New illustration

Since drawing the animal series of illustrations I have been keen to make some simple illustrations inspired by plant forms. At this time of year with so much energy, colour and new growth in nature and a huge variety of plant forms and colour on show, it is hard to find a starting point. Here are the first couple of drawings inspired by pure white blossom on the apple tree in our garden. It is looking stunning at the moment, standing out against other limey green spring foliage and an oddly grey blue sky the other day.

Hanna Werning

I have posted this link to the site of Hanna Werning as I keep coming across references to her amazing work. It is inspiring to see a designer working across so many design disciplines. Enjoy...

http://www.byhanna.com/

Artists Open House

Hurrah! At last I have finished drawing the series of animal character illustrations that I started when my children wanted me to draw them something (see earlier posts). I enjoyed doing these so much I am showing them as part of the Brighton Artists Open House exhibitions, http://www.aoh.org.uk/2008/ which have now opened all over Brighton. There are hundreds of artists displaying a massive variety of work throughout May alongside the Brighton Festival. Artists open their houses as galleries with work for sale. It is a great way to showcase work to a broad audience and attracts a large following.

This year, I am exhibiting signed, limited edition giclée prints of some cute animal characters. They are available professionally framed in a contemporary limed wood frame with a circular mount or unframed. As well as the framed prints, I have had some button badges made by a great little company who delivered a fantastic service and product and were lovely people to work with. Find them at http://www.makeabadge.co.uk/ The badges are really sweet and would be a cute little gift for a child. The final illustrations are all above but if you are in the Brighton area why not pop in to check out the whole show? Map available here. I am very pleased to have made some sales already so come before it is too late!

Alongside the prints, I have been working on some decorative textile pieces with a theme of fabric as paper. This is work in progress so have just a few pieces on show. I aim to post these on this blog throught the next few months.

The house belongs to an old friend, Julia Trigg. Her beautiful and intriguing digital collages use type and printed ephemera. They are proving to be very popular already. Have a look at her site http://www.juliatrigg.co.uk/ where you can see some samples of her work and the other artists on show.

Monkey character illustration

Having looked back at the little monkey post a while ago, I decided to redraw the monkey and try a stronger colourway.

Leopard character illustration

My eldest son loves big cats so this new illustration is one for him.

Artist Daniel Eatock

A friend recommended that I have a look at the work of artist Daniel Eatock. His website demonstrates a large amount of work. I chuckled at the photographic project here, the graph paper project appeals to my graphic designer side. Have a look at the project 122333444455555 if you like sequences and patterns in numbers. More number patterns here. Actually there is so much on his site that is intriguing, I must stop now and go back for more...

Lion illustration

I am currently creating a series of illustrated characters. Here is the latest.

Little Monkey

After drawing the owls yesterday, my little boy asked for a baby monkey picture. Here it is!

Night Night

I drew this family of owls today while working on a logo design. Hexagon shapes for the logo were sitting together on the page but all I could see was owls! It must be time to sleep. The logo ideas can continue tomorrow with fresh eyes. It would make a nice motif for children's pyjamas or bedlinen range. Night night!

Gut Buster

In the last few weeks I have been researching the work of contemporary textile artists and designers. This crocheted 'Gut Buster' breakfast made me laugh out loud. It was designed and made by Kate Jenkins, an established textile designer based in Brighton. For more amusing work and some strong graphic patterns have a peek at http://www.cardigan.ltd.uk