Creator's Corner: Madeline O'Donoghue, Illustration - New Zealand

Madeline O'Donoghue

Madeline is an artist born and raised in New Zealand. After graduating from art school, she seized the opportunity to travel and work overseas, sharpening her creative skills and figuring out which direction to head in.

Ultimately deciding to merge her Fine Arts background with illustration, Madeline now freelances and hopes that her work speaks to the life she’s passionate about living. This includes getting back to a simple way of life, spending ample time in nature, celebrating women, surfing and soaking up meaningful experiences.

Tell us a little about yourself and your creative background.

I’ve been drawing since I was a kid. I always felt bored unless I was doing that or in the water, so my parents quickly put me into an after school "art school". Later I attended an actual art school where I spent 4 years majoring in painting and graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Arts with 1st Class Honors.

Afterwards, I worked on the cusp of the creative industry in roles that mainly supported other creatives. I cut my teeth in a post-production studio in Auckland before taking on other roles like color consulting (mixing bespoke paint colors for designers, architects & interior projects), creative talent management (matching illustrators & designers to briefs) and interning at an art gallery.

Having grown up in New Zealand with very little travel experience (besides an eye-opening art school trip to New York), I made the move to London to gain a wider perspective of creative work and get a change of scenery. During my time in London, I briefly worked for Nike as well as for a start-up representing creative freelancers.

I was always surrounded by creatives, but not really making any work myself. Shortly after I got the opportunity to move to New York and then to LA on a visa that temporarily didn't allow me to work. I was forced to re-evaluate my own direction and got a little push towards drawing again. I began studying design online with CalArts and went to community college in Venice Beach to learn different software and tools. Once I started exploring these avenues I found that I was interested in combining my Fine Arts background with illustration and design. It all organically happened from there.

How did your time overseas impact your creative direction and what you create now?

My time overseas, and specifically my time in Los Angeles, was instrumental in how my work even came to fruition. It was in LA that I really started to look at design more closely, draw and create, and talk to creatives on more of an equal level. It’s also the place where I began to surf.

I was based in Venice Beach which meant I could surf (or kookily learn to surf) in the mornings, have a coffee and then put some music on and spend the day being pretty creatively "free". It was a special time that really allowed me to soak in the scenery and colorfulness of LA; the signs, the typefaces, the cars, the surf, the architecture and just generally the California culture and way of life.

“I was based in Venice Beach which meant I could surf (or kookily learn to surf) in the mornings, have a coffee and then put some music on to spend the day being pretty creatively “free”. It was a special time that really allowed me to soak in the scenery and colorfulness of LA; the signs, the typefaces, the cars, the surf, the architecture and just generally the California culture and way of life.”

I was really lucky to have so much creative time on my hands, and I also did a lot of weekend camping trips and road trips around California and the neighboring states. Visiting the National Parks, sleeping in my car and just driving aimlessly around the U.S gave me a lot of visual stimulation and fed me creatively. It's a good life to just be able to pitch a tent, sleep in a car, have a surf, see some new things, light a fire and go for a hike.

Simplicity really took hold of me and pushed my work along in the direction it’s grounded in now.

After leaving the U.S I moved to Byron Bay where (again) I was lucky enough to live across the road from a pretty great wave and have a direct entry point into Australia's and Byron's rich surf culture and history. It was here in Byron, and specifically at The Pass, I became inspired by the number of women in the water and found myself drawing more and more females surfing.

So in a nutshell, getting out of New Zealand and living overseas opened up my world and my work. It brought things to a whole new level.

What’s an issue that’s close to your heart right now?

Sadly there are probably too many and sometimes it can feel a bit overwhelming to think about them all at once. Gender equality is always high on my list as is the environmental crisis. Both these issues both show up regularly in my work. Lately, the Fight for the Bight has been showing up in a few of my drawings, especially with the recent paddle out taking place in Byron Bay, Australia.

