Welcome to my webpage
My name is Heather Sparrey and I am an artist / illustrator living and working in North Herefordshire, UK.
As an artistic individual it is not always easy to know, from the outset, exactly what kind of artist you are. I have developed my skills over the years exploring many forms of expression, from theatre to sculpture and glassmaking to printmaking, with a sprinkle of non-artistic and less glamorous fields like zoo keeping.
Now that my life as an artist has matured and settled, I can see a clear linkage back through my journey. It was my children who first inspired me to become a story teller and channel my passion through illustration, I will always be grateful to both of them for lighting the beacon!
My work is naturally and most often character led as I love creating characters and crave the challenges that illustration of this nature presents. I like to imagine a picture book as a piece of theatre, caught up in a series of freeze frames. I am passionate about creating a sense of drama and enjoy every aspect of the work, from developing my initial design ideas right through to realising them in action upon the page.
I instantly know when a character has arrived in my
sketchbook, because, all of a sudden, it's looking right back at me, like the drawing has somehow
developed a pulse.
Gallery
As a young artist I grew up with the practical limitations of canvas and paper and those challenges were often further inhibited by old fashioned messy, sticky masking aids and a blunt scalpel! Digital media, to me, feels like owning a magic wand, it has an ever-increasing presence in my work because it gives my workflow such a wonderful sense of freedom.
The computer allows me to
quickly develop my initial design ideas and gives me an enormous flexibility to
further generate their alternatives. I still love to get dirty and work hands
on with a variety of mixed media and I use a wide range of techniques to produce
original illustrations.
I enjoy being inventive with
everything and will often use hand produced art as elements that are applied or
adapted and digitally collaged - working
this way enables me to utilize the variable textures of different mediums
together to create and retain a rich effective content. This work can then be used for many different applications, from graphic design and company logos to conceptual
character design and editorial or book illustrations. 
If you are interested in my work, would like to commission a piece of original
art or want to talk about a project, please contact me directly to discuss your requirements.
I would love to hear from you.
Thankyou for your visit.