Zoë More O'Ferrall — Pen & Ink Illustrator, London

Zoe More O’Ferrall’s studio is situated in Notting Hill. It’s a prime position for an illustrator who loves markets. She’s right next to Golborne Road Antiques Market and minutes away from Portobello Road with its famous stalls selling old papers, postcards, vintage clothing, furniture, prints and more. Further inspiration comes from a love of film and photography, like the colourful and imaginative work of Autumn de Wilde, Tim Walker, Wes Anderson and Juergen Teller. BBC Radio 4 is played constantly in her studio as she creates imagery for fashion and food brands, retailers, advertising agencies, publishers and more.

Training

Zoe’s training began at Wimbledon School of Art, and she went on to do a BA at the London College of Communication as well as a postgraduate course at Central Saint Martins.

Approach

Zoe usually works in pen and ink – she has a broad collection of pens to choose from - and loves to draw by hand. She only uses a computer to plan compositions and to touch up the handmade images. Now and again she’ll experiment with collage and screen printing too.

Style

Her work is based on strong lines yet has a very whimsical quality to it. She enjoys capturing the feeling of places when possible, particularly architecture. Originally, her use of colour was constrained but today she’s more comfortable with it, using bright splashes as part of the composition to sit alongside the strong graphical impression her drawing makes. It’s a similar story when it comes to detail – sometimes simplicity is the key, but now and then she likes to push herself and work a great deal more into the piece.

Client list

British Vogue The Wall Street Journal The Guardian Mr Porter Harrods Propercorn New York Magazine Topshop Mumford and Sons National Geographic J Crew Tesco The Times The Washington Post The Evening Standard Esquire Absolut Vodka Renault Esprit BBC The Mayor of London Stella Artois The Red Cross More Than JWT Mother VCCP Ogilvy