Here copy editor Alex Scott is a multi-talented soul, working across editing, cartoons and illustrations. She’s just launched Selective Memory, the first instalment of her online store, selling limited-edition prints and paintings. “I find satisfaction in taking notice of things that others might miss and drawing attention to them – the poetry and humour of everyday life,” she says.
Tell us what you do and why you do it.
I’m an artist, illustrator, cartoonist, and the copy editor for Here. I also recently completed my first graphic novel, due out next year. The various facets of my work satisfy various parts of my brain and provide different vehicles for different kinds of ideas.
What ties it all together?
Everything I do comes down to the act of paying attention — to light, to language, to a small moment that tells you something big about a character.
Why did you start making paintings and prints?
I started working from photos in my phone’s camera roll as a way to maintain my drawing practice after finishing my book, but also as an act of record keeping. The drawings were a great way to experiment with colour and break down images into their essential elements, to understand how they “worked”. Certain photos had more to give, so I recreated these as oil paintings. I like the idea that these collected memories can now be held onto by other people.
How do you choose your subject matter?
They’re the things I notice day to day. They tend to be quiet moments, with an implied life outside the frame, usually selected for their colour, light and familiar everydayness – the bath, a cup of coffee. They’re moments I want to spend time with.
Here 06 made an appearance in one painting but we missed out.
There’s always a copy of Here within reach in our house. If one catches the light right, it could well make it into a future painting.
What else are you working on?
I’ve just completed a series of illustrations of Avondale for Great North Gallery, a public space in Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland – 12 x A0 posters, which will be up through October. I’m also making work for a group show, plus new paintings and prints to refresh my web gallery soon.
Alex Scott
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