paper fables

Game of Thrones Compendium Update

2015-03-22T22:25:00.002+00:00

A day after submitting my Sansa Stark illustration, it has been officially shortlisted as a Finalist for the Game of Thrones Compendium! Now to wait a few months for the final results...

Parisien Café (pencil, watercolour, digital)

2015-03-22T22:08:00.001+00:00

This is the Boot Cafeé in the Marais region of Paris. I am planning to do a series of Paris cafés and will sell them as greeting cards and prints. I will approach cafés in Montmartre and Versailles as I hope to have my work in several places in Paris.

6/8 Kafé Exhibition

2015-03-22T02:04:00.003+00:00

A reminder that an exhibition of some brand new work is up at 6/8 Kafé till 18th April 2015!

Greeting cards based on the woodland creatures series can be bought at my etsy :)

Game of Thrones Compendium submission

2015-03-22T01:58:00.001+00:00

I have finally submitted my entry to the Game of Thrones Compendium. This is my supporting statement which sits alongside the piece:

Sansa Stark's transition at the close of Season 4 is symbolised by her piercing, confrontational glare and ghostly face, drained of colour and warmth. The dark tones in the styling of her make-up highlight the gothic, sinister Sansa we are forced to accept. Her face is depicted in watercolour which shows softness, however the remains of her innocence are overshadowed by the feathers which are sharp like blades.

Boot Café illustration progress

2015-03-18T10:47:00.002+00:00

I have almost completed the girl on the bicycle, which is produced using watercolour and pencil, layered and textured together in Photoshop.

I still need to add the spokes on the wheels and make some minor edits, then I will get working on the inside detail of the cafe and add the rest into this piece. I will likely simplify elements and use a pencil line style and watercolour to complete it.

I have been looking at a lot of editorial illustration in high end, lavish magazines and packaging illustration in places like Waitrose and there is a reduction in detail in favour of watercolour and a slightly more hand drawn feel rather than pin point pencil illustration.

Submit to: Oh Comely Magazine

2015-03-18T10:43:00.000+00:00

I came across the finely printed culture and arts magazine a few days ago. Once I found articles on PJ Lynch, Maurice Sendak and some cute little ornate spoons, I have made a mental note to approach these guys soon and see if they have a suitable space for my style or need some illustrations for upcoming articles.

Specialist Lecturer at Birmingham City University

2015-03-18T10:39:00.003+00:00

I've had the lovely honour of being invited into Birmingham City University at Parkside to present my work to Level 6 and Level 5 students, lead tutorial sessions and discuss my practice alongside some great Illustrators during an all-day Symposium.

Lady Sonnnnnnnnsa, watercolour and pencil, (March 2015)

2015-03-18T10:33:00.000+00:00

This is my completed Game of Thrones Compendium entry. I just need to reformat the piece and submit it in the next week or so. I feel I have captured her well, with a confrontational and piercing expression. I wanted to blend some gingerliness with darker tones in her hair to show the transition she has gone through and wash out her skin and eyes so she appears more like a cold, ruthless cow bag.

Boot Café Lovin'

2015-03-18T10:28:00.000+00:00

The Boot Café have kindly posted the first update of my illustration on their own account! I will be making them up into greeting cards before I head to Paris in May. My work definitely suits a more European audience and whilst on holiday it is a good opportunity to make some inroads.

If I can put my work in their gallery space it'd be great. I am aiming to get one or two more designs of this series made up and put in and around cafés in Montmartre and Versailles! Watch this space...

Boot Café illustration

2015-03-18T10:18:00.004+00:00

To continue my shopfront series, as I have researched the most-loved independent cafés in Paris and will be illustrating a series of these. I am beginning with the Boot Café in Le Marais district. The café also have a little gallery space and I have been tagging them in Instagram posts so they can see my updates.

2015 Winter-Spring Competition Entries

2015-03-18T10:11:00.002+00:00

Inspiration, Research and Future Plans

2015-03-18T09:34:00.001+00:00

Maps by Aleksandra Mizielinska and Daniel Mizelinski. I used a line / flat colour style for my Big Hoot entry, and aim to produce more illustrations that suit this style, including a children's guide to inventors, which may either be a combination of pencil and line or pure line. If it is the former, I may do pencil portraits of the headshot of inventors or famous historical / lesser known figures and the rest in pen (the body / invention).

