Artist Allie Webb’s ideas come to her in quiet moments in her studio.
“Working with restaurants and bars, I’m so submerged in hospitality, there is no escaping it coming out in my work. Sitting back and watching people interact with each other and their food is how I draw a lot of inspiration.
Many of my drawings are memories of nights out. It could be one from sitting in a pub in my late teens merged with something that happened a week ago. I’m also drawn to the table through the history of still life in painting.
Working with relief printing – the first method of printmaking – and looking at ancient art is what stirs me the most. Particularly Ancient Greek and its lineage through history.
Carving out an image, having it printed in one sweeping motion and using only black to unify the idea gives me a lot of satisfaction. I love working with charcoal too – the history of lines makes it appear animated.
For the inaugural cover of Swill magazine, I depicted memories of people I’ve seen sitting in bars and restaurants.
The two prawns look as though they are trying to escape the plate. I’ve always found eating creatures from the sea a little bit repulsive and sad. They spend so much time making their little homes/shells just to have us rip them out of the sea and cook them carelessly.
Allie Webb is a Sydney-based artist and the Art Director at Swill Magazine.
