I'm running a {GIVEAWAY} to coincide with me introducing new products to my shop. It will run from today, 'til midnight on the 28th February.
Up for grabs are 2 tote bags; one each for 2 winners. One is the mushroom print, one is the wolf. Just use the widget below to enter.
I will contact the winners when the giveaway ends, and the bags will be sent to whatever addresses you supply as soon as possible.
GOOD LUCK!
PS. I do phone cases now, too!
a Rafflecopter giveaway
Thursday 13 February 2014
Monday 27 January 2014
EAT ME
It's been a while since I worked on something self-initiated that wasn't a row of buildings. Something you may not know about me, is that although I thoroughly abhorred mushrooms in my youth, (especially when they were defiling an otherwise delicious pizza or bolognese, along with peppers), I now LOVE them. My current favourite are shiitake, if you want to know, and I now gobble down peppers, too.I think the most enticing thing about them is how freaking weird they are. I mean, they are definitely fruity, in a fungal way. They come in so many shapes, sizes and classifications, each with a unique taste, and while you can eat a hell of a lot of them, some can also KILL YOU. Amazing.I would like you to observe that these here toadstools were created purely with watercolour. As you know I rarely paint, and certainly not before I've made some comfortable pencil lines to guide me. I toyed with the idea of going over these with black ink to create outlines, but in the end I was so pleased with them that I left them be. I hope you like them. I might add that you should definitely NOT eat ANY of these mushrooms, despite the title. They're all poisonous, and ingesting some of them will result in you snuffing it. I'm just terribly witty.
Monday 20 January 2014
Slow and Steady
Sometimes I get so worked up over the fact that I have to maintain my day job whilst other creatives are doing what they love on a daily basis, full time, making enough money so that they don't need a day job. It's not really to do with other illustrators and designers of course, it's to do with my impatience, and admittedly a bit of self doubt. This month I've noticed a lot of positivity and good advice going around, particularly on twitter, and it has recharged my batteries somewhat.
I didn't make any New Year's resolutions, because I'm not quite sentimental enough to hold stock with the idea of regeneration in a new year. Another reason is because I didn't want to put any dents in my self esteem if any of them fell through. I say this mainly in regards to my career, which luckily is the only thing I ever feel needs a change or a boost. I have a roundabout plan to push harder this year though, and that has come from seeing other people working hard and succeeding.
Enough of me rambling on. The point is, I've started a few things already that I hope will bring me a bit of motivation and more importantly, work. You are not going to believe this, and I am deeply ashamed to admit it, but this morning I posted out my very first promotional postcards. Alright, so I graduated in 2010, but it's done now, and it's going to be done every 3 months from now on. The other things I did, were to refresh my website, and create a new, *official* shop to compliment it.
I didn't make any New Year's resolutions, because I'm not quite sentimental enough to hold stock with the idea of regeneration in a new year. Another reason is because I didn't want to put any dents in my self esteem if any of them fell through. I say this mainly in regards to my career, which luckily is the only thing I ever feel needs a change or a boost. I have a roundabout plan to push harder this year though, and that has come from seeing other people working hard and succeeding.
Enough of me rambling on. The point is, I've started a few things already that I hope will bring me a bit of motivation and more importantly, work. You are not going to believe this, and I am deeply ashamed to admit it, but this morning I posted out my very first promotional postcards. Alright, so I graduated in 2010, but it's done now, and it's going to be done every 3 months from now on. The other things I did, were to refresh my website, and create a new, *official* shop to compliment it.
Monday 13 January 2014
Bruges Markt
If you follow my blog you will have seen that I went to Bruges at the end of November, and if you follow me as an illustrator, you will know that I like to illustrate the buildings I see on my travels. This particular illustration is of some of the buildings in Bruges Market Square. The Christmas festivities had begun when we arrived, so you'll notice I've subtly drawn in the wreathes and Christmas lights that were decorating the shops and restaurants. That doesn't mean you can't have it on your walls all year round, though.
If you like this one, it's available as a print in both my Etsy shop and my *NEW* Bigcartel shop, which also deserves a little blog post of its own. More on that during the week.
Psssst: I currently have a 25% off sale running until the 31/01 in my new shop. Just enter the code: 'HAPPYNEWYEAH' at the checkout.
If you like this one, it's available as a print in both my Etsy shop and my *NEW* Bigcartel shop, which also deserves a little blog post of its own. More on that during the week.
Psssst: I currently have a 25% off sale running until the 31/01 in my new shop. Just enter the code: 'HAPPYNEWYEAH' at the checkout.
Labels:
belgium,
big cartel,
bruges,
christmas,
development,
hand-drawn,
illustration,
travel
Sunday 12 January 2014
Craft Fair - Broadgate, Coventry
On Friday the 13th of December I was frantically drawing, cutting, baking, printing, and packaging away until late, preparing for my very first craft stall with my artist friend, Hayley Diehl. I always take deadlines right up to the end. I realise this post is quite overdue, but Christmas came around so quickly after that, and it was nice to take a few weeks off and not stress about my career.I'll start with the negatives, in that the weather could only have been made worse by precipitation. I believe this very day was the beginning of the horrendous weather conditions that the UK is still battling now, and it began with the strongest, most unanticipated gales that I've ever had the misfortune to spend eight hours exposed to. The other negative, was that the fair itself turned out to not really be our "thing". Indeed, maybe it was us that weren't really their thing.
