August 2023 - Lilla Rogers

Welcome to A Day In The Life of our stellar artist, Tequitia Andrews. Take a look into her life as a full-time illustrator.

Tequitia Andrews

Tequitia Andrews (pronounced ta-key-ta) is an artist and illustrator from Richmond, Virginia.

A graduate of Virginia State University, Tequitia didn’t pursue a career as an artist until her 30’s.

Starting off primarily as a painter, Tequitia took an independent learning journey in all the different facets of art making. She found her voice in the world of illustration.

A typical day for me looks like…I’m a night owl, but I try to start my day around 10 a.m. It’s summer right now, but usually homeschooling lessons are at the start of the day and then I start work in the afternoon until dinner.

If I am on a deadline, after dinner I’ll work until my eyes become blurry. Otherwise, I may play around in my sketchbook. To help me unwind from the day, I play endless games of Solitaire while watching TV or listening to an audiobook.

My favorite project so far…An Earth Song by Langston Hughes, published by Cameron Books.

Langston Hughes is one of my favorite poets, so it was an honor. Also, this was the first book where I came up with concept completely on my own.

It was wonderful, (and also intimidating) to be given the assignment with confidence that what I came up with would be great.

Above: Artwork from An Earth Song (Cameron Books)

Buy it here.

My favorite art tools are…Pen and paper. And it’s funny because I am an art supply junkie. I have all these paints, pencils, markers, crayons, etc. yet I normally default to a good pen and plain sketchbook. My favorite pens are microns and brush pens.

I’m looking forward to…Getting back into traditional painting. I’ve been working digitally (iPad and Photoshop) for the past few years and while it has made some aspects of art making easier and transportable, I really miss creating on canvas.

In my free time I like to…Spend time with my husband and children. I consider myself somewhat of a crafter, but the truth is I have a closet and a table full of unfinished projects. So my free time is spent playing Solitaire.

Thanks Tequitia!

You can see more of Tequitia’s beautiful illustration work here.

We’re thrilled to announce the publication of Ruth Burrows’ new

“how-to” book which she wrote and illustrated. Read our interview with the inimitable Ruth, below.

Ruth Burrows

The Illustrators Guide to Procreate: How to make digital art on your iPad, written and illustrated by Ruth Burrows, published by David & Charles.

Buy it here.

“Artist and illustrator Ruth Burrows takes a beginner-friendly, jargon-free approach to explaining how to get the most from Procreate, delivering not a heavy technical manual but rather, an inspirational workbook that encourages you to play, make mistakes and seek out your own way of using the app.”

From Ruth:

I’m very proud of writing and illustrating my own book about Procreate.

I love the fact that the book is now out in the world, people are reading it and doing the projects and sending me messages to say how much it is helping them!

What did you learn from doing this project?

I learned that I actually enjoy writing and really enjoyed the process of breaking down the projects into steps and organising the screenshots in a way that helps the reader understand how the app works.

Were there challenges on this project?

The challenges were all time-related. I had to kind of start and finish each project in one sitting so I didn’t lose momentum. That made for some pretty late nights!

What was the original inspiration for the book?

I was approached by the publisher who had the original idea to do a book about Procreate for illustrators.

Where did you find inspiration for this project?

I found inspiration from my own practice. I love to apply my illustrations and artwork to different products like greetings cards, tote bags, fabric, mugs and coasters. I wanted the people to understand that the work you make on Procreate can be applied in so many different ways.

How long did you work on writing the book?

All the ideas were planned out in one, almost day long meeting. I then went away and developed the projects further. The whole process took about a year but if I’m honest, I did the bulk of the work in the last 3 months!

Images, right: A project from The Illustrator’s Guide to Procreate.

Where is your Studio? Where do you live?

My studio and art shop is located in the historic market town of Sleaford in Lincolnshire, UK

What are your favorite art materials?

When I’m not hunched over my iPad using Procreate I love to go mad with acrylic paint, covering sheets of paper with bold shapes and colours. I then cut them up and collage them into semi-abstract works or photograph them to use as textures in my digital work.

How do you surround yourself with inspiration?

I am surrounded by art materials and supplies in my shop and I also have a lot of creative people dropping in to buy stuff, I always ask them what they’re working on and have some really inspiring chats throughout the day!

What is “a day in the life” like for you?

Wake up in my tiny cabin and take Sandy for a walk; Drive 20 minutes to the studio and shop; Work on client work in between serving customers; Take Sandy for a walk beside the river around 5pm.

I sometimes work late at the shop if I have things to finish but if it’s client work, I take it home, listen to a podcast and work into the night.

Then go to bed in my tiny cabin!

Right, above: Ruth’s shop in Lincolnshire, UK

Right, below: Sandy the studio dog (@sandystudiodog ) outside the shop.