How a Gateshead-born Artist Is Shining a New Light on Dracula
An artist-led independent publisher in Whitby has launched a limited edition of Bram Stoker's Dracula with illustrations by a Gateshead-born visual artist
Kirsty has created the illustrations for the new edition and recently exhibited her work as part of Baltic Open Submission 2024. Her illustrations have also been published in collectors’ editions of Bronte and Stoker classics.
For The Crow Emporium Press’s illustrated edition of Dracula, Kirsty created 10 finely-detailed monochrome pencil illustrations. ‘The process took one year. It was painstaking, but fantastic,’ she says. ‘I could see clearly the worlds I wanted to conjure, charged with creeping mist and the threat of the uncanny. Each image an invitation to sink into the darkness within the story.
‘To do this, I slowly built up layers of graphite using varying pencil gradients. The textures created by this process became landscapes within themselves. By limiting myself to one medium and a very restrictive colour palette, I was able to push further than I ever have before. I am very proud of the work. Having convinced friends and family to model for the characters in the novel and spending so much time in the company of each piece, the project is a very special one to me.’
Before starting the project it had been a decade since Kirsty last read Dracula, so she reread the story. ‘I was so struck by the themes of loss and illness that permeate the story,’ she says. ‘Each person we meet suffers invasions of their bodies and minds at the hand of the Count, whether directly or through his ruthless actions. Above all, I found Dracula to be a story grounded in the deep roots of friendship. The central band of friends in the story bear a true love for each other. When faced with their individual plights, it is these bonds that offer a way back, to themselves, to their purpose and to the collective struggle against a monstrous enemy.’
The popularity of this Gothic tale has increased year on year and sales of Dracula in the UK have doubled in the last decade. The new publication will be included in the Art of Illustration exhibition at the Pannett Art Gallery in Whitby, showcasing 11 pieces of artwork, including Kirsty’s, from the book in a collection titled God’s Women, Good Men and Monsters.
‘I hope visitors are inspired to read Bram Stoker’s classic,’ Kirsty says. ‘Dracula is such a staple of popular culture, we think we know the story already, but as someone who has recently reread it, I can’t recommend it enough. It surprised me at every turn. It is so easy to read, thrilling from the first page and never letting up. At times, it is disarmingly modern, especially Stoker’s representation of Mina Harker, who is as much the hero of the novel as Jonathon.
‘I also hope visitors will see that our Dracula is a collaborative effort. The Crow Emporium is an all female, artist-led independent business. They champion their creators and I had the pleasure of illustrating Dracula alongside the tremendously talented Christina Rauh Fishbourne, who created calligraphy and beautiful drawings that are embedded in the text, waiting to be discovered by our readers.’