Do you have creative habits or rituals that help you stay focused?

I definitely have habits. I'm actually a total creature of habit and have tons of them!

“I always carry really cheap sketchbooks and a black pen with me. The cheaper the better as these can easily get filled up in a day or a few hours with quick doodles, ideas or just words that I come across and it allows me to not be too precious with what I’m drawing.”

I'm a morning person, so I like getting up early-ish and I really enjoy my first coffee. I'll have my alarm set quite early to give myself at least 30 mins of savoring my coffee in bed while doing some "free writing" (2-3 pages of words, doodles, scribbles, or whatever). It’s a habit I took from the book “The Artists Way” and one I find pretty good as a stand in for meditation. (In fact that book in general is well worth a read for a whole bunch of reasons).

I always carry really cheap sketchbooks and a black pen with me. The cheaper the better as these can easily get filled up in a day or a few hours with quick doodles, ideas or just words that I come across and it allows me to not be too precious with what I'm drawing. I like being fluid and sometimes one book will just have the same foot or hand doodle on every page - these are not supposed to be good drawings and I think the more mistakes you make the more likely something interesting will happen.

Music and singing is something that holds my focus for a good chunk of time. If I am drawing or working on something I'm usually singing and find it very difficult to separate the two.

I love going to bed early, watching films (always with a hot water bottle) and not having to think about too much in the evenings.

It's these very small things that bring a lot of comfort and satisfaction to my day.

What influences your creativity?

As well as the rituals above there's a lot of things I do when I'm not actually making work that fill me up personally and creatively.

Travel in any form has a big influence on me. One of my favorite things to do is walk around and take photos of interesting things or go on a big road-trip and listen to podcasts. Surfing and surf culture plays a big part in my work and really influences a lot of my creativity as does nature, camping trips and forest walks.

As someone who is easily bored, I need a lot of visual stimulation so I'm also always looking at other creative output. I have certain magazines, books, websites etc that I'll look at on a regular basis and am always happy to visit a gallery or just wander the streets of a city.

California, the 70's, design and art are all things that influence my creativity as well.

When you’re not creating, what can we find you doing?

Any or all of the above!

What is the proudest moment in your artistic journey so far?

Having Seea approach me to work with them on some pieces was a proud moment. I love what they do for women’s surfing and have looked up to them for a long time.

In general, I’m really proud of working with great people and for all of my experiences. I know it's a privilege to have had the time and means to see and do all the things I have.

What do you want people to feel when they see your illustrations and designs?

I hope my work speaks to the life I am passionate about living and sharing with others. It's about elevating nature, harking back to a more simple way of living, celebrating women, enjoying freedom and having meaningful experiences.

What advice would you give aspiring women wanting to turn their passion or art into a career?

My advice would be to just start making creative work and don't let the desire for monetary gain override what you want to do creatively. I have always continued to work on the side in order to allow myself more creative freedom.

I enjoy my creative practice remaining creative and having the choice to work on things I want to work on. Learn to be ok with starting off slow and doing something on the side for a while. Be willing to let go of your own idea of a "career" and the ego associated with this concept.

Give yourself time to be less of a perfectionist and be less harsh on yourself and have fun. Find people who give you a little push of encouragement and find the things that fill you up creatively.

Make it a passion project and enjoy it.

What’s your guilty pleasure after a long work week?

I’m not fussy and don't like things to be over-complicated or pretentious. I love having a beer at a dive bar, playing shuffleboard, shooting hoops, or just going for a swim in the sea. The more simple the better.

Finish these sentences

My favorite surf break is The Pass in Byron Bay.

I lose track of time when I’m singing and drawing.

I can read Just Kids by Patti Smith over and over again.

In 5 years I’ll I'll have learned even more about myself & life.

I believe in following your own path.

---

Follow Madeline on Instagram
Images provided by Madeline

Keep Reading Creator’s Corner Interviews!