Eyes Peeled by Grace Wilson
Grace Wilson presents a collection of drawings and mini-comics in her amazing new book "Eyes Peeled".
Born in Scotland, Grace spent several years in London before moving to Stockholm, where she has spent the last three years studying for an MFA in Storytelling at Konstfack. Living in such drastically different environments has given her a unique outlook on life, allowing her to make seemingly mundane events into charming anecdotes.
I really wanted to spend my last year at uni focusing on gathering a collection of characters, scenarios, scenes and stories that I find interesting from daily life, being quite free with sourcing my material.
This collection was then curated into “Eyes Peeled”, a 79 page, perfect bound publication, risograph printed in black, blue, red, pink and orange. A series of sculptures of some of the characters in the book were also created for her degree show.
“Everything in the book are things that I’ve seen or done or have happened so I will usually take sketches and notes on paper at the time I see something, and if I have no paper often I’ll write myself descriptions of things in my phone and then work off of those. Photos I might take to remember certain colour or shapes or words etc, but not to draw from. I’m not really someone who goes about drawing things all the time, it’s more that I look around a lot, and then if something catches my eye I know I’ll want to draw it.”
Most of my work is driven by a kind of journal approach, where I want to remember the things I’ve been doing and where I’ve been, but also how society and culture around me is presenting itself.
From thoughts on Russel Brand to plans for a commercially branded Scotland sponsored by Berghaus, each section provides a glimpse into the wonderful mind of this young traveller. Particularly brilliant, is the mini-comic about a man who comes running up next to Grace whilst she is standing on a bridge looking down at a river. “Um no trying tae get aff wi yi or anyhin, ah jist wanted tae look too” he assures her before strolling off again.
As beautiful as it is witty, this book is a must have for illustration lovers and comic enthusiasts alike
Having recently moved back to London, Grace is settling back into the UK and looking forward to drawing some more British life. Another book is now in the planning stage and she will be exhibiting at the Safari Festival in London at the end of August. Grab a copy of Eyes Peeled from her online store here.