Portrait illustrations by Becki Gill burst with pop culture, music and joyful colour

Becki has lived in the Lake District her whole life, even choosing to stay local when she studied Illustration at the University of Cumbria in Carlisle, graduating in 2017. Some of her biggest inspirations are Bijou Karman, Laura Callaghan, Helen Green and Natalie Foss, to name a few. "Back when I was in my final year at university, Natalie Foss was another big inspiration to my work, and one of the artists who first inspired me to be a lot more playful with colour, not necessarily choosing to use naturalistic or realistic colours in my work," Becki tells Creative Boom. "Which has really helped to develop my practice."

Currently working her way into editorial, following a few recent commissions for the likes of Courier Magazine and Little White Lies, Becki is also trying her hand at record covers for local bands. "I'm in the middle of creating some album artwork for a folk musician, which is really exciting," she says.

Happily for Becki, she was doing illustration work alongside her full-time job in 2020 but went exclusively freelance that same year, forced into starting her own business after being made redundant. "The dreaded Covid-19 chose my fate, but it was the push I needed to get into it properly," she explains. And so far, so good. "I'm passionate about illustration and trying my best to find my voice as an illustrator – which is tricky sometimes and pretty scary, but I'm determined to make a successful career in this industry and push myself as much as I can."

You can discover more of Becki's work at www.beckiillustrates.com or give her a follow on Instagram where she shares her latest creations and also some entertaining process videos to watch and be inspired by.