OCA Illustration: Introducing Robyn Wilson-Owen

Hello, I am Robyn Wilson-Owen, a maker of children’s picture books, a former theatre designer, and a new tutor on OCA’s BA Illustration.

I became a theatre designer fundamentally because I didn’t think I could draw well enough to study ‘proper’ art. I took textiles instead. Drawing was part of my design process, but I didn’t think my drawings could ever possibly be enough to be a final product of their own.

I did also adore the theatre and spent a large part of my childhood trying (and failing!) to be a performer in various am dram and youth theatre productions. This time spent failing over and over again has turned out to be incredibly valuable – one of my superpowers is my ability to fail, then fail again, but better. Viewing failure as an essential part of growth and therefore feeling able to take risks in my work is a very valuable part of my creative toolkit.

I studied for an MA in theatre design at Wimbledon School of Art, then spent well over a decade working first in wardrobe departments doing the laundry and repairs, then as a designer creating sets, costumes and puppets for a wide variety of shows. I was lucky to work with some wonderful people and one of my shows still goes out on tour regularly now.

I eventually became frustrated with the lack of creative freedom I had in most of my theatre work and wanted the ability to initiate my own projects and tell my own stories. I began to create drawings for the programmes of shows I designed, and then began to be asked to design the posters too. 

I decided that writing and illustrating children’s books was where I wanted to take my career next and so I enrolled on the Children’s Book Illustration MA at Anglia Ruskin University. This was a transformative time for me. I realised that drawing is a craft that can be learnt through practice, experimentation, failure and perseverance. I developed a passion for observational drawing, dip pens and expressive eyebrows.

I ran a crowdfunder to help fund my studies and was lucky enough to be spotted by some publishers and an agent, so from this I got my first publishing deals and launched myself into the industry.

I have now written and illustrated two books  – Hedge Lion published by Andersen Press and Close Your Eyes published by Boxer Books. I have also illustrated No Longer Alone which was written by Joseph Coelho and published by Egmont/Farshore, and Bloom which was written by Anne Booth and published by Tiny Owl. Hedge Lion was selected as a Bologna Exhibition Finalist, Bloom was The Sunday Times children’s book of the week and among The Guardian’s best books of the summer. No Longer Alone was long listed for the UKLA book awards and the Spark book awards and selected to be part of the Empathy Lab ‘read for empathy’ list. It has been a wonderful ride so far!

I began my illustration MA with the intention of teaching alongside my practice and the empowering experience of learning the craft of drawing in my 30s only made me more determined to build a teaching career alongside my illustration one. I am passionate about the fact that anyone can learn to draw. I am also passionate about art, drawing and education being accessible to all.

The high quality of the OCA courses alongside their commitment to accessibility drew me to becoming a tutor here. I also teach on Falmouth University’s online MA in Illustration, on a postgraduate short course titled Creativity, Problem Solving and Design Thinking for Cambridge University, on a variety of practical adult education courses focussed on life drawing and illustration, and as a supply teacher at a local art school for adults with SEND. 

Both my illustration and my teaching practices are about noticing and elevating details which others may overlook, and empowering my students to recognise that their own unique viewpoints are important and worthy of attention. I will always try to encourage my students to draw from life as much as possible, and to embrace making lots and lots of bad drawings – because there are no good drawings without lots and lots of bad drawings first!

You can take a further look inside my sketchbook and portfolio here – www.robynwilsonowen.com or on Instagram where I am @robynwilsonowen.