@hteakle

Instagram: @hteakle Website: www.hannahteakle.com

1. What's your story? Where are you from?

Hello! My name is Hannah Teakle and I’m from Winnipeg, Manitoba! Winnipeg has intensely hot summers and wicked cold winters. Like many other Winnipegers, I found drawing a great way to spend time indoors when it was too cold (or hot) to play outside. I grew up spending lots of my free time drawing alone or with friends. I've always found the process of creating fulfilling and to relieve stress, that’s why I continue to illustrate today!

2. Tell us about your aesthetic.

I feel like my aesthetic is always changing, morphing to include elements of other artists I admire. I'm not certain if I have a set aesthetic, I just draw what I think looks good and hope for the best!

3. What is your favourite medium and why?

When I was little, I was strictly a pencil and paper artist. I didn't even allow myself to use colour until I was thirteen! I've loved digital illustration ever since I got my first drawing tablet! I’ve almost exclusively been using a digital medium since 2013. I think I like it best because it’s what I’m comfortable and confident in. And the undo button is always a plus!

4. What is your artistic process like?

Generally, I start with pencil on paper, doing rough sketches to get my ideas out. Then I take it into Photoshop (or Procreate) and sketch overtop of it. I'll do some line art, rough in a colour scheme on a separate layer and then flatten the layers. I just keep rendering away until it feels done! I know it would likely be easier to work on separate layers, but there is something about the challenge and mess of working with just a few layers that I like.

5. Who and/or what inspires your work?

My inspiration changes with every illustration I do. Sometimes it’s an artist I admire, an old photograph, a well-written song, a patterned dress in a store window, a stranger in a restaurant ... It’s hard to pinpoint one thing that consistently inspires me.

6. What role does art play in your life? How does it change the way you view the world?

For most of my life, art was my whole world. Since graduating from college, that's changed a little. I met my boyfriend just over 3 months ago and my priorities have shifted. I want to continue to improve and grow my artistic skills always! But for the first time, I have something that I want to focus on more than my art. I think being an illustrator means I’m always observing the world around me. I’m trying to soak in the things around me – colours, light, interesting shapes in nature, the way fabric folds and expressions of faces. It’s a wonderful feeling to float through the world in awe of the world around you!

7. Where did you study?

I always knew I wanted to try turning my art into a career. After high school, I attended Red River College to learn about Graphic design and graduated their advanced program in 2019. This is where I learned that art and design can interplay and inform each other! I love to bring the two worlds together, like incorporating handwritten typography into some of my work.

8. Where do you see yourself in five years?

I would like to have illustrated a few children’s books and be doing more personal art in the future. I want to find a balance between doing personal art, professional illustration and spending time with family and friends that work for me.

9. What about in ten?

I think I’d like to be married with children around ten years from now. In terms of what I'll be doing with my art, I'm not sure yet. I'll just have to wait and see how my life unfolds!

10. What do you hope to achieve with your art?

I haven't really thought about that. I don't have any deep political or social reasons for illustrating, I just do it because I enjoy it! I hope other people enjoy it too :)

11. Now, tell us a little more about you as a person: what is your favourite food?

I like a lot of foods! I like fresh bread and aged cheese, but my favourite dish is probably Pad Thai from a little restaurant in Winnipeg called “Bangkok Thai Restaurant.” They have the best Pad Thai! I think they even won an award for it!

12. Favourite book?

A great light read is “Everyone’s a Aliebn When Ur a Aliebn Too” by Jomny Sun. It's an adorably illustrated look at life from the perspective of an Alien. I Won't say anything more because I don't want to spoil it.

13. Favourite genre of music?

Some musicians/bands I love at the moment are Jack White, The Last Shadow Puppets, Glass Animals, King Krule, The Doors, Franz Ferdinand, and Death Cab for Cutie. I don't have one genre I love the most, I like lots of music!

14. What are your hobbies?

I love sitting around a bonfire with my family and friends, conversing over tea, walking when the weather is agreeable, watching medical documentaries and indulging in Netflix shows!

15. If you weren't an artist, what would you be?

I loved science in school! The medical field always intrigued me. I took two "Anatomy for Artists" courses from Scott Eaton and fell in love with the way the human body works. It’s astonishing! I would love to learn more, so I’d like to think I’d be studying for something in the medical field.