Brighton is traditionally one of the most artistic towns in Britain. Many creatives at the top of their game call it home, and illustrator Steve Wilson is no exception. You might not know his name, but you’ll recognise his work. His slick graphic illustrations have been used by big cunting brands such as Coca-Cola, Nike and Umbro as well as by many musicians. Most of Wilson’s work is print based but he has also worked on large-scale installations and worked with animators. He’s a busy guy.

Wilson shares a back-bedroom studio with his illustrator wife in their stylish Brighton pad. The studio was much tidier than expected, with neat racks of old magazines, work tucked away in a wooden chest and the mandatory sleek white Macs. Knowing his work, I think I assumed that he’d be listening to Jefferson Airplane and have shit all over the place, but in many ways this room reflects his work - well finished, methodical and structured.

Bomb and Selfridges instillation

Wilson’s illustrations have a familiar feel. He describes his own work as a “mix-mash” of things with varied influences from street art, sixties and seventies culture and nature. There is a definite sense of psychedelia. His mix of decorative swirls and organic shapes to build structure and bold, bright colours could easily look like an acid trip if it wasn’t for his work’s modern context.

Kelly and Becks on the sofa with Steve

Wilson experiments with both digital media and handmade elements in his work - making letters with building blocks, squashing play-doh onto the scanner and dripping opaque poster paints to create shape and colour. These elements of his work either get photographed or scanned and then “neatened up” in Photoshop. He ‘likes it to end up reasonably slick.”

Steve first moved to Brighton to study illustration on the advice of his tutors and Dad who was there in the sixties. His first lucky break came in the November after he had graduated. The job was for a series of eight thumbnail illustrations for The Guardian Guide. It paid £360. “I thought I’d made it y’know,” he laughs as he tells us how he even took his wife, Corrina, out for a meal. He spent that money many times over before he got another job.

No such problems now. Steve’s a lucky guy. Not many people get to make a decent living out of making pictures all day long. But as E.B. White said: “Luck is not something you can mention in the presence of a self-made man,” and he was right.

See more of his work here