Illustrating Versus Fine Art

Pen & ink illustrations (c) by Mary Hubley

Illustration is a much different process than fine art. For me, fine art is a study of the heart of a subject and its fleeting light, color, and mood; while illustration requires careful up-front thought. With fine art, I seek out a subject that calls to me. I reference real places, either from sitting in front of a subject and painting it, or from photos that I've taken. I can't help but paint the magic of the moment. The subject dictates what it wants me to see and show the world. Painting a scene, I commune with my subject and it speaks to me.


With illustration, on the other hand, the application dictates what and how something should be painted. For instance, when illustrating a book, I first have to communicate the most powerful image that is happening within a set of pages. Rather than working directly from nature, I design my illustration around the story. Most of my illustrations don't use a photo or nature reference -- they are composed solely from my imagination. A painting is never done in one sitting. Rather, I develop a storyboard, go through review cycles with the customer, develop large sketches of each page, go through more review, and then finalize my art. Feelings and mood are not inspired by the painting, but rather by the story.


Thus, fine art is much different than illustration, even though the technical aspects of placing pen to paper are very much alike. I continue to do both, and I happily juggle between the two extremes of real-life inspiration and imagination.