A one-man show of his work was held at the Irish Museum of Modern Art in 1998 to much acclaim. He lives and works in New York City.

Many of your works when taken out of the context they illustrate - for example 'mother and child' stand perfectly well on their own as works closer to 'art' than 'illustration', is this something you strive for in recent work?

Whether its a commission or a piece for my self, I work in the same manner, I respond to what I read or see or hear my response is my vision. I'm not interested if my work is seen as 'Illustration' or 'Art', I just want to create.

You currently have a website - do you find having a website to promote your work essential? Do you get more interest in your work as opposed to being in an illustration stock catalogue - or directory?

Yes, I have a site for about a year and had it redesigned by" Red canoe"(a new design group working in Tennessee) last september. My original idea for having a site was to make my work instantly accessible, where as sending out a portfolio is slow and time consuming. As it turns out both are necessary and I would say most people still like to see the actual portfolio. I really don't know where people see my work, few would be aware of my site, unless I direct someone to it As regards the site being essential, it can't hurt. My site address is, briancronin.com

What is your opinion on the stock illustration sites currently on the internet? Many key illustrators have complained that they denigrate the value of an illustrators' work - with illustrators' making less money and eliminating the need for original, commissioned artwork? What is your opinion?

I am totally against stock houses who sell your work to whoever and for whatever. I am responsible for my own work and how it is used, all illustrators sell their work for stock from time to time , I am no exception , but I choose to retain the right to choose who I sell to and for what price. I have joined the ispot just last week, I retain all control on price and usage so it's no big deal. As regards stock eliminating the need for original commissions, I don't think so, stock is just convenient for some , it will never take the place of original specific commission.

Do you think illustrations being commissioned for websites will increase over the next few years? Or is illustration for print still the predominant form?

I have no idea but my guess is that commissions for websites will increase as computers become more and more part of our daily lives, I buy Newspapers, books and magazines - I have a feeling I'm not alone.

Who are some of your illustration influences? (artists etc.,) who do you like currently in illustration?

I stopped looking at individuals work a long time ago, as a source of inspiration. I still look at work but it is more broad based than just Illustration. I am more interested in my own ideas at the moment wherever they come from, walking around ( I walk or cycle everywhere I rarely use public transport ) books, music, movies etc. I love looking at buildings and interiors, my wife Siuin is a Textile Designer so I am constantly learning from her about colour and design.

There must be a tremendous excitement every time a new illustration assignment comes through the fax machine...when you never know what images will result at the end of it. Do you enjoy the process as much as the final work / and does it help fuel your own personal artworks?

I think there is also an amount of fear, it puts you in a new perspective, it shuffles your deck it's never comfortable. After I read a manuscript the pressure is on for me to react, my first thought is just a stepping stone to an idea. I am always suspicious of my first idea sometimes they work but I usually like to sit on it for a day or two (depending on the deadline) and go back and review.

A while back there I would have said that illustration fuels my own work, I'm not so sure any more, Illustration keeps my craft tuned so when I am working on personal pieces I can just concentrate on the concept and not so much on the technique.

In 1998 an exhibition of your illustration work in the Irish Museum of Modern Art provided a fantastic insight into the working mind of an illustrator, particularly your sketchbooks and 'the process' of creating the final image. Sketching in layers seems to play an important part in this - could you explain?

Sketching in layers is my way of thinking visually. Using a pad to sketch through a thought adding and subtracting, Its like building a house except the foundation can be big or small. Some times this process is worked out without putting pen to paper.

Many of your personal works in the exhibition used similar techniques to your commissioned work, though were much greater in size, enlarged with the use of an epidiascope.

Size doesn't matter (joking) what matters are ideas. With the bigger works I wanted them to have the same impact on a wall as they would if they were a full page illustration in a magazine, I wanted the same proportion.

Have you ever experimented with using a computer to produce your illustrations?

I have a mac and I sometimes play with colour on an existing piece of scanned art, I really enjoy working with my hands and making a mess, the screen is sterile to me.

Do you ever feel pigeonholed by the term 'illustrator' - after all artists as diverse as Picasso, Dali and Warhol were also regarded as illustrators and artists?

I think people who pigeonhole ideas or people are really missing the point, so I don't pay much attention to titles.

Although you have a very distinct illustration style, it still remains as contemporary today as ever, do you think this perhaps is due to the importance of visual ideas in your work (much like the work of Brad Holland or Guy Billot) as opposed to very style/technique led work?

I think there are two very important things to consider in any work, content and style. For ideas to communicate it's important to be aware of the era you are in, it's going to be very hard to get across an idea in y2k if its communicating in the language of 1963. Hopefully my ideas will grow and develop, and with this my approach/ style will change, and each changes the other.

Seeing your images appear in the likes of Time magazine for the first must have been an incredible experience. Does it still give you the same excitement today? Do you ever feel a tremendous pressure knowing your illustrations will be seen by millions, including your peers?

I still love to see my work when it's printed, very often though it's months after the fact, so I'm either surprised or disappointed. What I really enjoy about Illustration is the people looking at my drawings are from a cross section of society not just Art lovers, I like the link illustration has with the real world and real world issues, I feel I communicate, that's important to me.

Do you have any unfulfilled ambitions as regards your illustration work? Or your personal work?

I don't spend a lot of time looking back, I'm always looking ahead.

Visit Brian Cronin's website

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