Film: Peek into the brain of freestyle illustrator Shantell Martin

Illustrators who can create enormous stream-of-consciousness fuelled drawings never fail to amaze me, especially when they work with the fervour that Shantell Martin exudes at every opportunity. This short interview, produced by Sky Dylan-Robbins and posted by the New Yorker is entitled Follow the Pen, a notion which demonstrates exactly the infallible trust which powers her work. Illustrating everything from shoes, airplanes and walls to shirts and motorcycle helmets, Shantell’s studio resembles exactly what I imagine the inside of her brain to look like. Strictly monochrome, and covered from floor to ceiling in the thick black outlines she has made her own. It’s quite something to behold.

“The pen knows where it’s going, and I’ve gotten very good at following,” she explains. Looks like we’ve got no choice but to trot along after her, too.