Tabby Booth studied Illustration at Central Saint Martins and went on to co-found Cygnets Art School — now with 30 branches across the country — and Sailors Jail Gallery in Falmouth, housed in the original sailors’ jail from 1666, with her artist husband James Heslip. She lives and works in Cornwall, in the pink house at the top of the hill by the sea. Her work treads a captivating line between illustration and traditional folk art, bound together by a love of texture and contrast. Working quickly and intuitively, she uses layers of sgraffito oils on wood, bright neon inks on rag paper, and her signature bold black silhouettes on textured grounds. Her subject matter focuses on animals and their relationship to humans — with a personal and physical closeness to the sea, mermaids are a frequent and defining feature. Made, she says, for the walls of bold, playful people.
