Hello, I’m Gemma.
I’m a freelance Illustrator and comic-making person.
I currently live in Norwich, UK with my trusty sidekick-Pugs , Mr Norman Pickles and Bella.
My wonderful agents are: NB Illustration (UK) and Anna Goodson Management (Worldwide)
What other people are saying about my work …
“wtf. worst cartoons ever!” – Luc Hook Walker of Australia
“ugly, pig-faced drawings” – Angry Canadian lady
“so, do you draw anything other than cats?” – various people
Some people that I have worked for:
the new york times (us)
anorak magazine (uk)
toyota (uk)
family circle (us)
laurence king (uk)
macmillan (uk)
the guardian (uk)
hermés (france/uk)
pearson education (uk)
the poetry society (uk)
frankie magazine (australia)
ling magazine (spain)
selected stockists (online)
buy olympia dot com
little otsu dot com
hannah zakari dot com
the-green-apple dot co dot uk
superjuju dot de
potential stockists:
please see my wholesale page to view products and place your order.
You can see my T-shirts over at New Standard
“Pickle Parade” Greetings cards at HotchPotch
and badges and magnets at Badge Bomb
exhibitions (upcoming)
Pokémon Battle Royale, Light Grey Art Lab, Minneapolis MN (april 2012)
earthly delights, Light Grey Art Lab, Minneapolis MN (july 2012)
(past)
gemma correll @ cream espai creatiu, Barcelona (jan-feb 2012)
hope is the thing with feathers, golden thread gallery, Belfast (dec 2011)
beyond the empty @ needles and pens, San Francisco (sep-nov 2011)
dead good, Leeds (oct 2011)
What If… art and found objects from another universe, Chicago (aug 2011)
solo show @ tatty devine, London (june 2011)
looking for trouble, Nottingham (june 2011)
the 100€ show @ Wieden + Kennedy, Amsterdam (May 2011)
girls who draw : magic :: Solihul (april, 2011)
The Unicorn :: Narwhal, Toronto (Dec 2010)
ADC Young Guns :: ADC gallery, New York (oct 2010)
the dino show :: double punch, San Francisco (oct 2010)
the monster show :: domy books, Austin TX (oct 2010)
turn up the colour :: analogue, Edinburgh (july-aug 2010)
girls who draw : misfits @ here and now :: Falmouth (july 2010)
ilustation / the mascot show :: duduá, Barcelona (june 2010)
Portland Prints :: 19Ten Gallery, Portland OR (march 2010)
Milk Gone Mad! Paper Toy show :: Beyoglu, Turkey (january 21 – february 11 2010)
the €100 show @ Hotel de Vil, Stuttgart (november 2009)
small stuff 3 @ bear and bird gallery :: Launderhill FL (december 2009)
art trek :: antwerp, belgium (july – september 2009)
gemma correll solo show @ the soup gallery, truro (july 2009)
MailMeArt :: London (april 2009)
artypeeps @ the troupadour gallery, London (april 2009)
lazy oaf’s drawing club :: London (april 2009)
publications
what I wore today :: (octopus, 2012)
i heart stationery :: (rotovision, 2011)
the tote bag :: (laurence king, 2011)
uppercase work/life :: (uppercase, 2011)
ADC Young Guns annual :: (ADC NY, 2010)
3×3 Awards annual :: (3×3, 2010)
VELO : the bike book :: (gestalten, 2010)
the bigger book of fashion illustration (2010)
art trek :: the book :: (2010)
the exciting world of pattern design :: (zeixs, 2010)
printpattern :: the book (laurence king/chronicle, 2010)
“this is a zine” :: (café royal, 2009)
global contexts of illustration :: (mark wigan, AVA, 2009)
INK this- tattoo art (mao mao publications, spain, 2009)
O2 magazine: Paradise (china, 2009)
INK international illustration exhibition catalogue (2009)
illustrated fonts (linksbooks, spain, 2009)
MAiLmeART (2008)
the secrets of digital illustration- (rotovision/zeegan, uk, 2007)
awards
ADC Young Guns 8 (2010) Selected
3×3 Professional Show (2010) Selected
Where did you study?
I went to art school in Norwich (England) – I have a BA (hons) degree in Graphic Design specialising in Illustration.
Why do your illustrations look like a five year old drew them?
I hire a five year old to do all my work for me. I pay him in fudge. His name is Alan.
Are you available for an interview on my blog?
Maybe… e-mail me at gemmacorrell at gmail dot com
What’s your favourite colour?
Turquoise.
What’s your starsign?
Aquarius.
What’s your favourite word?
Albuquerque.
What are your favourite Movies/Tv shows/ Books?
Movies – The Rocky Horror Picture Show, La Vie en Rose, Wayne’s World, Monty Python’s Life of Brian, The Royal Tenenbaums, Anything by Michel Gondry or featuring Gael Garcia Bernal.
TV Shows – Project Runway, Louis Theroux’s documentaries, anything involving models or Australian people. I don’t actually have a TV though.
Books – I’ll just tell you some authors that I like, or we’ll be here forever – Bill Bryson, Jeffrey Eugenides, Torey Hayden, Margaret Atwood. I like books, I do. I have a Goodreads page, here.
How do you scan your images / contrast them / clean them up?
I scan my images into photoshop and then use the “Levels” tool to adjust the black/white until I’m happy with the result. Same if the image is in colour, although that makes it a bit trickier to get the balance right. I just use the good ol’ fashioned eraser tool for any mistakes (although often, I’ll just leave the mistakes in the drawing)
Which pens do you use?
I use PITT artist pens, Uniball Eye and UniPin fineliners, as well and Kuretake ZIG Art & graphics Twin. For colouring, I use Letraset markers, PITT brush pens, Kuretake brush markers and Kuretake Clean Colour brush pens. For murals, I like Posca paint pens, or Kuretake “Paintys”
Are you related/married to Damien Correll?
No. It is funny that we have the same surname though, as it is quite an unusual one…. but we live in different countries.
Is being an illustrator a real job?
No, it’s a fake job. I actually run a very successful drug smuggling ring. I just pretend to draw things and distract people with my cute pug.
Who are your favourite artists?
Margaret Kilgallen, Jim Houser, Camilla Engman, Lab partners, Sandra Juto, Beatrice Alemagna, Elisabeth Dunker, Quentin Blake, Tom Gauld, Simone Lia, Sara Fanelli, Ray Fenwick, Aya Kakeda, Carson Ellis, Brian Rea, Oliver Jeffers, Mary Blair, David Hughes, Harriet Russell, Anouk Ricard, Lizzy Stewart, Mia Christopher, Julia Pott, Lizz Lunney, Marc Johns, Anke Weckmann, Jen Collins, Maira Kalman, Liza Donnelly … the list goes on, but my fingers are tired.
I post a lot of my favourite illustrators and artists on my Tumblr blog – Drinking the Paint Water.