Georgie McAusland on refusing expensive tools to get more “squish and texture” into her drawings

Georgie McAusland recently decided to stop drawing with the good stuff. Instead of reaching for expensive papers and paints, the illustrator found that she can find “even more squish and texture” with smudgy pencil, gouache and pastel drawings. “I don’t like things to look too perfect – I want the human element to shine through,” Georgie says. “By using a variety of techniques in my work I am always searching for an atmospheric depth.”

Loose, but wonderfully detailed, the artist’s distinct mark making has shaped a number of editorial illustration commissions for The New York Times, The Cut and Apartamento as well as illustrated novels and books. “I do a lot of personal work in-between projects to keep pushing my work forward and building confidence with my techniques,” she says. The illustrator regularly documents these dreamy daily sketchbook sprawlings over on her Instagram page, and has increasingly been drawing inspiration on location: “I used to draw a lot of inspiration from magical practices and folkloric traditions, but now I’m more focused on the everyday, what’s happening in the park or under the table in a cafe,” she shares.

As a bit of a magpie, the artist finds inspiration for her illustration work by playing with all the other disciplines and other techniques she’s started as side-quests: “especially animation, printmaking and ceramics”, Georgie says. Set up for making in her shared studio in Barcelona, Buffet Lliure, she’s constantly propelled by all of the other creatives that surround her: “They inspire me in my everyday life and practice through problem solving, workshops and sharing new techniques,” she says. “It’s a bit like being back at uni!”