Illustration Commission - Ice Hockey!

 Just popping in to share a recent commission with you. This was a personal commission from a friend to give as a gift and although it was completely out of my comfort zone, it was really fun to illustrate and I am very thankful to be given the opportunity to work on something so different! (I loved all the detail that needed to be included). I've been told the recipient was really happy with it which is always wonderful to hear. I hope you like it too!

Let me know what you think...

  

New - Portrait Illustrations

Back again! I've made a promise to myself that I'll definitely keep on top of my blogging and illustrating this year, so expect to see a lot more of me!

These two illustrations, showing sales managers stood in front of important local landmarks, were produced for a London Estate Agents last spring. They were used on flyers and in shop windows to help advertise the company in the local area. 

I love likeness commissions so this was a bit of a dream job! (I also really enjoyed the building side to this brief). What do you think?

I'll be back soon with some new work. And as I haven't said it already, I hope you're having a fantastic start to the year!

New Illustrations - Horses & Boats!

I'm very late to the party but... Happy New Year you wonderful lot!

I'm finally getting around to sharing these illustrations I finished for an advertising campaign early last year. The two illustrations were completely out of my comfort zone (no detailed fashion or portraits in sight!) and took many painstaking and stressful hours of work. I absolutely loved the challenge though. I definitely gained a lot from the experience and can proudly say the prospect of drawing crowds no longer fills me with fear - I had no idea where to start and when I finally realised how I could make it work, the feeling was amazing (such relief!)

The client was a London Estate Agents who, using happenings in the property market, predicted that March (last year) would be the prime time to put a house on the market. They wanted to use large-scale, famous events in March (Cheltenham Races & The Boat Race) to help steer their campaign. The first event was Cheltenham Race Festival, for which a tagline "put your house on the market, it'll be a one horse race..." was to be used.

It was great to have the opportunity to work on such an unusual (for me anyway!) brief. 

I had quite a lot of freedom in the initial stages, drawing up a number of roughs and working with the in-house designer to finalise a rough to take to colour. Even the colour took me away from the illustration work I've become accustom to. The hardest part for me was being unable to use the detail I work into my portraits with the crowd. It would have been completely unfeasible so this meant forcing myself to work almost in the opposite way, using as little detail as possible but, at the same time, maintaining my own personal style.

(Below are some of the rough workings I drew out before we decided upon the final imagery).

The second poster was for The Oxford and Cambridge Boat Race. Again with this piece, I needed the context to be true to life (both of these events take place at the same places every year so needed to be somewhat recognisable). This meant researching the course and trying to produce imagery that wasn't going to be a million miles away from what we would see in person. 

I loved illustrating the houses and incorporating texture - I think that was definitely my favourite part of this illustration. It was the boat and the crowd again that I found the hardest to get my head around.

I was really happy with the way both the illustrations turned out - I hope you like them too! Tomorrow I will be sharing two portrait illustrations I completed for the same company so check back to see them. 

Thank you for taking the time to read this blog post - I hope you like what you see, but please let me know what you think...

New Cat Illustration - Ozzy

I just wanted to pop in and share this latest illustration with you! I illustrated this gorgeous little guy for a Secret Santa present. The recipient loved it and I was so happy to be able to give her something a little bit special.

I'm working on a couple of Christmas commissions at the moment and will share them when I can. If I don't post beforehand, have a wonderful Christmas!!

And don't forget, it's not too late to buy a Personalised Letter From Santa that I illustrated for Megan Claire. You can buy yours here!

Personalised Letter From Santa

I'm very excited and happy to reveal an illustration I recently produced for Megan Claire. I've been a big fan of her cards and prints for some time and was thrilled when she commissioned me to illustrate Santa Claus himself to be sent out as Personalised Santa Letters! I had so much fun putting this piece together, challenging myself and working with unfamiliar subject matter (that tree was certainly out of my comfort zone but the feeling when I completed it, to a standard I felt proud of, was amazing). I even had Mr Nicolini posing for me for this special piece!

And below is how you will receive your personalised letter from Santa! Megan has designed the piece beautifully and I know children will absolutely love it. I can only imagine how exciting it must be for them! (I know I'd have adored it as a child!) If you'd like to purchase this piece, head over to the Megan Claire website.

