UsFolk

It's International Women's Day this coming Saturday so there's no better woman to kick off our new Folks Like Us series than UsFolk's Kathi Burke. In Folks Like Us we dig deep into the souls of illustrators and find out important stuff like... What ignites their creative fire? Do they really colour in their own artwork and Are all their plants really real? Kathi is an author and Illustrator based in Waterford. You can check out new artwork from Kathi at the @cailleach_exhibition launching as part of late night art (06.03.25) in Vault Artist Studios. What’s your morning ritual? Drink a cup of coffee with milk and sugar, probably in bed with my man and the two cats screaming to be let out. Read something, write a couple nonsense pages in my journal. I stretch, water the plants, refill the bird feeders and eat breakfast if it's an appropriate time - lunch if it's not. I might workout, I might do some housework, I might listen to the radio. I bash out any quick admin tasks that I hate (finances/time logs/emails) and the creative work starts once I've warmed up by listening or practicing music, a short writing exercise, following some idea down a wiki rabbit hole etc. What’s playing in your studio speakers? I listen to Limmy's Twitch stream from 930-130, and then The Sims' soundtracks if I'm writing, or police interrogation videos if I'm drawing, weirdly. I save music for my free time, but prefer background chatter if I'm trying to concentrate. What’s your favourite part of your process? Manic research! Deep diving into a new topic, trying to connect dots between separate ideas, making notes that make no sense to anyone but me (mainly due to bad penmanship) and then trying to decipher my own scrawls. What fuels your creativity? I don't know how to explain it - it's just this sense that I must make something, like it's a mission I've been sent on to come up with ideas and make them real. That's all I ever want to do. What keeps it exciting to me is to focus on stuff that literally no-one has asked me for. I want to make stuff that nobody wants but me. Getting to the core of what that might be is what fuels my creative fire.

Fed up with boring old logos and sub par branding projects? Why not commission an UsFolk illustrator to create a professional hand-drawn logo that oozes personality? Add a dash of bespoke illustration to your brand family and you're hot to go! New work by Conor Nolan for The Dead Rabbit's winter sports bar 'Joxer’s' in NYC. #illustration #irishillustrator #illustratedlogo #branding @usfolk @cheesenolan @thedeadrabbitny @rooftopatpier17

New SCREEN/PRINT poster alert! All attendees of tonight’s screening of PARASITE will receive a free copy of this specially commissioned poster by @jaydeperkin Join us at QFT tonight (Tuesday 04 March) at 6pm for a screening of Bong Joon Ho’s (Mickey 17) Oscar winning, blackly comic thriller, Parasite. ABOUT SCREEN/PRINT Featuring cult classics, blockbusters, and cherished personal favourites, SCREEN/PRINT showcases the vibrant talents of the contemporary illustration scene and their love of film. UsFolk illustrators and special guests create new posters for the films that have inspired them, unveiled at exclusive screenings at QFT. Plus, every attendee receives a free, limited-edition print! Presented in collaboration with QFT Belfast and The Naughton Gallery.

Those Monday vibes. Illustration by Sonny Ross

Jameson and UsFolk are proud to announce Barrelfolk 2025 in celebration of International Women’s Day. This coming Saturday 16th Feb and Sunday 16th of Feb from 10am-5.30pm some of UsFolk’s finest female illustrators and 2 special guests will be LIVE painting Jameson whiskey barrels at 2 Royal Avenue for some of Northern Ireland’s best bars. Pop by during the day to say hello. The newly adorned barrels will be exhibited on International Women’s Day 6th March as part of a very special event. Keep an eye out for more details coming very soon.

Next week, UsFolk Director Mel Carroll will be chatting to the lovely folks at Illustrators North about all things illustration. Pop by the American Bar, Belfast at 7pm on the 16th January

Hey, it’s almost the weekend so check out this phenomenal piece by Fiona McDonnell for Out of Office brewing. Cheers to Michael at Sort Design for the commission!

There’s only 1 week to go to our UsFolk 6 showcase exhibition in Dublin! The exhibition features artwork by over 30 UsFolk illustrators! If you're about, join us at Hen's Teeth in Dublin on November 7th. Doors open 6pm -10.30pm

The 2024-25 SCREEN/PRINT season kicks off with two reverse colourway posters by Daniel Batista (@freshprincipee). ‘90s classic B.A.P.S is screening at @qftbelfast on Thursday 24 October, 9pm. Tickets on sale now! The SCREEN/PRINT series, presented in collaboration with @qftbelfast and @naughtongallery, sees illustrators being commissioned to create new posters for films which have inspired or influenced their practices. All ticket holders will receive a limited edition print of this specially commissioned poster by Batista. This October, for Black History Month, QFT celebrates Black filmmakers, storytellers, and creatives who have enriched cinema.

UsFolk is on tour! We're pleased as punch to announce that our UsFolk 6 exhibition will be on display in the glorious Hen's Teeth in Dublin on November 7th. Doors open 6pm -10.30pm. Hope to see you there