I’ve been working on new colour images for my portfolio over the last few days but so far it is looking suspiciously like a black and white portfolio that I’ve coloured in… hey ho! Here is one of the things I’ve been working on; this is Gnat, a brave little fellow flying all alone into the deep dark forest.
I’ve been focussing on creating new black and white work recently but when these guys came along I realised they needed a little colour. They are bookworms discussing the merits of “Maisie Hitchins -The Case of the Stolen Sixpence” and the Victorian era in general when lots of people (and worms) really enjoyed wearing top hats. This picture is put together using drawing and collage and features a Marion wallpaper design in the background.
Although my studio didn’t take part in Cambridge Open Studios this year, we are still very much involved and that’s why I decided to take part in a loveheart painting challenge to raise money for the Arthur Rank Hospice Charity‘s new hospice. My loveheart was on display in my studiomate Neil Warmsley‘s Open Studio that he this year shared with stone carver Keith Bailey. The hearts are all going to be auctioned off later in the year so keep an eye on the Love Your New Hospice Facebook page to see all the lovehearts as they appear and later on for news of the auction!
Here are some inky drawings featuring creatures that don’t have an awful lot more in common than the number of feet they possess and the fact that I like drawing them! Above is a wingless dragon and below a couple of horses and…well I’m not altogether certain what the one at the bottom is. I made these with my favourite exhausted 1 cm wedge brush and black acrylic ink. I think these creatures are trying to get me to write them a story…
I’m working away on a new and exciting series of chapter books at the moment and here is the first cover! Dragons and Marshmallows is the first of three titles in the Zoey and Sassafras series written by multitalented superlady Asia Citro of Fun At Home With Kids fame. All three books will be coming out in March 2017 from American publishing house The Innovation Press. It’s a bit of a dream illustrating these books – not only do I get to draw pictures of Zoey and her constantly entertaining cat Sassafras, but I also get to draw monsters and dragons – perfect! Here is a sneak peek at some of the interior illustrations from book 1:
Patterns and illustrations seem to be coming together for me – I do find it quite difficult not to give everything a happy face, even if it’s just clouds… Here are a couple of new patterns.
I’ve been working on lots of new things lately but this week I decided to have a bit of a return to form and draw a cat… Here he is blowing bubbles.
A little while ago I was asked to create a piece of artwork inspired by and featuring the poem “To His Coy Mistress” by Andrew Marvell which was to become a print. An unusual job for me and a challenging one too! I wanted to create a piece that was somewhere between a pattern and an illustration and it was also important to keep the background fairly neutral to allow the poem to be read. I used the motif from a pattern I had previously made because this “Queen of Diamonds” just felt like the right character to me. I gave the image a completely different background pattern and overall colour, and placed the poem over the top. Below is the finished result – the print is 50cm high so it’s a bit easier to read!
As well as working on a new chapter book series I am thinking a lot about patterns at the moment as I am taking of one of Rachael Taylor‘s rather excellent Make It In Design courses! It’s such fun making patterns and really lovely to be spurred on by my teachers and classmates. Here are some of my newest patterns that focus on characters.
