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Glasgow Jenny

Our leaflet for Glasgow Wildfest this year was illustrated by the artist Stuart Hatt. He tells us a bit about how he came up with the design.

Hi! My Name is Stuart Hatt and I run ‘The Squid & Nib’ – an independent art and illustration company. I work in watercolour and black ink, mostly, for a wide spectrum of clients and have most recently launched my own Apparel Company with my artwork screen printed onto T-shirts!

When I found out I was working with RSPB Scotland I was over the moon. I’ve a love of wildlife and the natural environment, which you can see in much of my work. I’d recently been painting birds for a personal project so I was raring to go.

I’ d previously done a seascape painting, which was very much the same feel as I wanted the RSPB poster to have. As you can see it’s bright, detailed and packed to the brim with content. I felt this would be a really good concept for the RSPB poster as it reflects the wildlife in and around our city – wherever you look, you’ll find something.

 As with most of my watercolour paintings I start by gathering reference photos and for this painting there were a lot! I think I’ve counted over 115 plants, animals and birds in it. Once the reference photos are all gathered I draw out a pencilled drawing of all the creatures. I work from the bottom up and fill the page as I travel up the page. I met with the RPSB to make sure they were happy then it was time to Ink it up. This took about two days and at the end of it I scanned the drawing in to make a line drawing which you can now colour in. 

Last step is breaking open my watercolour paints and getting stuck in. This took about three days to complete. I particularly like the windows on the Kibble Palace and the trees packed with birds. I’m really happy with the outcome, I hope you all like it too! 


You can find out more about Stuart through the links below: 

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Squidnibs/              

portfolio: www.squidandnib.wixsite.com/home  

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/squidandnib/                 

Shop: www.etsy.com/people/squidandnib