Inspired by traditional woodcuts and engraved imagery, Rohan Eason’s meticulously and expressive hand-drawn style is full of atmosphere, and every image is steeped in the narrative of the story he’s illustrating. The simplicity of his black and white renderings brings the idea behind each image to the fore, and his work is widely used in book illustration – for children and adults.
Based in London, Rohan is inspired by artists like Aubrey Beardsley whose prints he first saw in his grandmother’s house when he was growing up. Today, critics freely liken Rohan’s work to Beardsley’s and he not only takes commissions from publishing houses but also self-publishes his work. He has a BA in Fine Art Printmaking from Croydon College.
Approach
Rohan uses pen and ink, and generally works in black and white. All his work begins with a focus on composition and after establishing a structure he fine-tunes the viewpoint and the emphasis of the image, to give it emotional impact. In addition to monochrome, Rohan brings colour to some of his projects to give them something different.Style
There’s strength and clarity in Rohan’s work, alongside subtle nuances that will remind you of Art Nouveau. Beardsley’s influence is clear, but Rohan is also a fan of Arthur Rackham’s illustrations, and the art of Mark Grotjahn and Mark Rothko, among others.