For illustrator and printmaker Leila Mead, inspiration can come from the most unexpected places. Her latest screen print, a dreamy jungle scene alive with animals and plants, began with an object from her childhood, a well-worn pencil case from the 90s that once belonged to her sister.
It’s stained beyond belief and has seen better days, but I’ve always loved it and refuse to let it go,” Leila laughs. “When my sister had her first baby, who is totally obsessed with animals, I thought a jungle scene would make a great addition to his room. My eyes fell on that old pencil case, and the ideas grew from there.
The result is a retro-inspired print designed to feel both whimsical and immersive, something her nephew could lose himself in before drifting off to sleep. For Leila, there’s also a deeper layer: “Any art inspired by nature and animals that brings attention to their increasingly fragile world is definitely a good thing.”
From Pencil Sketch to Print to Order
Leila’s process begins on paper—literally. She started this piece with a large A1 pencil sketch to map out the composition before painting it in acrylics to explore colour palettes. The final design was scaled down digitally to an A2 format, making it more manageable to print.
To separate the colours, she created eight hand-drawn positives on tracing paper, using black Posca pens and her favourite Winsor & Newton Indian ink. “It’s the best ink out there for creating positives,” she says. These were exposed and printed, layer by layer, at the screen print studio, a process that demands patience and precision.
Once the edition was finished, Leila took the best version to her digital printers, Fresh Aire in Leeds, who scan and reproduce her work on a print-to-order basis in A4, A3, and A2 sizes. “They always do a fantastic job,” she notes. “The quality is so good, the prints don’t lose any of the colours or texture of the original.”
Balancing Freelance Life and Printmaking
Like many artists, Leila balances her creative work alongside freelance commitments. “I’m lucky in that I can dedicate a couple of hours each day to my practice, whether that’s admin, lino printing, content creation, or sketching new designs. Screen printing is trickier, because it requires longer, focused sessions, so I tend to block out one full day a week at the studio whenever I’m working on a project.”
Lessons in Patience (and Mistakes)
This jungle-inspired print didn’t come without challenges. “The screen printing process was tough this time around. I made a lot of mistakes, and with screen printing, those mistakes can be costly. But I learned to love them and roll with it. Those little discrepancies are what make the print unique anyway.”
Inspirations Old and New
Beyond the pencil case and her nephew’s animal obsession, Leila draws inspiration from vintage children’s book illustrations as well as contemporary ones. “I was reading a bedtime story to my niece and nephew recently and was really struck by how beautiful some of the modern illustrations were.”
What’s Next: Stamp & Revamp
Leila isn’t slowing down. She’s currently working on a new lino printing workshop called Stamp & Revamp, where participants will design, carve, and print their own artwork directly onto old clothes. The aim is to combine creativity with sustainability, transforming worn garments into unique, wearable art.
“There’s still a lot to do, but I’m hoping to launch in mid to late October,” she says. “Watch this space!”
Follow Leila for more updates here
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