Arty Books For Sale!

Hello all! Just wanted to let you know that I'm making room on my shelves and sadly have to sell on some of my books. I thought some of these may of interest to my readers so wanted to share here too. Just click on the pictures to view the books on Ebay.

These original Amelia Magazines are in beautiful condition, thick and full to the brim of fantastic content. I'm sure you'll all love them!

The two above books (Masters of Fashion Illustration and Kandinsky) are duplicated amongst my collection so are as good as new. I couldn't recommend them enough!

The final two books are more specialist (I used them for University briefs) but I'm sure there are some among you who may find them interesting!

I am working on some new personal portrait illustrations at the moment and will be back to share them with you very soon! 

Portrait Illustration - Margaret Thatcher

Hi everybody! I wanted to get some personal portrait work fitted in between jobs, mostly in order to challenge and keep myself motivated, but partly because I thought it was about time I had something new to show! It can be painful waiting to reveal new work that is yet to be live.

One thing I really love about portrait illustration is creating that likeness and I know, for me, this improves over time and the more I do the better I feel the outcome is. This is why I like to keep illustrating and creating pieces for myself when I have no commissions to work on. Practise really does make perfect. I love private and family portrait commissions because creating something completely personal to them and hearing of their delight is such a wonderful feeling. At the same time, I enjoy illustrating famous figures and attempting to capture a likeness that audiences can recognise.

So I decided, for my latest personal piece, to illustrate somebody particularly topical, Margaret Thatcher. I haven't illustrated her as a way to show my thoughts and opinions on her or the subject, but merely to keep my work current and a challenge to myself. 

Let me know what you think! And take a look at my other blog, contribution blog Mr Nicolini. I've been so impressed with the work I have received so far; if you would like to take part, please do not hesitate to get in contact! 

Next week I'm going to get back to work on this illustration that has been put aside for some time now. Excited to continue!

An Illustration of my Grandad - Mr Nicolini

Good morning everybody! I wanted to share my latest piece of work with you all. I illustrated my (adopted) Grandfather to accompany the first post of my new creative contribution blog (which I have blogged about before) - Mr Nicolini.

I absolutely loved drawing this and it's one of my favourite illustrations to date. I hope you will like it as well. Let me know what you think!

Arise Magazine - Portrait Illustration

Hello everybody! It's been some time since I posted, so Happy New Year! I've been quite busy over the last couple of months so haven't had much time for blogging. I just wanted to pop in to share some of my latest work to be published. I produced this illustration of Ugandan fashion designer, Gloria Wavamunno, to accompany an article on one of her favourite places, Buganda Road Craft Market in Kampala.

I illustrated this some time ago now, so it's quite nice to look back at it and share it with you now it's been published. You can find out more about Arise Magazine and it's content here.

I'm busy working on an exciting new project at the moment and I cannot wait to share more information with you. I'll be working on this until March so it may be a slightly long wait! In the meantime i'm working hard on the Mr Nicolini blog as well. I'll be launching this on his birthday, February 5th, so keep your eyes peeled! :)

New Baby Illustration

Good morning! Just wanted to share an illustration with you this morning!

This adorable baby has been printed and is on it's on the way to Holland this morning. How exciting! I've just finished the draft illustration for my biggest client yet. I've loved it and can't wait to work on the final illustration! Will of course share it with you when it's live (which won't be long!) Have a lovely week and I'll be back with more soon :)

Drawing Mr Nicolini!

Hello! I'm here to share an idea for a new
blog with you all and hope some of you will be able to help me make this little dream a reality!

Mr Nicolini, or Nick as he's known to most, came to live with my parents more than thirty years ago. He's been a lodger with my family since then and is still living with my mum and feeding the cats to this day. He soon become another Grandad, and an extremely important member of our immediate family. Whenever I go home he spoils me as much as ever and proudly tells those we meet I'm his granddaughter. Hearing him speak so fondly of me, my sisters and brother fills me with happiness. He's a giant part of our lives and I love him dearly.

