Ashleigh Rosanna is a self-taught artist based in Copenhagen, but originating from the UK. As a small child, Ashleigh’s great-Grandad would often put a pencil in her hand and encourage her to draw objects he collected from the garden – snail shells, beetles, and once (to the horror of her Mum) a dead frog. He never coached her or provided criticism, only words of encouragement to draw exactly what she saw. As an adult, her works aim to portray the character and beauty of animals and nature through a complex combination of stippled and cross-hatched designs, inspired by the clean Scandinavian style she has come to embrace.

Ashleigh’s most recent project, “Flowers in Their Hair,” communicates the relationship between flora and fauna in a lighthearted way, using splashes of color to contrast the monotony that the black ink creates. Ashleigh believes that high quality art should be accessible by all, and she strives to keep her art available to the majority. Ashleigh frequently drops free art around Copenhagen, and although she realizes it may be hard to live as an artist this way, she hopes to stay committed to her principles.

A crop of this art is located on the artwork page of this issue.