To His Coy Mistress

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!

April 27, 2016 0

feathered friends

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.

April 13, 2016 2

Maisie Hitchins at Yaxley library

On Wednesday I had a wonderful time at Yaxley Library working with children from Fourfields Primary School and Yaxley Infant School. The children learnt about how to begin illustrating a book and how to come up with characters. After a little drawing practice using Maisie Hitchins and Bella Donna‘s cat Pegatha for inspiration, the children created their own crazy collage creatures. Thanks a million to Sue and to Richard from Cambridgeshire libraries who are both worth their weight in gold. Below are some examples of the children’s rather fabulous work!

March 18, 2016 2

a little inspiration

I have been trying my hand at something a little bit different just recently – Make It In Design are running a competition to illustrate an inspirational quote with the winner earning a place on their Ultimate Portfolio Builder course starting in a few weeks. If I’m honest I’m already signed up to do the course but I couldn’t resist entering the competition anyway! “Damn the torpedoes” has long been a favourite quote of mine and I recently discovered the wonderful “nothing is impossible…” said by Audrey Hepburn. These two images were made by hand with ink and collage and were positively therapeutic to work on!

March 8, 2016 0

further experiments in ink…

I have been doing some more work lately using splodgy ink and a feathery brush. I quite like the results and I thought I’d try adding other collage layers digitally. The black dog above is the result of ink and collage combined and the creatures below are ink applied with brush and dip pen. There’s a story there, I’m just figuring out what it is…

February 25, 2016 2

inky individuals

Here are some slightly odd characters I have created with my favourite old knackered paintbrush and some acrylic ink. I’ve been experimenting with using a dry brush to put down simple shapes and then picking out the character with a chunky ink line. I like the way the drybrush marks create a soft, feathery effect – of course I had to make them into birds…

February 5, 2016 0

red critter and the cowboy snowman

I woke the other day to thick flakes of snow falling past my window. It didn’t last long before turning to so much slush, but whilst it was falling the world was silent and beautiful. I can’t help it, I love snow! Here is a little red critter who has just come across a cowboy snowman. I liked him so much I turned him into a pattern too.

January 20, 2016 2

Mari-Christmas patterns

It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas… This week, in between scoffing mince pies, I’ve been having fun working on some festive patterns. Happy Christmas everyone!

December 24, 2015 0

scruffy garden dog

I like scruffy dogs, they are the best kind if you ask me. Here is one that’s been padding around the garden lately, sniffing everything and contemplating life. I think he might be looking for a friend…

November 21, 2015 0

Cheshire Cats run amok in Essex Libraries!

Last week I was joined by children in Witham, Basildon and Maldon libraries where we made scores of Cheshire Cats. Being naturally solitary creatures, Cheshire Cats have rarely, if ever been seen in these kinds of numbers before, making this half-term a record-breaking Wonderland phenomenon! Last week’s “Down the Rabbit Hole” workshops in Essex Libraries were supported using public funding by the National Lottery through Arts Council England and I’d like to say a huge thank you too to all the wonderful librarians and volunteers who assisted with the collage cat creation. There is still one workshop to go so if your children come along to Saffron Walden Library on the 14th November they can make their very own Cheshire Cat to add to the score!

November 3, 2015 0