Energetic Illustrations Summon You into the Middle of the Action

Mol­ly Fairhurst gets back to basics in her expres­sive illus­tra­tions. Con­cen­trat­ing on form and the ges­ture of her sub­jects, the paint­ings have an ener­gy that draws you in, be it one of her 1,000 Tigers or por­traits of peo­ple in action. In my favorite of her illus­tra­tions, you get the dis­tinct feel­ing that you’re com­ing into the mid­dle of some­thing exciting.

Mol­ly is one of It’s Nice That’s cho­sen The Grad­u­ates 2017. There, she gives more insight to her process. “My approach, recent­ly, is in a lot of move­ment,” she explained,“try­ing to cap­ture feel­ings and atmos­phere through a phys­i­cal­i­ty.” But, being a recent col­lege grad, she does­n’t have it all fig­ured out yet. (Who does?) “But I also think it’s often quite tongue in cheek, nev­er quite seri­ous, even when it is. I’m still hav­ing a lot of fun push­ing forms and fig­ures. I’m not sure how big a hand is too big. I’m not there yet.”

See what Mol­ly is up to through Insta­gram.

In her expressive illustrations, Molly Fairhurst makes you feel like you’re coming into the middle of something exciting.