Moving on....for now...

So, you're probably wondering why I've been so quiet over the last three months. Well, the truth is that around about the time of my last post I also set up a new blog with my sister to document the progress of a project we're working on together. We're writing and illustrating a novella which we hope to get published and this is a way of keeping us motivated. As pretty much all of my weekends have been going into the continuation of this project in one form or another, The Blackbird and the Lemon Curd has become sadly neglected. I can foresee much more neglect to come so if you're interested in what we're doing, please follow our progress through any one of these means :

The Inky Fingers 

Twitter

Facebook

Any continued support would mean the world. I hope you enjoy perusing our work so far and the delights to come. 

This is how my brain works.

So, this is what happened in my brain: 

I was looking at this picture of Gaudi's cathedral.

And I was thinking how much I'd like my watercolour illustrations to glow as beautifuly as the stained glass.

I saw this image by Emma Harrison:

The colours in this illustration glow because of the contrast not only in tone but also vibrancy. I thought this would be good to try myself.

I'm also loving the work of Kate Baylay at the moment whose fabulously stylised work reminds me of Kay Nielsen.

And when I put it all together, it looked like this:

Inspired

You may have gathered from my last post that I went to Barcelona! It's been a dream of mine for....well, a very long time and so stepping outside the airport into the enveloping warmth and sunshine with a veiw of palm trees and the Pyrenees in the hazy-blue-purple distance was a little surreal. However ordering my first glass of freshly squeezed orange juice in barely formed Spanish on the pavement outside a little cafe brought me back down to earth. The rest was a blur of dusty streets, cerulean skys, mountain cable-cars, midnight tapas, Picasso and dancing in our apartment with the shutters flung wide. For me the most awesome moment was entering La Sagrada Familia; Gaudi's imaginarium. Seeing the completed inside was like realising that the universe, in theory, never ends (like, never, ever, ends!).......it's just mind-blowing!!! I cannot attempt to describe it here because words won't do it, or my feelings, adequate justice so here are a few pictures.

Do you know the feeling when you experience something so incredible that every molecule of your being starts to buzz and your heart over-spills? That's something like what I felt as I soaked up the light and colours and scale and atmosphere. I nearly cried for the aching beauty of it.

I made a skirt and wore it around Barcelona!

It's been a whole month since I last posted!! so here's a picture of me in a skirt I made and then took to Barcelona with me to wear in the SUNSHINE! Eeerrrrryesssss, I am definitely showing off that I made myself a skirt (hemhem, without a pattern....just saying) and most decidedly putting my illustration skills to good use ;)

100th post!!!

For some reason reaching this significant milestone in my blogging..... life? Career? Journey? Why not supernatural adventure? Alice-in-wonderland romp? feels like an almighty achievement that should be acknowledged (if not by a party, cakes,teeeaaaa! and much singing and dancing, (Alice in Wonderland, definitely Alice in Wonderland! and, I realise, yes I have just managed brackets within brackets?!?!) then at least by a joyous WAAYHHHOOOOOO!!!! from me and maybe a slightly bewildered glance from you!). So, WAAAAAHOOOOOO!!!! HOOORAAAY for me! There it is, it had to be done! Now down to business.
As it happens the post I had planned to write (before getting marginally sidetracked by the realisiation of it being my 100th post! 100th POST!!! That's 100 things I've said and shared!) was quite appropriately celebratory. For I have actuallly etched my first copper plate in the studio and it did not, as I had feared, turn into a complete disaster! Another cheer!
Of course, printing will prove it's real success but it has come out better then I could have hoped on the plate. As we have yet to experiment with aquatint I wanted to create an image that would stand alone just as a line print without the opportunity of creating large areas of tone. I think this is achieved. Celebrations all round. And...with an image of a rabbit/hare as my parting shot, this is most decidedly the 100th post of my Alice-inWonderland-romp!

It's hard drawing food!

I've been illustrating some recipes for a project undertaken by Merton and Wandsworth Asylum Welcome. It's been fab to work on something that I feel can make a difference. But drawing food is hard! Here are my efforts. Enjoy the visual feast!

p.s

Here is my best attempt at kitchen litho so far. I'm hoping repeated practice will make, if not completely perfect, at least close enough. I would stress that this image was printed from tin foil which had been etched by coca cola! Bear that in mind and it looks a whole lot more impressive!