With more than 230k followers on Instagram, illustrator Bodil Jane is a household name when it comes to contemporary illustration. Centered around women characters almost entirely, her illustrations are detailed, colorful, and most often than not – steeped in greenery.
Her handmade, homely and warm aesthetic is instantly recognizable. It’s a style that has caught the attention of a range of clients from The New Yorker to Unicef. Jane has also collaborated with Caran d’Ache and makes products too, notably working with dutch design brand, &Klevering. Her work was also featured in The Illustrator – 100 Best From Around the World by Taschen.
“The women I draw are fictional but based on a blend of women I see around me and those I want to be,” explained Bodil in an interview with Creative Boom. “The city inspires me to draw these very diverse individuals,” she adds. “Women are a never-ending inspiration: how they behave, their energy, their looks. I’m always inspired by women who are themselves and who are special to me because of their looks. I have to draw them, of course, so the looks are important.”
Around these characters, Jane builds a detailed environment (mostly interior landscapes filled with houseplants). It’s a characteristic she puts down to her love of collecting, regularly visiting busy environments such as flea markets or botanical gardens for inspiration. “I don’t want my work to be an extension of the women we see in the media all the time,” she notes. “The ‘perfect’ woman. I’m more interested in quirky, interesting and sweet rather than sexy and smooth. I want them to be approachable, not intimidating.”
You’d want to join her growing fanbase.
