Illustration

Jonna Fransson

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BIOGRAPHY

Jonna Franssons grew up in the countryside near Falköping in Sweden. Her family were part of the green wave of the 1970s, a counterurbanisation movement that saw many families move out of the cities to the countryside. Jonna’s family fled the city before she and her two older brothers were born. As a child she often visited her grandparents’ house where there always seemed to be something new to discover. Her grandfather encouraged her to study the masters of art, so Jonna returned from every visit there with a thick art book to read. After high school she enrolled in an art-course in Paris and after that she applied to the HDK - the School of Design and Crafts in Gothenburg. After graduation, she also took a master's degree in storytelling at Konstfack - The University College of Arts, Crafts and Design in Stockholm. Since then she has been awarded first prize by Swedish Young Design and also placed silver and gold in a contest called "Kolla!" held by The Association of Swedish Illustrators and Graphic Designers. Jonna also conceived the graphic look of Way Out West in Gothenburg - a prestigious commission that allowed her the opportunity to make her mark on one of the country’s largest and most established music festivals. She describes her style as being 70s-flavoured and realistic. She is very fond of classic illustrators such as Jane Bark who did fashion drawings and short story illustrations for women's magazines in the 60s and 70s. Jonna picks up many ideas from nature but also enjoys making glamorous illustrations, inspired by, amongst other things, movies like Paris is Burning. She prefers using coloured pencils and pens but says that she often strives to make her images even more colourful. "For some reason, they still end up looking quite subdued colourwise. A good friend who was visiting my parents said something nice. As we drove up the small gravel track leading to our house, he said that he saw a part of me in all the colours of nature, in the earth, the woods and the fields. I guess I've been influenced a lot by my childhood