Mud at the Market.

With an abundance of cards to sell and a growing realisation that, if I really am going to make it as an illustrator (I clutch an imaginary tail and utter "I do believe in me, I do believe in me, I do, I do, I do, I do, I doooooo believe in ME!") I'm going to have to make it happen on my own, I very optomisticly booked myself a table at the Plawhatch Winter Market in December last year. Now, the operative word here, and it later became apparent, the one I should have heeded, was Winter!!!  I should really have been a little more conscious of what I was taking on when I said yes to an outside market in the middle of the coldest and wettest time of the year. And it should have come as no surprise that the 21st dawned not bright, cold and cheery, as I had gloriously pictured in my head, but dark, wet and windy. Infact, as predictions of the downpour clearing up by noon became a distant memory, the greatest miracle was that someone managed to keep a blazing fire going all day....that's right chaps...all day!!! But the real surprise came when, at the end of a seven hour stint standing under a marquee with the wind and rain buffeting myself and my stock from all directions and with the dubious feeling that, like a house with rising damp, the muddy puddle I was standing in was gradually seeping through the thick soles of my D.M's, through my socks (several layers of) and up my legs, I'd actually sold some stuff and enough to make a wee profit to boot! Now, I can't say I'll be jumping at the chance to do an outside market again in the middle of winter (who would really?!? I mean, really?!?!) but the whole experience was a welcome confidence boost.

Here you can see me with my table (which I shared with a talented chocolatier mmmmmmm.....). I think it's a shame you can't tell from the picture just how wet it actually was, although you can see how muddy! All in all though, it was a very successful day and I'm looking into doing more (inside) markets. Watch this space.

Etching at the Art Academy (part 2)

I finished the evening etching classes. I'm sad not to have a weekly trip to the print room any more (six weeks just wizzed by like a train not scheduled to stop at the station) and I'll miss not having that feeling of purpose on a thursday night, but I'm also a little bit "phew", a little relieved, to be able to go straight home after work. Isn't that silly?!?! I hope you know what I mean though. I'm going to stop talking now, as you might all be getting the wrong idea! Here's the end result: 

p.s I'm really pleased with this plate! It was so easy to print from........could I actually be getting the hang of this etching malarky?!

Durga and the Buffalo Deamon

I've been spending my dark November weekends submerged in the vibrance of hindu mythology. This image was done in response to After the Fairytale Collective's challenge to illustrate the tale of the Goddess Durga and her encounter with the Buffalo Deamon......I think you can gather from my drawing below that it didn't end well for the deamon! An abundance of awesome girl power and Indian patterns made this an extremely enjoyable challenge! If you wanna see the full colour version, then head over to the collective blog. 

Etching at The Art Academy

So, about four weeks ago, I started an evening etching class at The Art Academy in London. Four weeks ago, I also told myself that I would write this post.........oooops! I can verify with some relief that the etching class has been a lot more productive!
It's been over a year now that I last used the print room at Plymouth University, and while I had said I would try to find a print studio in London I could use to keep the etching going, I was worried that I would have forgotten how to use it by the time I got round to making good on the promise I had made to myself. I felt a refresher course was in order. Cue a quick search through Google and an halaluja moment when I found this fantastic six week evening course just round the corner from London Bridge at The Art Academy. Perfect for after work. I'll admit it's been tiring going straight from work to a three hour etching session but I've been enjoing the experience. It's also been good to be reminded of why I loved it before and to gain usefull tips on how to complete diferent stages of the process at home. Who knows, maybe I'll set up my own makeshift studio in the kitchen!
Last lesson I got to the stage of applying an aquatint and then etching for tone and shading. I find that the most nervracking stage because it really feels like guess work! I can't imagine getting to the stage when it won't! Next week will be the big test.....when I actually print. In the mean time, keep your fingers crossed for me and I'll leave you with the drawing of what I line etched. The tone is going on top. After spending a whole evening etching this image onto my plate, I then dreamed about foxes all night!

 

From Masks to Snow White

I started early on the After the Fairytale collective challenge for October and managed to get a bit of sketching in before committing to the final illustration! Well done to me! I don't usually manage to pull that off (cue smug pat on the back)! I thought I'd give you a taster with these images from my sketchbook in the hope that you'll be tempted to look at After the Fairytale Collective's blog to see all the work submitted for October's "mask" theme, including mine which illustrates the moment Snow White's evil step-mother disguises herself as an old crone/witch to trick her into eating a poisoned apple. You can see them here: http://afterthefairytalecollective.tumblr.com/

For Mabel

This image was a collaboration between a writer and an illustrator. That is, my sister, Abra, and me. She wrote the poem/story and I illustrated it...if you hadn't guessed that already I thought I should make it clear! I actually only ended up with a couple of hours to think of and execute the final image which made me feel like a stressed-artist-creature-person for a while but the end result of all that was something I feel reflects the tone and charm of the writing. We made it as a naming ceremony present for a darling baby girl, at the very beginning of her life and her adventures and her loves and passions. This was for Mabel.

New Arrivals!

I'm feeling pretty impressed with myself. You know how I (more than) hinted that I would be selling cards through my website? Well, it's actually happened! I now have a proper shop with a checkout basket and everything! You can see how excited I am just by the amount of exclamation marks I've used in this paragraph alone! If you like the look of any of the cards below then head on over to my website and make a purchase. Happy Shopping :)