22 May 2024

Claire Harrup showcases figurative work in Just Add Nature

Claire Harrup has seized a beautiful opportunity to showcase her lesser-seen figurative work in a new book for The National Trust and Harper Collins. Just Add Nature by Rebecca Frank explores the healing and restorative powers of nature, a subject that gave Claire freedom to explore both figurative and landscape illustrations. Claire explained a bit more about her process below:

“I worked on over 30 illustrations for the internal pages and artwork for the cover too. All of the illustrations are made using hand-drawn and hand printed elements – that are then coloured and collaged together digitally in photoshop. The team at Harper Colins and The National Trust are amazing and have always allowed me a lot of creative freedom with the briefs, they often only give a few prompts for each illustration – which I love!”

Which is your favourite illustration?

“I have two illustrations I’m particularly fond of from this book – one is the canal walk image and the other the man bird watching. I don’t often get the opportunity to work figures into my landscapes, so I especially enjoyed playing with the idea of people moving around and interacting within the space.”

If you only had one of your senses to enjoy nature, which would you choose?

If I could only have one of my senses to enjoy nature, it would absolutely have to be my vision – I can’t imagine not being able to enjoy all of the small details, the changing light and the way nature interacts with our everyday spaces. This book really celebrates the idea that nature can be enjoyed, explored and nurtured, no matter where you live.