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An illustration of a group of people gathered around a pale, limp figure. They support the body in a pose reminiscent of a pieta, with expressions of grief and concern.

Illustration: Keith Negley is still down in the dumps, and we couldn't be more glad

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Date
7 August 2013

We were singing Keith Negley’s talents from the rooftops last October when we first came across his emotion-driven narrative illustration, and as it turns out we’re still singing now. (Starting to get a bit hoarse. Top marks for enthusiasm though.)

He’s been in the spotlight a fair bit as of late for his beautiful editorial illustration for the New York Times, which accompanied a story about how suicide rates tend to peak in the spring. It’s high time that his work be recognised, too; taking often tricky subjects such as depression, abuse and loneliness, and finding a way to bring them to life armed with nothing but a soft colour palette and incredibly varied textures, Keith confidently treads where other illustrators fear to, which goes some way to explaining why his client list is longer than several of our arms joined together. How he manages to tackle this difficult topics without succumbing to a perpetually gloomy glass-half-empty outlook is beyond us, but we’re awfully glad he does.

An illustration of a person sitting on a blue quilted sofa, looking down with a sad expression. Their torso is filled with dripping, vibrant colours that spill onto the seat. To the left, a figure in a suit holds a clipboard, appearing as a silhouette.
Above

Keith Negley: Conversion

An illustration of a person with red hair sitting on a large, orange-striped rug. They are hunched over, looking at a small handheld device. In the background, another person sits alone at a dining table in a separate room.
Above

Keith Negley: We Tell No One, Dear God

An illustration of two people sitting opposite each other at a small white table. A handgun rests on the table between them, surrounded by white chalk outlines of bodies on a dark floor.
Above

Keith Negley: A Trigger for Talk (for Newsweek)

An illustration of a dense cluster of flowers in shades of red, pink and purple. The blooms are rendered in a painterly style with visible brushstrokes against a plain white background.
Above

Keith Negley: Suicide (for the New York Times)

An illustration of a large, leafy green tree with a thick brown trunk. A person stands on the ground looking up, while another person is partially hidden inside a cutout in the trunk.
Above

Keith Negley: Her Tree

An illustration of two people standing together in a forest of abstract, vertical birch trees. The trees are rendered as textured strips of white, ochre and brown paint against a pale background.
Above

Keith Negley: We Tell No One, Thor

An illustration of a group of people gathered around a pale, limp figure lying across their laps. The composition mimics the Pieta, with figures leaning in with expressions of grief and concern.
Above

Keith Negley: We Tell No One, Rules

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About the Author

Maisie Skidmore

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Maisie joined It’s Nice That fresh out of university in the summer of 2013 as an intern before joining full time as an Assistant Editor. Maisie left It’s Nice That in July 2015.

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