Michelle Thompson
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Michelle Thompson has been at the forefront of illustration since graduating from the Royal College of Art in 1996. She has worked successfully in publishing, editorial and design.

Her illustrations have appeared internationally, most notably in collaboration with the influential British designer Vaughan Oliver. Michelle has also illustrated Cherie Blair's book, 'The Goldfish Bowl'. She illustrates a regular column for The Globe and Mail in Toronto.

Other clients include the Royal Mail, BBC, Reebok, Penguin Books, The Guardian and many others. Her work has been featured in the international design press including Creative Review, Communication Arts and Graphics International and can be found in numerous design books including Hand & Eye and Picture Book by Angus Hyland (Pentagram).

Michelle's work includes mark making, collage and photography combined with digital processes. She works with found and created elements, figurative, abstract and typographic. Her work is uniquely versatile and constantly evolving.

Michelle works using a combination of traditional collage techniques and digital technology.

"Editorial work tends to be digital for speed but I still work by hand when the circumstances allow. More often it's a combination of techniques. I have a huge archive of elements collected over the past 15 years. Everything from postcards, books and magazines, to wood block type, typewriters and printing sets. I use paint and ink, pens and pencils, as well as my own photography."

Michelle lives in Saffron Walden (UK) with her partner and two sons.
Curriculum Vitae

Education
Royal College of Art, 1994 - 1996
MA Illustration

Norwich School of Art, 1991 - 1994
BA (Hons) Graphic Design/First Class

Freelance Illustrator 1996 onwards
Member of the Association of Illustrators.

Lecturing - Illustration
University of Hertfordshire, 2003 - 2004
Loughborough University, 1999 - 2003

Visiting Lecturer
Anglia Ruskin University, Cambridge, 2004
Middlesex University, 2003
Norwich School of Art, 2000 - 2002

Press/Books
Text and Image, 2007
The Picture Book, 2006
Thinking Visually, 2006
01 14N 103 55E, Singapore, 2005
Graphic Poetry, 2005
Re:Think Design Construct, 2004
Hand and Eye, 2003
Digital Exposure, 2002
A Digital Dolly?, 2000

Press/Magazines
Vogue Taiwan, 2008
DPI magazine Taiwan, April 2008
Creative Review, April 2005
Computer Arts, April 2005
The Journal - AOI, Aug 2002
The Journal - AOI, June 2002
Communication Arts, May 2002
Creative Review, Oct 2000
Eye Magazine, May 2000
Graphics International, June 1997

Exhibitions
Hayletts Gallery, July 2010
Church St Gallery, April 2010 - ongoing
i2Art Gallery, February 2010
The Fry Art Gallery, Nov 2009
8 Bells - Joint exhibition, Feb 2009
Images 26 - 32, 2002 - 08
The Fry Art Gallery, Nov 2008
Aldeburgh Gallery, June 2008
Twenty Years of Design Week, 2006
The Fry Art Gallery, Nov 2001
Cadogan Contemporary, London, Jul 1999
Tricycle Gallery, London, Nov 1998
Ozten Zeki Gallery, London, Aug 1998
Atlantis Gallery, London, Apr 1998
Candid Gallery, London, Dec 1997
James West Fine Art, Dublin, Oct 1997
Tom Blau Gallery, London, Sep 1997
Tom Blau Gallery, London, May 1997
James West Fine Art, London, May 1996
Art International, Paris, Nov 1996
Springpoint Ltd, London, May 1996
The Railings Gallery, London, April 1996
The Hockney Gallery, London, Feb 1996
Gulbenkian Gallery RCA, London, Mar 1995

Clients have included
Vaughan Oliver/Aspesi, Royal Mail, The Boston Globe, CDT,
The Independent, The Guardian, New Scientist, Penguin Books, TXU/Eastern Energy, 4AD, The Radio Times, The Times,
Marks & Spencer, BBC World Service, Barclays, The Financial Times,
The Telegraph, The Boston Globe, The Globe & Mail,
World of Interiors, ELLE, Asda, Business Week, Design Week, V2,
The LA Times, Harvard Law magazine, Radio Times,
Waitrose Food Illustrated, Economist