Scottish Highlands inspires Irish

Renowned poster artist Martin Irish draws his inspiration for his illustrations from areas as diverse as Scottish mountains and vinyl toys.

"I am fortunate to be living in the beautiful and breathtaking Highlands of Scotland, not far from Loch Ness, which has so much to offer in terms of inspiration. If you have never ventured this far North then I highly recommend you do so, you will not regret it!"

Martin often roams the mountains with his trusty camera constantly at hand.

"I take many of my own photographs and manipulate them for my designs. I spend a lot of time getting the right combination of photos before I set to work on my Mac."

Martin strives to produce work that he would happily purchase himself.

"I do not to look too closely to what is happening in greeting card retailers. Inspiration, for me, comes from looking mainly at fashion, textiles and design magazines."

From the wilds of the highlands to toy stores Martin takes inspiration from a diverse pot.

"I'm also a big fan of the vinyl toy market, there are some very talented artists working in this particular field and I always find it a thrill to see what latest designs they come out with."

For him imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.

"When I see my work mimicked it spurs me to come up with new looks, just like a fashion designer would launch new lines several times a year, its sad though when artists do it badly - don't accept imitations!"

Martin credits his representation as being crucial to his success as an artist.

"I have a great agency, Advocate Art, who's staff all work extremely hard and always have a positive response to any new ideas I may throw at them, even after 12 years."