Work in Progress...

I just wanted to bring you a little update on the flower illustration I'm working on. I'm very happy with how it's coming along but work has halted due to an exciting commercial illustration I have just been commissioned to do this week. I'll let you know about that when it's done and published! I love the subject though, it's just the direction I'm enjoying at the moment :)

 I would love to hear your thoughts on this illustration. It will be ready shortly and as soon as it is, it will be available as a limited edition print. There are other prints available in my Etsy shop at the moment. Or Folksy, if you prefer!

I'm not sure if I have mentioned it before, but I am now signed to Rare Bird, an illustration and design agency. There are some amazing people on there and I am very excited and happy to be a part of it! :)

Evie - pet portrait illustration

 I was delighted when Abby Wiltshire commissioned me to illustrate a picture of her lovely dog, Evie. She's absolutely gorgeous and although I was a little terrified about drawing all that fluffiness, I'm very happy with the results. I hope you like it too!

Don't forget, if you would like your own pet portrait or portrait illustration, you can order one here. And if you'd just like a print, you can get one in my shop too! :) Below is a few shots of my work in progress with this piece.

Have a lovely weekend everyone! :)

Megan Claire

I really do love twitter. It's helped me grow in confidence, brought in illustration jobs, given me encouragement when I have felt unsure about myself and given me such great company. They say the people you know on twitter are the people you want to and should know in 'real life' and I absolutely believe this. So many people I consider friends and I love it. 

One person I came to know through twitter was Megan Claire. Not only is she funny, supportive and lovely, she is also very talented and I'm proud to know her. She's only been working for herself for six months, as a greetings card company, but it's astonishing to see what she has achieved in this time.

Her dedication, determination and passion make her a very inspiring person to communicate with. In fact, she inspires me daily. She makes me strive for more and i feel more determined than ever to succeed and make a career out of illustration, the thing I love so much. Drawing means a lot to me and I want to do this for the rest of my life - learning, experimenting and pushing myself along the way. I'm more excited for the future now than ever before, with a little fear keeping my feet on the ground. Thank you Megan, I'm so pleased to have 'met' you.

Now to show you some of the greetings cards. They sell distinctive, contemporary and personalised cards, made to the highest quality and from recycled stock. I have purchased a couple myself and they are just as bright and beautiful as shown. I love the wide range of styles she produces and here are just a few of my favourites. You can see at the bottom that she also offers personalised prints. So go and buy, you will not be disappointed!

Just before I leave, I want to tell you about my giveaway! Fritha, of Tigerlilly Quinn (of which I am a sponsor), is hosting a giveaway for me. To celebrate the opening of my shop, I am offering the winner either a print or 40% a custom commission!! I hope this sounds exciting! If so, please pop over and enter the competition. Any tweets about it would be greatly appreciated also :) (some examples of the things you could possibly win below)

Father's Day Commission

I was recently commissioned to produce a very special illustration for Father's Day. It was an honour to create something for such an important day in a father's year and I absolutely loved the picture I was asked to illustrate, it's so full of happiness and love. Thank you to the lovely and talented Kimberlee of The Homemade Mama (@kimbled) for asking me to illustrate this! :)

I hope you like it! I hear the little chap's daddy loved it. Wonderful news!! I hope you all had a fabulous day, whatever you did and whoever you were with. Sadly my Papa is no longer with us, but the day was filled with memories of how perfect and lovely he was.

If you would like to commission a portrait or pet portrait illustration of your own (or if you would like to buy a print), please take a little look at my Etsy shop :)

ETSY SHOP!

Hello everybody! Well, I'm very happy and excited to announce that my Etsy Shop is now launched and open for sales! I spent yesterday afternoon taking photographs ready to show my work in the best possible light (I turned out to be a little tricky in this miserable weather!) I'm happy with how they turned out, here are a few of the images...

 

My shop is selling a number of prints and a few custom illustration options. Pop over and take a look! Let me know if there's a print you'd like that is not available in my Etsy shop and I will happily make it available for you! In the coming weeks I will be adding limited edition prints and a set of illustrated cards! 

Until next time... Take care! :)

New Work: A man & his kitten

I finished working on this wonderful little commission a few weeks ago and have been waiting to show you all. I loved this image when I was sent it to draw and couldn't wait to begin work transforming it into a unique illustration. I find the process of taking a photograph that is special and using it to create an illustration for a person to treasure a really exciting process. I guess this is why I love portrait illustration... Simple really!

This piece was a gift for my customer's husband. Now he has it and, so I have heard, loves it, I can share it with the rest of you! I hope you like it too!

Before I leave, I have some exciting news!! My Etsy shop will be open for sales this afternoon! There will be custom orders and prints available to start with but I am also working on a number of limited edition prints and a few cards designs that will be in there too shortly. Exciting!

New Work in Progress...

Just a quick post to show you what I'm working on! I wanted to do some floral type illustration work, but not too 'pretty' (I hope you understand this, I know what I mean hehe). I wanted to incorporate colour, texture and line work that created a more striking kind of image. It's early days but I'm happy with how it's progressing. (It's a fiddly piece with lots of detail..)

The line work I placed down first proved quite tricky and I was a little worried it would look too busy. I'm glad I persevered though, it's taking shape quite nicely, better than I had hoped for!

I am also happy to announce that I am a sponsor of the wonderful Tigerlilly Quinn blog! The blog, ran by the lovely (fellow Tea & Crayon member) Fritha, is full of such beautiful content and I'm proud to be associated! :) (see my sponsor button below!)

I'll be writing some special blog posts next week as thank you to some wonderful people I've been working with this past week. Keep an eye open! And don't forget, Tea & Crayons are at Uncontained on Tuesday (5th)! Pop along and draw with us (and eat lots of cake!) in Shoreditch from 11am to 5pm! 

Abby x