Richard Smythe
As a child
I was born in West Sussex, England, 1986. My childhood was nice. I was lucky to have parents who encouraged me to go out and roam in the countryside. I have strong memories of drawing and my nan telling me funny stories that were absurdly wonderful and nonsensical.
As an adult
I went to university unsure what I should study and what I wanted to “be”. I ultimately ended up on the wrong course, twice... I eventually got it right and ended up with an MA in Illustration. I started working on my freelance illustration career not long after university. It was a bumpy road at first but now seems to be getting less bumpy. I had to do lots of random jobs that I didn’t enjoy very much, but were all good learning experiences. I now live with my wife and dog in a small house in a small town that has lots of trees and nice walks around it. It reminds me a bit of my childhood which is nice. The nicest thing of all is that today I am able to draw and paint full time, which suits me very well.
As an illustrator
I work in the smallest bedroom in our house.
Some things we didn’t know about Richard Smythe
- As well as illustration I paint landscape paintings for exhibitions with galleries.
- My first published work was some fan art for The Simpsons comic books when I was about 12.