These watercolour portraits on a note book published by Chronicle Books is also not dissimilar to my style. I may collage my future inventor illustrations into a series of collateral: notebooks, tea towels, mugs, postcards, business cards etc all of which would be via Awesome Merchandise who I am so impressed with every time I use them.

Secret 7" 2015 entry

2015-03-18T09:22:00.003+00:00

Secret 7" entry complete! Here is my submission for this year's competition, but I can't tell you which song I have chosen just yet...

Sansa progress

2015-03-18T09:21:00.002+00:00

Pencil details added to the Sansa piece, with additional piercing eyes.

6/8 Kafé Exhibition

2015-03-18T09:18:00.001+00:00

So my work will be exhibited for a second time at 6/8 Kafé with a brand new set of pieces. The work has been up since 18th February and will stay up till 18th April! 3 prints have already sold out which is great news so I will be in to replenish soon!

Sansa developed idea

2015-03-18T09:12:00.000+00:00

I have worked into the facial features to indicate the feel of the finished piece. I want Sansa to be still and confrontational, with softness in her face but sharp detail and colours in her face, as she is slowly engulfed by a darker side.

Sansa initial sketch

2015-03-18T09:03:00.002+00:00

This is a very quick sketch towards a competition based on Game of Thrones. I will probably approach it with the same style as I first tried out for the Lorde illustration, with combined elements of pencil detail and watercolour.

AOI World Illustration Awards 2015

2015-02-23T12:37:00.002+00:00

I have entered this year's competition under Self Promotion, with the Lorde, Gatsby and Moonrise Kingdom editorial illustrations.

Foxes envelope stickers!

2015-02-23T12:36:00.004+00:00

My Foxes stickers arrived from Awesome Merchandise, and they're bloody lovely.
I should have maybe coloured the ruled lines in the ginger of the foxes as the black lines are a little sharp. Either way, my envelopes will look pretty when I send out orders to my ever growing fans.

6/8 Kafé Exhibition

2015-02-23T01:09:00.001+00:00

Enjoy Some Pretty Drawings at 6/8 Kafé, Temple Row, Birmingham. They feature a series of four woodland animals that I am selling as prints and as whimsical greeting cards. Also an exhibition-only print of Carey Mulligan's Daisy as seen in The Great Gatsby, and a vintage Italian Lemonade poster which was a self-directed packaging design project

Fashiony sketchy piece

2015-02-23T00:20:00.002+00:00

This is a piece I am working on in reply to a set of song lyrics for a competition entry. It is a commentary on the over reliance on social media and the posing clones society has become. So, happy messages!

I had a series of fashion sketches that didn't have a home, but they fit in with this brief nicely so I am collating this design together into a cluttered collage of characters, jostling for attention with vain poses.

Anna Kendrick, Elie Saab, 2010 Oscars dress (watercolour, pencil)

2015-02-23T00:11:00.002+00:00

I will be creating an editorial spread of the most iconic Oscars dresses from over the years, including Audrey Hepburn's famous white dress and Angelina Jolie's silky, central cut dress. I have been working on incorporating watercolour textures to my work to add a floatier, looser feel to my illustration.

Lorde (pencil, digital, watercolour)

2015-02-23T00:06:00.000+00:00

This is an illustration I have entered for the AOI World Illustration Awards under Self-Promotion. I wanted to enter some picture book work as I feel it is strong work however my newer pieces have this minimalistic feel.

The piece uses a lot of negative space to focus attention on the intense detail which was created with mixed media, albeit fairly safe styles. The face is pencil then watercolour and the softness supports the hair/necklace illustration whilst bringing something new to the illustration, creating a softer mood.

Daisy, The Great Gatsby (pencil, watercolour, digital)

2015-02-22T23:59:00.001+00:00

So I illustrated the portrait of Daisy about a year and a half ago, it was just the hair illustration with the jewelled head band. Then I added the face and it became a film poster (although ear detail is still needed), then I thought the poster was swamping all the detail in just this piece so I have stripped it back again to its original form.

I have added a watercolour circular frame to loosen the detail within it. I will be using watercolour more to balance the heavy detail, and give the illustration more life and a contemporary feel

Nuthatches greeting card

2015-02-22T22:50:00.000+00:00

Here is the completed Nuthatch valentine's card, it has come out perfectly and the beige wash behind compliments the inky blues of the birds. Its always good to remember which tones fall together nicely and have staple pallettes to choose from.