Full of intricate detail, the work of Cécile Metzger transports you to a magical realm, where smartly dressed animals trumpet a hello and smiling clouds wear tiny spotted party hats ...enter the dream-like world of CouCou Illustration

Can you tell us a little bit about yourself and how you came to illustration?

Hello, my name is Cécile Metzger and I am French ! I currently live in Florence (Italy), but I will probably move countries again next year. I mostly work with watercolour. In the past, I have worked on different projects such as children picture books, fabric pattern collections, editorial illustrations and other lovely projects. I started working as an illustrator at the end of 2017, after a year spent painting during my free time while working as a retail assistant. I never studied illustration but always loved to paint, and after graduating in literature, I came to the realisation that I would love to try and make a living from my passion ! So I tried to practice as much as possible and started an Instagram account, and little by little, I met some lovely clients and built a collection of nice projects!

We're all in need of some escapism at the moment and your work conjures up such a beautiful fantasy world - where does your inspiration come from to create such magical imaginary scenarios and what is your favourite subject matter to paint?

I usually feel very inspired after having a walk in the woods - I come from a very small town at the East of France, and it is surrounded by beautiful forests and meadows, and I always feel eager to draw and paint after I visited them. I love painting animals and flowers, but my goal for 2021 is to try and paint more human beings as well ! I feel like there are so many beautiful things to be inspired from around us, and so many stories hiding behind a leaf, a flower or a cloud. Sometimes we just need to look closer to find them ! I also find inspiration from artists and designers I admire, colours I see outside, and songs I love.

Some of your illustrations feel like they are from a dream-world. Whatime of day do you feel most inspired and creative?

I found I tend to feel most inspired in the afternoon ! So I usually work on admin tasks during the morning, and try to save the afternoons for some drawing or painting time (either painting for a client project or for myself, depending on the amount of work I have at that moment) ! Oh, also, a warm cup of tea, for some reason, always puts me in the mood to start painting ! Maybe it is because it makes me feel calm and cosy at my desk, and this makes me want to grab a brush and start to paint.

The soft colour palette you work with adds to the dream-like quality of your work - how much planning goes into selecting colours before you begin and how much is experimentation?

Picking colour palettes is probably one of my favourite parts of the painting process. Mixing different shades and watching the result appear on paper is a great joy for me ! I would say that it all starts with experimentation and playing with different colours, just to see how the result would look. Actually, when I feel uninspired or I find myself a bit de-motivated to paint, I love to just sit with all of my colours and mix things (almost) randomly. Because it helps me find new shades I like, and build new colour palettes that I can later use in my work. These palettes can later inspire an entire illustration or pattern ! I have some favourite shades that I use in most of my works, but experimenting to find new ones is always a pleasure for me. When I paint for myself, I like to go with the flow and find colours as I paint many times. But when I work for a client project, I like to give some propositions for a colour palette beforehand, just to make sure my client will be pleased with it ! But it is true that later, as I paint, the palette might slightly evolve, because you can realise once you paint that some things would look better if you tweak some colours slightly.

This year has been a huge challenge for us all! Have you seen this reflected in your work or your design process?

I think that something I learnt from this year is that it is okay to take your time and go slowly. It is okay to say no sometimes, and it is super important to also keep space in your timetable for personal work and experimentation ! For a long time I used to not take the time to create for myself when I had a lot of client work at the same time, because I had deadline to follow. But I came to the realisation that sometimes, taking an afternoon to just play and paint freely, will actually make me work faster and more efficiently the next day on a project, because the time I spent painting for myself gave me more energy and ideas. So I try to spend at least one afternoon a week painting just for fun (of course there are weeks when it is not possible, but most of the time I do my best to take that time) !

What's next for you in 2021?

I am currently working on a new picture book that will keep me busy for the beginning of 2021, and I would love to work on opening a small online shop of my own, where I could design and sell my dream products ! I am also trying to build a larger portfolio for patterns and surface design, as I would really love to work on more pattern projects in the future ! I worked on different projects in 2020 which will come out next year, but sadly I don't think I can talk too much about them before they are released ! I am excited for that new year, and to see what it will bring!

You can find more of Cécile’s on Instagram @coucou_illustration