Introducing: beautiful watercolours and lithography from illustrator Ruta Daubure

Recent Camberwell illustration graduate Ruta Daubure has spent her time in education wisely, leaving university with a portfolio that any young creative would be proud of. She’s a dab hand at creating narrative driven editorial illustration – images that experiment with form and scale, deftly luring you into a world that seems light-hearted at first, but quickly reveals a more intricate web of emotional complexity – and extremely proficient in a variety of print processes; from litho to Riso.

All of her work is grounded in good old-fashioned draughtsmanship though, drawing quickly and decisively with inks and watercolours with as little intrusion from any digital media as possible. We met Ruta recently at an event in London and decided to pester her to find out a little more about the intricate workings of her day-to-day.

Where do you work?

I always work at my desk in my studio in Peckham, shared with six other Camberwell Illustration graduates. Sometimes I do work at home, bvut it’s more fun working in the studio; I can see what the others have been up to and it works for me if I divide work and home. Also I tend to need every single brush or paint I have whenever I get to work, so it’s good to have all the stuff at one place.

How does your working day start?

I usually go through my emails and see if there is something good waiting for me. Ideally there is.

How do you work and how has that changed?

I used to be sort of scared of trying new things out, or I’d try them out but didn’t really apply them in my own work. Now I’m not as scared of failing I guess, as long as I keep moving on to the next project. I would also like to think my work actually has some sort of base now, which I know for sure wasn’t there couple years ago.

Where would we find you when you’re not at work?

I would probably be at home. I need a lot of alone time.

Would you intern for yourself?

I would say no, because I’m learning to juggle a couple of things myself and being an intern for me sometimes would be a bit confusing, with a lot of uncertainty most of the time. However, I do believe there are useful things I could pass on to people.