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In the early eighties a group of professional illustrators in the South West of England, mainly around Bath and Bristol, decided it would be a good idea to get together on a regular basis, with the purpose of sharing information, giving and taking advice, and generally just being with like-minded, similarly occupied people (as most of us spend our working days alone at the drawing board!) The majority were also members of the Association of Illustrators. Over the years the number of active members has fluctuated, soaring to around 80 at one time when meetings were held in an art gallery in Bath, and dwindling to a handful who would meet in members' homes. SWILL currently has about 20 active members, though more are on our mailing list! We meet four or five times a year taking it in turns to organize the event, meeting place and mailings. A typical SWILL get together involves the bringing of food and drink to share, and the showing of some of our latest published pieces, or work in progress. It is all very informal and we mingle, chatting, nibbling and imbibing. It is a useful vehicle for the exchanging of information :- useful addresses, methods of getting work, shows, competitions, book fairs and seminars that may be coming up. We discuss issues such as copyright, PLR, royalties etc. From time to time we do something a little more adventurous - a visit to a stately home maybe, a barbeque, or skittles at the pub! We are pleased to welcome new illustrators to our meetings. We have a SWILL logo, mascot, call it what you will - a PIG! - who appears in various styles and guises depending on the artist who is organizing the next 'do', and who will illustrate the mailed information with a porker (swill being what is fed to pigs). THE SWILL WEB PAGE - was suggested at a meeting in 2001, as a way in which members could collectively promote their work, hopefully generating new clients and commissions by reaching a wider audience. The idea was met with much enthusiasm. Felicity Roma Bowers, a long time SWILLustrator, took up the challenge of presenting our many and diverse styles under the SWILL banner. Kate Davies for the full story of SWILL's history click here
ABOUT SOUTH WEST ILLUSTRATORS
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