New Studio!

Here is me moving into our new Studio Today! Thank you very much for the lovely picture Alan Dalby! It feels like home already :)

The studio itself from the outside!

I am now based in Hotspur House here in Manchester, sharing with Mr Dalby.

Asputtel Sketchbook Drawings

The Ugly Sisters, ugly on the inside and out. And Ashputtel, getting a cruel cold outside water shower.
From Ashputtel, or Cinderella.

Draw North West #10!

There is one week to go until the next Draw North West Meet-Up in Manchester!

All North West (and visiting!) Creatives welcome!

I am very thankful for Draw North West, because after Uni a lot of my friends moved away and I felt very isolated. Illustration can be a very solitary profession as it is, and if you don't 'go to work' because you work from home or otherwise, it can be very hard to meet new people who are all doing the same!

So, it was an absolute pleasure and delight to discover a whole new community of previously dispersed fellow artists. I have made many close friends and I can genuinely say that it has changed my life for the better and made me so much happier! So, the idea of meeting friends and getting out of our 'Mole Holes' as I call it, is what I wanted to convey and celebrate with this poster :) So, if you're in the area and in the creative industry, I encourage you to come along and say Hello! We often get asked if you need to be able to draw, and the answer is no, of course not! Draw North West is a place to meet fellow creatives and make new friends, whatever area of the industry you work in :) We're all very friendly and it's a very chilled out affair, usually involving many burgers and copious amounts of drinking ;) Sometimes we even draw too :)

Mail Me Art!

This is my illustration for Mail Me Art: Short & Sweet. I am one of 200 Artists invited to take part in illustrating envelopes which we then post to Darren Di Lieto, who is also the founder and co-editor of The Little Chimp Society. Mail Me Art: Short & Sweet culminates in an exhibition, which will be held in London this July, and a published book!
You can read more about the project here:
http://www.mailmeart.com/

I posted my 'Mail Me Art' Illustration on Saturday! Hope it gets there safely :D

Ashputtel

Ashputtel, my finished Illustration for Pencil Play's February Theme, Fairy Tales. Ashputtel, or Cinderella, is so called because she sleeps in a fire place on a bed of ash. I wrote these words when drawing out the drafts for this piece: 

Ashputtel exuded a natural beauty that her step sisters simply could not comprehend. So they teased her for it, calling her 'plain' and 'boring' as they wriggled uncomfortably in their silky dresses and stroked their expensive jewels. Ashputtel had barely known any different, and so of course, over time, she believed them.

At night, she would shrink into the shadows and pretend she didn't exist. That's what they wanted, and sometimes, she did too.

But when she closed her eyes, she dreamt of a different place, a different life,

and she would smile in her sleep, at all that could be...

Ashputtel Work in Progress Illustration

But when she closed her eyes, she dreamt of a different place, a different life, and she would smile in her sleep, at all that could be.

Ashputtel, for my latest Pencil Play Illustration for February's Theme, Fairy Tales.

Ashputtel Work In Progress Studies

Ashputtel, for my latest Pencil Play Illustration for February's Theme, Fairy Tales. #Cinderella #WIP

Here are some words I wrote when drawing the ink study:

Ashputtel exuded a natural beauty that her step sisters simply could not comprehend.

So they teased her for it, calling her 'plain' and 'boring' as they wriggled uncomfortably in their silky dresses and stroked their expensive jewels.

Ashputtel had barely known any different, and so of course, over time, she believed them.

At night, she would shrink into the shadows and pretend she didn't exist. That's what they wanted, and sometimes, she did too.

International Book Giving Day - Bookplate Translations!

Mandarin Chinese - Translated for me by Ellen Tatham.

Japanese - Translated for me by Aya Kokubo.

French - Translated for me by Annie.

Spanish - Translated for me by Melina Irvine.

And the English one!

Thank you very much to all of those who helped me with the translations for my book plate! Take part in International Book Giving Day next week, find out more here!

http://bookgivingday.com/

You can download the bookplates for free over on the above site (or from here), and you're welcome to print them out and stick them in the books you're giving :) Have fun! And I would love to see any photos of books with my bookplate stuck inside!

Pencil Play - Resolution

Here is my latest illustration for Pencil Play. My resolution this year is something that I have been working to overcome for a long time, and I am doing better! The fear of not living up to my own expectations can be a cause for paralysis, but my drive to fulfil my dreams and finish my book conquers all :)

Owl Commission Sneak Peek

Sneak peek preview of a commission I'm working on for Loll Kirby, of Story Seekers UK. Really pleased with it so far :)