There was little to no chance of Kaye Blegvad working a regular day job. After all, the illustrator and designer comes from a long line of artists. “Both my parents are artists – my mum is a painter, my dad an illustrator,” shared the London-born, Brooklyn-based creative in an interview with Metal Magazine. “My grandparents were artists and illustrators too – I’m the third generation.”
“So drawing and art was always a huge part of my life,” she explained. Indeed, describing herself as a “general maker-of-things” Blegvad fascination with art ranges from illustration to ceramics, metalwork, and textiles. She also has her own line of jewelry under the name Datter Industries.
“I drew from the moment I could hold a pencil and made little clay sculptures and paper dollhouses and all sorts of things,” she recalled. “I think I was always quite serious about it. When I was a bit older, 5 or 6, I began making tiny illustrated books – most of them are on the topic of cats, girls, and death. So I guess my kind of illustration was always on the cards.”
“I’ve always really liked simplified, naïve images,” she added, talking about her artistic style. “I love children’s drawings, outsider art, images made because the image needed to be made. So I guess things like that have influenced me a lot.”
Her naive illustrations have caught the attention of publications like The New York Times, The New Yorker, and Penguin Random House; and with more than 130k followers on Instagram, it’s crystal clear that Blegvad made the right choice when she followed her artistic path.
Check out some of her varied work in the gallery below.
