Celebrating her prolific sketchbook practice, ‘People in Clothes’ presents a selection of artwork by Jessamie Holmes taken from her personal archive of journals. The book summons some of her countless devilish characters and reimagines them into a new fantastical format.

Jessamie’s material-generous drawings are crafted under candlelight using traditional mediums like ink and oil pastel; a vibrant interplay of colour and texture. While drawing on art historical compositions, her practice is often intuitive and impulsive; there’s a sense of play… experimenting with the conventions of traditional portraiture. The book’s experimental form reflects this playful approach to figurative illustration and directly references the modest scale of the original works.

Inspired by theatrical imagery of clowns and punks, the bold outfits of Jessamie’s characters never overshadow their detail in physiognomy; her emphasis on facial features and expressions conveying a level of empathy for the individuals behind the costumes and the makeup.

All the world’s a stage, for us people in clothes.