Johanna Basford
Johanna Basford OBE (born 1983) is a Scottish illustrator. Her illustrations are hand-drawn, predominantly in black and white, with pencils and pens.[1][2] Basford's works can be found in products such as coloring books, wallpaper, beer labels, and even tattoos.[3]
Biography
Johanna Basford was born in 1983[4] in Scotland and grew up on her parent's fish farm in Auchnagatt in Aberdeenshire.[5] She graduated from Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art and Design (DJCAD) in Dundee in 2005 with a degree in textile Design and a specialization in screen printing.[1] Basford lives and works in Aberdeenshire, Scotland[3] where she owns a small studio in a converted farmhouse with large windows that overlook the surrounding fields.[1] She believes computer generated graphics can feel "cold and soulless," which is why she uses traditional media.[6] Since publishing her first adult coloring book Secret Garden in 2013, she has sold more that 16 million books worldwide, making her a leader of the adult colouring book boom.[7][8]
She was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 2016 Birthday Honours for services to art and entrepreneurship.[9]
Works
Basford's commercial clients include Sony, Nike, Tate Modern, Absolut Vodka[10] and Starbucks. Queensberry-Hunt, a ceramics manufacturer, commissioned her to create hand drawn designs for their tableware collection in 2008. In 2010, she created graphics for the iPhone app The New Goodbye.[11] Basford was commissioned by Edinburgh Festival Fringe to illustrate the cover of their 2010 program.[12] She worked with an Edinburgh-based design agency, Whitespace, to create a series of illustrations for the program and the final artwork for the #FringeCover #Twitterpicture crowdsourced illustration campaign.[11]
In addition to her illustrations, Basford has designed glowing wallpapers, printed using special ultraviolet-sensitive inks.[12]
In May 2013, Basford opened her first solo exhibition at Dundee Contemporary Arts called Wonderlands: it was one of DCA's most successful exhibitions, with a total audience of 8,488.[13]
She is currently represented by literary agent Ed Victor.[14]
Books
- Secret Garden: An Inky Treasure Hunt and Colouring Book (2013) - Laurence King Publishing — As of March 2015, more than 10 million copies of this book have been sold worldwide[15](three million sold in China alone[16]). The book has over 40 foreign editions[17] and has appeared on The New York Times Best Seller list.[18]
- Secret Garden 20 Postcards (2014) - 20 detachable postcards of Basford's drawings from her book Secret Garden (2013).[19]
- Enchanted Forest: An Inky Quest and Colouring Book (2015) - Lawrence King Publishing - Sold out all 226,000 copies within weeks of its release on 17 February 2015. The publishers printed a second edition of 250,000.[2][20][21][22][23] It has also appeared on The New York Times Best Seller list.[18]
- Lost Ocean: An Inky Quest and Colouring Book (October 27, 2015) - Penguin Random House - Has sold over 1.3 million copies in the US alone.[24] Debuted at Number 1 in the US Non Fiction Bestseller's list in its first week of publication[14] and is number one on The New York Times Best Seller list.[18]
- Magical Jungle is due to be published in August 2016 by Penguin Random House.[7]
- Johanna's Christmas is due to be published in October 2016 by Penguin Random House.[7]
Awards received
References
- 1 2 3 Rosanes, Kerby (8 May 2013). "Featured Artist: The Inky World of Johanna Basford". UCreative.com. UCreative Network. Retrieved 6 November 2014.
- 1 2 Hunter, Paul (6 April 2015). "Colouring books designed for adults topping bestseller lists". Retrieved 10 April 2015.
- 1 2 "Johanna Basford". Retrieved 6 December 2014.
- ↑ "Rough Cut Nation (Exhibition Notes)". National Galleries Scotland. National Galleries Scotland. Retrieved 27 February 2016.
- ↑ Devine, Cate (30 June 2006). "Follow The Paper Trail". www.heraldscotland.com. Herald & Times Group. Retrieved 16 February 2016.
