THIS IS FUN, ISN’T IT.

THIS IS FUN, ISN’T IT, aka Sarah Sumeray, is a London-based artist creating retro comic-inspired art and pop culture reimagined as vintage cartoons. Her work taps into childhood nostalgia (mostly from the 1950s-1970s) and features all you’d expect from aged kids comics, including authentic-looking faded halftones and damaged inks. Most of Sarah’s work is created digitally, and is influenced by the many comics that take over her home.

With a pretty eclectic career background (Sarah has worked as a magician, voiceover artist, and joke writer in the past), her passion for creating art, specifically with a humorous undertone, has never left her. Sarah is self-taught, and has dabbled in a range of mediums over the years, but once she discovered digital art, it opened up a whole range of possibilities. She comments; “I love that you can achieve pretty much any style you can imagine, without the mess!”

Sarah is heavily inspired by vintage comics and cartoons, and finds herself forever searching markets for old comics and books to inspire her work. “I love horror films, too, and old British public information films from the 70s-90s! Although my work doesn’t directly reflect that, I find that they do inspire certain aspects of my designs,” says the artist.

Her design process begins with a rough sketch on paper, or on her iPad, and is built upon from there. As much of Sarah’s work is inspired by old comics, she will often have genuine ones on hand that she studies as she designs, making her illustrations appear as authentic as possible. She then takes time to add wear and tear to her work. Sarah comments; “I want it to look like a page straight out of your childhood comics! I really like to tap into that nostalgia. Quite often I think these are details that no one else will notice apart from me…but I don’t mind!” She recommends Retrosupply and True Grit Texture Supply for artists that want to achieve a similar result.

Her work has been featured in galleries both in the U.K. and abroad and clients include Jack White, The Cure, The Smashing Pumpkins, Wheatus, Bottleneck Gallery, Gallery 1988, and Pride, as well as an extensive list of filmmakers, musicians, and actors who have all commissioned Sarah for a range of private design work.

Sarah is currently working on a couple of pieces that she’ll release for group shows next year with galleries in the US. She hopes to continue to work on more band poster and cover art, but is open to any exciting and fun projects!

www.sarahsumerayonline.com
@thisisfunart

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