new experiences, I take it !

  So where do you see the future taking you? Or is it a case of just let it happen how it happens and keep on doing more and more!

  Hum, for the moment I have to get used to my new country - Australia - and to figure out if I will get some success here, or if I will have the opportunity to work on other types of projects or structures. I just keep working hard and keep my mind open.

  Finally, do you have a favourite quote or saying that really defines who you are and what you do?

  I’m a fidget !

  - Marguerite Sauvage
  Portfolio at www.margueritesauvage.com

  by La Mode Outré
  30 Jul 2012