Deborah is everything you would expect from a middle-aged, menopausal women experiencing a mid-life crisis. Yes, she is sometimes engulfed with an irrational inner rage which threatens to overwhelm her, night sweats, and endless fretting over collagen supplements, but more than that she is on a mission to correct her life’s biggest mistake: never taking art at university and forging a career in the creative industries.
Education-wise Deborah has a BA in Philosophy and Sociology from the University of Leeds; a PGCE from the University of Cambridge, and a BTEC (Level 3) Foundation Diploma in Art and Design which had resulted in an undergraduate offer at Loughborough University to study Graphic Communication and Illustration – a place which she was unable to eventually take up due to family circumstances. A secondary school teacher by profession Deborah has two (now grown up) children whom she homeschooled until they were too feral to contain. To stop her brain oozing out of her ear holes with monotony and boredom during the small years she kept herself sane with an embarrassing amount of crafts and hobbies, gardening, knitting, photography, making and quilt-making, eventually publishing her own online magazine entitled, ‘TEND – nourishing a mindful life’ between the years 2014 – 16. Since ending her marriage and moving back home to the coast of Cumbria Deborah has set her ship firmly in the direction of a career in illustration – taking online courses, sketching and sketching and sketching, and delving into the history of illustration and the many giants of the field. Her true passion is in conceptual illustration, as well as children’s book illustration, especially editorial and book covers. When she is not avidly working she loves nothing better than café-hopping, people-watching, sketching on location, visiting art galleries and museums and talking about herself in third person. |
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