My prints, Christmas cards and other bits |
I'm beginning to sound very negative now, I realise, so on to the positive. In actual fact I feel like I had a very good day, considering the winds and the audience. A lot of our friends battled the elements and the Christmas rush to come and see us, most of them spending their hard earned pounds at our little stall. Even a few strangers, which clearly possessed impeccable taste and an empathy for local designers, made purchases. Every single sale warmed my heart, and made the late nights and money spent on supplies all worth it. If you were there and you bought anything, or even just stopped to chat or say "ooh, that's nice", then THANK YOU.
Next time I think we'll buck up the courage to try a fair where we'll be surrounded by other artists and crafty types. If you know of any in the Midlands area, even if they're not until next winter, do leave your two pence in the comments below. I'm really excited to try this again.
Next time I think we'll buck up the courage to try a fair where we'll be surrounded by other artists and crafty types. If you know of any in the Midlands area, even if they're not until next winter, do leave your two pence in the comments below. I'm really excited to try this again.
Wednesday 18 December 2013
A Weekend in Bruges
On the penultimate Friday of November we took an impulsive trip to Bruges. I say impulsive because generally, once we’re back from one holiday we have to plan another, and our last was in June. This trip however, was booked in October, and executed in such a casual fashion that I’m surprised my usual, methodical self could bear it. We even agreed to get the agonisingly slow London Midland train down to the capital on our way there. That’s precisely how laid back it was.
Since my boyfriend and I became an item, I can safely say I’ve already seen more of the world than I ever did in my previous twenty one years. Mark is fairly well travelled and has seen a lot of the continent, so when it comes to these mini-trips to places he’s already been, it’s very handy. It means he can edit the itinerary according to the must-sees, scratching out the could-sees, and leaving plenty of time for dinner.
We arrived on the Friday afternoon after an early start, alighting finally at Station Brugge. Mark had the unfortunate task of lugging our case into the centre on the city, which is practically entirely cobbled, as you would hope a medieval town would be. Historic city centres with bell towers, squares, coloured buildings and cobbled streets seem to have become our thing. You can keep your sandy beaches, sun tans and trance music, thanks.
City Hall on the Burg square |
The incredible gothic chamber inside City Hall |
View from the belfy over-looking the Markt
Over our short two and a half day stay we pretty much walked every street in the historic centre. It's important to me to feel like I've really seen a place, because you never know if you'll get to visit again. We ensured that we climbed the bell tower, visited the town hall, and took plenty of pictures of buildings and bridges along the way.
Mark and I don't go a day without some sort of sweet treat or another. Whenever we go somewhere - even if it's a trip into town or to a neighbouring city - we've got to get treats. Thems the rules. It's never cheap, and it's never attractive when you've got chocolate and crumbs all round your chops, but it's always worth it. If this was a more frequent, perhaps lifestyle-y blog, I would definitely create an index for all the excellent chocolate and patisserie we're enjoyed over time.
The Chocolate Line is on the Markt square in the centre of bruges. There are so many weird and wonderful flavours to choose from, including the likes of bacon, fried onion, and curry chocolates (which of course we tried - really good, not even kidding). If you love good chocolate and you're ever in Bruges, you must stop here.
The Chocolate Line is on the Markt square in the centre of bruges. There are so many weird and wonderful flavours to choose from, including the likes of bacon, fried onion, and curry chocolates (which of course we tried - really good, not even kidding). If you love good chocolate and you're ever in Bruges, you must stop here.
Another place that you definitely must visit if you're ever in Bruges, is 2be. It encompasses both a bar, with a romantic terrace that sits on the water's edge, and a shop full of the best belgian beers, foods and Tin Tin merchandise. What's not to like?
Our favourite moustachioed Belgian, on a mug |
I'll leave you with a few random snaps and captions because I'm awful at structuring these photo-heavy posts. I've already done my next travel illustration, which you may or may not have already seen. Expect a post on that very soon.
De Halve Maan (Half Moon) Brewery is the only active family brewery left in the centre of Bruges |
Friday 29 November 2013
The Nutcrackers
Roman |
Today I would like to introduce to you the three nutcracker brothers, Roman, Yushkin, and Nikolai. It's a picture heavy post, but I feel they don't really need many words. I attempted a digital version of these guys last Christmas, but I wasn't happy with it so never printed it. This time around however, I am really very pleased that I took the time to develop them. They perhaps lack a little colour, but I'm all for minimalism. Roman (above) is named for my late grandfather, and Yushkin (below) is named for the watchmaker in a loved childhood story.
Yushkin |
Nikolai |
A small space issue in our humble abode. No eating at the dinner table for a wee or so. |
// Etsy Shop
Roman
Yushkin
Nikolai
All Three
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