When I return home, I always take photographs of him (he's quite the character!). After posting an image on Instagram and saying how much I'd love to illustrate him, it was suggested that I start a blog, sharing illustrations of him by myself and lots of other wonderful illustrators. I think it's a great idea! Of course, if you're not an illustrator but a creative who would still like to join in, I would love to hear your ideas! He's battling illness at the moment and getting frail, and, as you can imagine, this terrifies me. I think this is a great way to not only honour his fantastic nature, but to make sure he is always remembered and never forgotten. Who knows, maybe we can make him a little bit famous.

It would be great to have a mix of different styles! I think he'd love it! I know illustrating the elderly has always been a favourite of mine and if you'd like to get involved in this little venture please get in contact! I'm not sure of the exact details, but I think 'Drawing Mr Nicolini' (the name may change, suggestions are welcome!) could be a fun way of getting lots of fantastic illustrators together, both new and more established illustrators in the same place. I love seeing participation blogs! You can leave a message here, tweet me, facebook me or send me an email to drawingmrnicolini@gmail.com.

And here are a few photos!!

 

And don't worry, if I struggle to find participants, I'll do an illustration a week myself! To honour him and have something to keep, if nothing else :) I would also like to thank Scarlett Tierney for suggesting this! I look forward to seeing her contribution once it's up and running!

A little inspiration - Vogue Covers

Hello everybody! I just wanted to drop in with a quick post on what has been inspiring me today. Before that, I just wanted to let you know that I have just completed a new magazine illustration commission. I can't wait to post and share the piece, not only did I absolutely love working on it but I'm really proud of how it turned out. It's my favourite in some while!

I've been looking through my Vogue Covers book this morning. I came away feeling really inspired and wanted to share that with you!

 

I love illustrated covers. That would probably be the dream. Maybe one day we'll see them again, I think they add something truly unique and beautiful to the magazine. Here's hoping!

Portrait Illustration

Hello! I just wanted to come and show you the illustration I'm working on at the moment. I've been wanting to do some self-initiated portrait work for some time and so have finally began!

One thing I really love is jewellery and intricately detailed illustration, so this piece has been an absolute dream, combining my love of fashion and portrait illustration. It's taking some time but I'm enjoying it.

Below is some of the detail when the line work is taken away. I actually really like how this looks; I may remove the lines when I'm done! I'll keep you updated. You can follow me on twitter, I'll be posting work in progress pictures on there! Have a lovely weekend!

An Illustrated Gift

Hello everybody! Sorry it's been a bit slow here recently!

I've just finished my latest custom portrait illustration. I was commissioned by the lovely Emma for a second time, this time to illustrate her best friends to give as a wedding present.

 What an amazing task and responsibility! I loved illustrating this piece, especially that dress! There's a close up of some of the detail below. I actually really love more intricate work like this. As always, I think I prefer this piece in print form. I'll try to update this with a printed picture soon! I'll be back with more work very soon! Have a lovely week in the meantime!

Midwives Magazine Cover

I'm really excited to be able to share my latest piece of work, a commercial commission brought to me by my agent, Rare Bird. I was asked to illustrate the front cover (yes, front cover!) of the latest issue of Midwives Magazine, the magazine for The Royal College of Midwives. The illustration was based on an article looking at the issue of women not being able to give birth in the way they chose and feeling "locked out" of natural home births. I loved the brief, creating a beautiful home birth scene of a new family. It was a little scary, but perfect for my style. I was helped greatly and given great freedom with the piece. I hope you like my illustration!

I started with the central illustration but loved bringing it all together with the door and detailed features, such as the screws. I wanted to add colour to the illustration, so decided to do this using the baby's blanket. I found the most perfect blanket on Little Woollie's blog. This beautifully crocheted blanket was the inspiration for my illustrated version. I love the colour and patterns and really enjoyed reading about the process and seeing the initial sketches too. Thank you Julie for allowing me to use your blanket in my work!

And below is how the piece looks in context. I should be receiving my own copy soon, so I'll take some pictures when that arrives. I still can't quite believe that my illustration is on the cover of a magazine for all to see. I love that it's being used for such an important topic too. Midwives do such an amazing job, I'm so proud to be in this magazine!

I'll be back with more work soon. Enjoy the rest of your week in the meantime! :)