Meet the Weather Clock Illustrator

by Rob & Sarah

Our second illustrator in this series is Peter McDermott, who worked with us on our Weather and Tide Clocks.

Tell us about yourself? 

Well, my name is Peter McDermott and I live on the Isle of Skye with my wife Jane and our crazy bearded collie dog Holly! We moved here over 21 years ago from the leafy lanes of Surrey England after buying a renovated church at the end of a spectacular coastal road on the Sleat peninsula. I have two children, both grown up, my son working in the wine trade and my daughter a successful jeweller. 

What was your inspiration for the Weather clock/Tide clock artwork?

I guess I drew my inspiration for the artwork for both clocks from the classic British railway poster style of the 30s and 40s and the work of the Japanese artist Hokusai. I’ve always been drawn to that unique simplistic flat graphic styling, probably because I had been trained in graphic design many years ago at the West Surrey Collage of Art and Design in Farnham.

Who inspires you?

I draw my inspiration from the great railway poster illustrators of the 30s and 40s such as Norman Wilkinson and Tom Purvis. I also very much admire the strong graphic work which continues to emanate from the Czech Republic (the country of my mother’s birth). Lastly I simply love the work of Hokusai having been particularly influenced by his work ‘the great wave of Kanagawa' at art collage.   

What do you love about being an illustrator?

I love just getting lost in a piece of work, playing with colours and simplifying shapes to the point of abstraction, it’s a real joy when someone expresses admiration for my work.

How do you create your illustrations, do you sketch, draw or paint?

The main tool for my illustration work is a Wacom digital tablet and stylus. Using a software programme called Adobe Illustrator I apply multiple layers of drawn shapes over a base photographic image. Due to the nature of the drawing technique interesting marks can be achieved which helps avoid creating something that looks computer generated. 

Which is your favourite Bramwell Brown clock and why?

My favourite clock is the tide clock, I find the mechanics of the movement mechanism fascinating.

What's next for you?

What’s next? Well happily I always seem to be busy, having just completed a set of beer labels for a Scottish brewer, the next project in the pipeline is to create a range of landscape posters of the Isle of Skye and Central Highlands.

See our range of Limited Edition Weather Clocks here