About Zara

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Zara is a self-taught UK artist, illustrator, and cartoonist. Originally from London, she currently works from her home studio in Derbyshire.

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I am a storyteller at heart. My work is a combination of narrative visual arts and a method of recording the things that make up my life and my story. I use my art practise as a personal coping tool for mental health recovery and grounding, as well as a way to discover and reinforce a stronger sense of self and a connection to the places I have called home.​

 

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Cartoons & Illustration:

The Graphic Memoir

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My journey into sequential art began as a survival tool. Following burnout during my career as a professional content writer – coupled with redundancy and a gruelling antidepressant withdrawal – I drew a daily mental health diary comic for an entire year.

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Today, I am actively developing this body of work into a graphic memoir and am currently seeking literary representation.

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• Portfolio: View my sequential and illustration work at zara-m.com.

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• Read the Comics: Follow the original daily diary archive on my Substack, All About Zara.

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Digital Printmaking:

Zara’s Trees

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Alongside my narrative illustration, I launched my online shop, Zara Makes, to share my digital printmaking. My debut collection, "Zara's Trees," features digitally hand-drawn tree silhouettes inspired by my original photography from London in Highgate and Hampstead Heath, where I lived. The artworks are printed in-house as high-quality open prints and greeting cards.

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This series directly reflects a period of intense claustrophobia after returning to the city following a painful breakup, just before my mental health diagnosis. I began drawing these intricate, complex branch patterns during hyper-focused hypomanic phases. Channelling this intense hypomanic energy into detailed linework remains a deeply therapeutic practice, and therefore this collection will continue to evolve and grow.

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Current Work:

Defining "Home"

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Growing up, I constantly shifted – changing schools, moving houses, losing and remaking friendships. As an adult, this instability persisted across homes, jobs, and relationships. Living with a mood disorder further fragmented my sense of self and belonging.

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To heal, my current art explores themes of recovery, stability, and my true meaning and feeling of home:​ For me, home is not a geographical place or a specific person. It is the collection of objects and memories I carry with me whenever I must start over. I am currently cataloguing these anchoring elements through my work:

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• The Natural World: The birds, garden scenes, and walks with my dog that regulated me during burnout and other challenging periods of my life.

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• The Everyday: The houseplants I nurture and the familiar indoor objects found around my home that ground me daily.

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• Local Scenes: Sketches of the town and locals, landmarks and local events that celebrate a sense of community and help me feel like I belong.

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While I love the accessibility of digital printmaking during the periods I am struggling with my mental health, my primary studio practices involve graphite, ink, and charcoal. I am currently expanding my voice by experimenting with traditional printmaking methods and introducing colour palettes into my upcoming collections.