Nick Sheehy was raised in the bush in Tasmania, Australia. He now lives in Leigh-on-Sea (UK) with his girlfriend, Catherine. He enjoys drawing various weird things for himself, publications and occasionally the odd client.

How would you describe your personal style?
Fantasy, folky nonsense. Neat, yet messy at the same time.

When you were a child, did you want to become an illustrator?
Not really. I was never very good at planning ahead. Wherever I end up, is usually by accident. I liked drawing but never thought anything could come of it.

Where do you get your inspiration from?
Anywhere. I try not to look at too much art for inspiration. Inspiration usually comes from other things such as: nature, things I remember from my childhood, films and bad architecture.

Could you describe your working process?
I keep a small Moleskine book which is used to sketch character and shape ideas. I like being limited in paper size in the initial stages as it helps keep you from taking too long in drawing your ideas and makes you focus more on composition. I usually keep all drawings very small until I decide upon the design of a final picture. Then I enlarge the thumbnail image, trace it to the size I want the final piece to be, add details, tweak shapes, then re-trace on to nice paper and draw and shade the final piece with pencil. Once that's finished I might colour the piece in Photoshop. But I'm trying to keep off the computer as much as possible, so I'm going to start using acrylic washes or something like that.

What would be the ideal working setup for you?
Studio in the middle of a forest, good music, big wooden desk, my girlfriend by my side quilting and a regular supply of tea. Maybe a dog curled up in front of a fire.

What do you love the most about your life as an illustrator?
I like creating things. It's good meditation. I think it helps keep me on a fairly even mindset.

If you had to do something totally different for living, what would it be?
I wouldn't mind being a carpenter. I like building things.

What kind of music do you listen while working?
Anything from Captain Beefheart to Autechre. Usually stuff that helps your mind wander.

If you could go anywhere tomorrow, where would you go?
Either Finland, Tokyo or South America springs to mind.

Who are your all-time favorite artists?
I don't have an all-time favourite. I go through stages of liking some artists, then moving on. Charlie Harper, Giacometti and Jim Flora currently spring to mind.

Who has been the most inspiring non-artistic person for you?
My girlfriend, Catherine. But she's pretty artistic too.

What is the most bizarre dream you ever had?
I'm not good at remembering my dreams but they usually all fall into the bizarre category. The last one I remember was about two giants shaving each others head while nearly completely submerged under water. Every now and then I have 'building' dreams where, over the course of the night, I'll slip in and out of dreamland thinking I'm building something, performing the same repetitious task, like laying bricks or something. I usually wake up feeling exhausted.

If you could meet any great name from known human history, who would it be?
Philip K Dick.

Thank you!