- ↑ Lyons, Kim. "Johanna Basford's Coloring Books For Adults Are Gorgeous, And How Did We Forget How Much Fun Coloring Is?". www.bustle.com. Bustle.com. Retrieved 16 February 2016.
- 1 2 3 "2 more coloring books by Johanna Basford Coming This Year". Mail Online. London: Associated Newspapers. Retrieved 12 February 2016.
- ↑ "2 More Coloring Books by Johanna Basford Coming This Year". The New York Times. Associated Press. 2 February 2016. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on 6 February 2016. Retrieved 12 February 2016.
- ↑ The London Gazette: (Supplement) no. 61608. p. B10. 11 June 2016.
- ↑ Baker, Keiligh (March 5, 2015). "The colour of money: British author sells more than a million copies around the world of her colouring-in books for grown-ups". Mail Online. London: Associated Newspapers. Retrieved 21 February 2015.
- 1 2 "Illustrator Johanna Basford talks about being #TwitterPicture girl and more". ameliasmagazine. Retrieved 7 December 2014.
- 1 2 3 4 Steed, Frances; Stevenson, Josephine (2012). Sourcing ideas: investigating textures, colours, structures, surfaces and patterns. Lausanne: AVA Academia. ISBN 9782940411634.
- ↑ "DCA Annual Report" (PDF). www.dca.org.uk. DCA. 2014.
- 1 2 "Ed Victor Ltd. | News". www.edvictor.com. Retrieved 12 February 2016.
- ↑ "Illustrator Johanna Basford launches Lost Ocean as adult colouring book craze sweeps the world". Telegraph.co.uk. Retrieved 12 February 2016.
- ↑ Ho, Victoria (13 January 2016). "China's bestseller of 2015 was a coloring book for adults". Mashable. Singapore. Retrieved 12 February 2016.
- ↑ Fraser, Douglas. "Ink evangelist Johanna Basford makes it big". BBC News. Retrieved 17 February 2016.
- 1 2 3 "Best Sellers - The New York Times". www.nytimes.com. Retrieved 12 February 2016.
- ↑ Secret Garden 20 Postcards. Laurence King Pub. 2014. ISBN 978-1856699464.
- ↑ Eccles, Louise (27 April 2015). "Sold out, a colouring book for adults! British artist's second release sells 226,000 copies in just one month". London: Associated Newspapers. Retrieved 17 May 2015.
- ↑ "Artist Goes Outside The Lines With Coloring Books For Grown-Ups". Retrieved 4 April 2015.
- ↑ Enchanted Forest: An Inky Quest & Coloring Book Paperback. Laurence King Pub. 17 February 2015. ISBN 1780674880.
- ↑ Basford, Johanna (17 February 2015). Enchanted Forest: An Inky Quest & Coloring Book. Laurence King Publishing; Act Clr Cs edition. ISBN 9781780674889.
- ↑ Alter, Alexandra (23 December 2015). "Looking Back at 2015 in Book Publishing". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 12 February 2016.
Further reading
- "Colouring books for adults growing in popularity". BBC Radio 5 Live Breakfast. April 4, 2015. BBC. Retrieved February 18, 2016.
- "Work inspiration with Johanna Basford". workspiration.org. Workspiration. January 30, 2015. Retrieved February 18, 2016.
A lot of my work is nature inspired and takes cues from the flora and fauna I grew up with in rural Scotland.
- Alter, Alexandra (March 29, 2015). "Grown-Ups Get Out Their Crayons". The New York Times. Retrieved February 18, 2016.
- Katz, Brigit (November 5, 2015). "Meet the woman behind a surprising new way to unwind". The New York Times. Retrieved February 18, 2016.
- Andress, Alli (November 20, 2015). "Interview with Johanna Basford, Illustrator and Coloring Book Author". Amy Poehler’s Smart Girls. Retrieved February 18, 2016.
External links
- Official website
- Johanna Basford's studio website
- Johanna Basford on Facebook
- Johanna Basford on Instagram
- Johanna Basford on Twitter
- Heartbreak Publishing (limited edition prints of Basford's work)