Where do you live and what do you do?
My name is Amelia Herbertson and I am an artist living in Orange, in regional NSW, Australia. I live with my fiancé and my parents in a beautiful house that my parents have tirelessly renovated. It was a butcher shop many years ago and still has many of the original features, such as a big heavy cool room door and the original office, which is hidden behind glass panelling with a little window to look out

I have a close knit family and I am a total homebody, and love spending time locked away in my studio creating. My studio is located in a room that was once a cool room, with French doors that open out onto the garden. I love spending time in the garden, drinking tea and reading or playing with our dogs – Madge, an over-affectionate boxer and Thelma, a neurotic beagle

When I’m not in the studio, I work part time in a lovely boutique nursery/cafe/florist in Orange. I love being surrounded by plants and flowers; I don’t think I could ever work in a stuffy office at a computer all day

What path lead you to be an artist? 
I have always loved to paint and draw, and as a child I would construct little townships out of cardboard toilet rolls, tissue boxes, cans, whatever I could find around the house. Since I was very young I have loved to make my own greeting cards, complete with barcode and logo on the back. I was quite creative and would make pop up cards or collaged cards made to look like the recipient

In high school I would daydream in class and doodle patterns that would take up entire sheets of paper. I took art in high school, and studied Graphic Design at university, first at the University of Canberra and then Charles Sturt University. A lot of what I know is self taught by just playing around and trying things. I have never had a proper 9 to 5 job, and this just seemed like a natural progression

Years ago, when I was still at school and first discovered design blogs, I came across the work of artists who sold their work on a (then) little website called Etsy, and I thought “I want to do that.” Seeing them doing it made the possibility of being an artist seem more available to me. I began drawing in a sketchbook every chance I could, and learning as I went. It took me a long time to draw the courage to show anyone my work

I love Orange, with its beautiful country side, vineyards and orchards. I get a lot of inspiration from nature, particularly birds. Nearby Mount Canobolas is a beautiful place to connect with nature, and we would often bushwalk there growing up. I have always been fascinated with animals, and have drawn them since I was a child. I used to daydream endlessly, and these daydreams do sometimes crop up in my sketches  

Another passion of mine is paper! I have a huge collection of paper ephemera – old stamps, envelopes, old packaging, vintage gift wrap and greeting cards. I love it all but most people would see it as worthless junk. I am also very inspired by old botanical illustrations and vintage children’s books, especially illustrated encyclopedias and I scour second hand shops and book fairs for them

How would you describe your illustration style?
I have a simple illustration style, which has developed on its own through trial and error. I think my style is colourful and delicate and a little bit quirky. I love lots of bright colour, and also the stark contrast of black and white in my patterns. I do all my artworks on textured watercolour paper, and I work primarily with watercolour and gouache paints. I do my ink pen drawings with Sakura Pigma Micron pens with a fine tip so I can make patterns and add lots of detail. I would be lost without my fine tip paintbrushes and my ink pens; they are invaluable to my work

I also love lino printing; I usually start with sketching a rough draft in my sketchbook, and work on it until I am happy with it. Then I transfer it to the lino and then I carve out the block with different sized cutters, using a small ‘v’ cutter to carve the outline of the design, and a larger gouge to carve larger areas. I then print the design using the burnishing method of rubbing a spoon on the back of the paper to transfer the design

Do you also like to diy?
I enjoy crafting things with my hands, and I love to make gifts for people as I think it is so much more special than buying something mass produced. I have made bowls and jewellery out of clay for my mum and sister, and last Christmas made my parents a small table from wood and an old lampshade frame. When my nephew was little I hand stitched little soft animals for him – they weren’t brilliant but I enjoyed making them. My mum attempted to teach me how to knit recently but I found it too frustrating! 

Where do you sell your designs?
I have been selling on Etsy for two years now, and I have learnt so much. It can be hard as you have to learn everything yourself. I had no clue when I began but I learned through trial and error. I’m still learning and have made a lot of mistakes but I don’t regret them because it is the only way I could have found out what works and what doesn’t I sell my wares at markets around the region throughout the year. I love markets as you get to meet your customer face to face and meet other creative people who are in the same boat. My boyfriend Harley is an amazing help and I think of him as a business partner. He is always there helping me at markets, and is a sounding board when I need advice on designs or major decisions

In addition, a number of lovely shops around Orange stock my cards, as well as some gift stores in Sydney and Melbourne 

What’s in your future?
I am hoping to expand my range to include illustrated tea towels, pillow cases and notebooks, and I will release a new card range this year.

Harley and I will be getting married next January, so I have decided this the perfect time to work on a range of wedding stationery as I hope to design my own invitations! They will be available midyear in my Etsy shop. Overall, I would like to continue creating and growing as an artist. I can’t imagine doing anything else