Scots artist well versed with microblogs

JOHANNA Basford has fast won a reputation as one of Britain's most talented young illustrators.

The 26-year-old from Ellon, Aberdeenshire, is known for her distinctive black and white images, which have won her a host of admirers since graduating in 2005 from Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art and Design with a first-class honours degree in printed textiles.

Basford, who describes herself as a "creative catch-all", works as a designer, illustrator and printer and said she is on "a mission to cover the world" with her intricate hand-drawn patterns and motifs.

Her baroque and sometimes gothic hand-drawn designs have been used on wallpaper, wedding stationary and even tattoos.

A series of her limited edition prints are sold by Heartbreak Publishing, a company part-owned by the artist Jack Vettriano.

The Fringe project represents a natural progression for Basford, who has experience in using Twitter to inform her work.

She has produced a series of detailed works dubbed TwitterPictures by inviting people to send in their suggestions in 140 characters or fewer on the microblogging site. The finished works are then available to buy as limited edition silk screen prints.

"It's a really exciting project, fusing together old-school creative processes and online social networking," she said.