Jazz and Draw

I really love this website, Jazz and Draw.  Its a great place to discover new art, as well as new music.  When I was asked a while back to illustrate something for Jazz and Draw, the Japanese group Pizzicato Five came to mind.  I listen to them a lot when I work- I find their music is uplifting and their combination of jazzy, bossa nova influences give them a very nostalgic sound.  This is my portrait of Maki Nomiya who is the singer in the group.

New Work

A sneak peek of some portraits I am working on at the moment.....

Big Changes!

Wow- I can't believe it has been so long since I last posted on here.  Really need to make time and effort to update this more regularly!  Since the start of 2012, there have been lots of big changes (good changes) both in my personal and professional life....  After three years at an amazing school, working full-time as an art & photography teacher, I have now taken on part-time teaching work so I can spend time getting back into illustrating again.  It has been a really long time since I illustrated professionally, I miss it a lot, and I believe having the balance of teaching, (which is incredibly fun/demanding/immensely rewarding) and the creativity of illustration, is the right path to take.  Although it is a bit daunting, I believe it is the right thing to do- change is good.  I have started creating illustration digitally again, and have also taken on jewellery making which is still relatively new and exciting.  Its great to start afresh, take risks and have new challenges!  Here are a few pics of some of the things I have created these last few months...

Here are some of my illustrated pieces of jewellery- designs are painted with gouache or created digitally, then I transfer them onto brass lockets.

Dream. Simple and pretty.

This one was inspired by a summer English meadow...

Recent digital illustrations...

Portrait of Lucien Freud, one of my favourite portrait painters.

An experimental/digital piece.

Noel!

Gosh.... how time flies...  This year seems to have whizzed by!  With Christmas approaching I decided to make some paper decorations to brighten up our little living room.  I found these awesome paper baubles from this gorgeous website and made some with the students I teach and they loved it!  So I got some bright card and did some myself at home too.  They are super easy but look so sweet!  They don't fit on our teeny Christmas tree but would look fab as tree decorations.  They look lovely in white too, like snowballs.

I also made some giant paper snowflakes to decorate our mini tree (no space for a proper tree in our wee flat).

There are some really exciting things in Muji's Christmas range this year and I got this little fella the other day for my boyfriend.  There's lots of lovely things in store which would make great stocking fillers.

New Fashion Illustrations

It's been a while since I've done any new work, but I've had some time this summer to get creative.  I'm exhibiting these at Richmix on Wednesday 24th August alongside some of my other work.  Its a group exhibit with live music so if you're around the Shoreditch area, please come along to say hi!

PAINT IT, MAKE IT! Party for Japan

Last Saturday, along with a group of lovely creative people, I helped take part in Illustration Rally's charity event for the Ganbare Nippon Japan tsunami appeal at The Book Club in East London.  It was a fantastic event, with lots of exciting activities.  Here are some photos from the day.

Natsuki Otani made these wonderful giant origami pieces. They make the girls in the background look tiny!

Amazing live drawing by Kristian Jones, Mister Millerchip, Stephen Chan and Seb Burnett.

Stephen Chan doodling away.  These boys are so talented.

Illustrators Jenny Robins and June Chanpoodimole did live portraits.

Pop up Art shop.  There's still lots of lovely artwork to buy from the Etsy shop here.

Adding the finishing touches.....

Origami workshop, plus Kuretake bought along heaps of their amazing pens to try out!

Getting crafty with zine making.

 Natsuki Otani (of Illustration Rally) and Stephen Chan came up with the idea of making a zine for the event, and managed to get pages designed by some super talented illustrators, including Lesley Barnes, Gemma Correll, Uberkraaft and many many more... See here for the full list...  You can also buy it here from the Etsy shop.

Lea Wade and Stephen Chan ran the zine making workshops, and made it even more exciting by incorporating elements like different textured paper, embellishments, and traditional Japanese book binding techniques. 

The completed live drawing masterpiece... amazing.

 The day was a great success, and all together managed to raise over £300.  Well done Illustration Rally & friends for putting together such a brilliant event!

PEONIES

I got a bunch of pretty pink peonies last week. They're the loveliest flowers.  I can't wait to have my own garden, apparently they grow well where its rainy (perfect for here in England!)  I took some shots with my camera, capturing all those gorgeous ruffly petals.  Enjoy♥