Tag Archives: illustration

It’s here, yay!

In case anyone was worried, the Protest books arrived yesterday, and they are fine. More than fine actually. I’d even go so far as to say great! I really was beginning to have literal sleepless nights over them, so this is very cheering. You can see a flick-through, at the chipped nail varnished and multi-silver-ringedContinue reading “It’s here, yay!”

Comics thoughts, tweets and links

Tweet life I lived on Twitter quite a bit this week. First, while waiting at the opticians for an eye test, I happened to see playwright Molly Naylor tweeting about the new book she authored for Lizzy Stewart to illustrate. I love Lizzy’s style: she came and talked at our local comics meetup Cartoon CountyContinue reading “Comics thoughts, tweets and links”

Brighton Naked Bike Ride poster

I love drawing clothes and fashion, as evidenced by my work in progress Satin and Tat, and much of my previous work including Everything My Daughter Wore… So it was quite a surprise to find myself working on an illustration where everyone had to be naked! All for a good cause though: the annual BrightonContinue reading “Brighton Naked Bike Ride poster”

Can I be a mother and a successful artist? Hmm, let’s see

This piece of graffiti is a fairly new addition to an underpass on one of my running routes. I enjoy graffiti and street art well enough, but my goodness, I don’t think I’ve ever seen a piece of it that spoke so directly to my own concerns. I’d like to meet whoever scrawled this andContinue reading “Can I be a mother and a successful artist? Hmm, let’s see”

A week in Barcelona, final part: rainbows, closed doors and iconic pavements

Here’s the final pages of my Barcelona sketch diary. You can see part 1 here. Part 2 is here. Part 3 is here. And part 4 is here. As always, click and click again to see each page at a larger size. Now read on…

A week in Barcelona, part 4: giant heads, small press comics, and food colouring

This is part 4. Part 1 is here Part 2 is here Part 3 is here Click each image and then click them again to see them at a larger size. That blue sketchbook ends up being the one I did my Clovember drawings in. Tomorrow: the final installment.

Brighton Illustration Fair

I’m really feeling the pressure of time at the moment. It’s a fine old thing to have a drawing blog, but that becomes a bit problematic if you find yourself having the choose between updating it and actually doing some drawing! So this is a bit of a fly-by post. I just wanted to tipContinue reading “Brighton Illustration Fair”

What happens when your New Year’s resolution is “Draw More”?

My new year’s resolution for 2014 was a fairly complex one, but in essence it boiled down to two words: draw more. …and it has felt like I’ve drawn a lot this year. Not as much as someone who doesn’t have a day-job and a child, of course, but a steady stream of stuff nonetheless.Continue reading “What happens when your New Year’s resolution is “Draw More”?”

Cartoon competitions update

As you may recall, I’ve entered three illustration/comics competitions in recent weeks: The Cape/Comica/Observer Graphic Short Story contest The Thought Bubble Comic Art competition The Association of Illustrators Prize for Illustration (I’ve also entered the competition to design a new pound coin, just for fun! And so did my daughter. But that’s another post forContinue reading “Cartoon competitions update”

When illustrators speak instead of draw

Above: one of several quotes from illustrators I’ve collected together in a single browsable interface. You can learn a lot about drawing by looking at the work of your favourite illustrators. Certainly you can make conscious deductions about their use of colour, composition, or media. But there are some things that no amount of staringContinue reading “When illustrators speak instead of draw”

Crows flying over the island. In vibrant technicolour.

All things colour are killing me at the moment. This looks much more muted in real life, but on my monitor right now, it’s looking almost garish. Oh well, I’m just trying to concentrate on those birds, and whether they distract too much from the landscape – which I’m still perfectly happy with… IN REALContinue reading “Crows flying over the island. In vibrant technicolour.”

Time trials

Having my portfolio up on the Brighton Illustrators’ Group website has really been working for me recently, and I’ve had a couple of jobs from it in the last fortnight. When a new commission comes in, there are lots of things to talk about with the client – scope of the project, the deadline, howContinue reading “Time trials”

Over egging the pudding, flogging a dead horse, etc

I haven’t shared any collages with you recently. There’s a reason for that, and it isn’t that I haven’t been making any. No, I’m kind of stuck on one theme that keeps going down dead ends. With my previous collages, the stamp paddyfields, forest and valley, I had an excited feeling almost right away –Continue reading “Over egging the pudding, flogging a dead horse, etc”

Happy Birthday, Dude

Thanks to poor forward planning skills, our family suffers a quadruple whammy at this time of year. As soon as all the kerfuffle of Christmas and New Year is over, it’s our daughter’s birthday, and then, just a week later, my husband’s. I spent the first few days of the year creating a winter wonderlandContinue reading “Happy Birthday, Dude”

Green Shield stamps paddyfields

In the last few days, I’ve put the finishing touches to a complex collage of paddy fields. It’s made of tickets and postage stamps (many contributed by kind friends) and maps (including one I used to navigate around Japan, before the advent of smartphones in my life). These elements symbolise travelling over great distances. IContinue reading “Green Shield stamps paddyfields”