COMIC time

Hello lovely humans!  

'Want to know a fun* fact about me? (*Debatable) I'm a diary keeper. It's nothing fancy and most definitely not a number one best seller but I started writing a few things down last October and I've managed to keep it up to this day - which is less than a year so it's not saying much! But it speaks volumes to me, ha! It started out as one of those 'line a day' journals and now it's turning into a 'line and a bit a day' journal. I try to pick out little moments in the day that either made me laugh, cry, think, pause or simply pat myself on the back. Some of the entries can literally be as dull as 'I hung up the washing', but sometimes that's exactly the kind of action that needs to be recognised because not every day can fill you with that sense of accomplishment. And also I figured in years to come (possibly) it might be actually quite interesting to look back and read about all those little moments...

ANYWAY! I thought it'd be fun to try and put a few of these little memories into pictures - I've always wanted to have a go at scribbling down some little autobiographical comics and thought what better place to begin. Who knows it might be a new little side project that takes off, no pressure, but for now it's refreshing to try something completely new. 

FullSizeRender.jpg
FullSizeRender.jpg

Drawings for sale!

I've just popped a few of my recent portraits in the Audrey and Illya shop! It's so much fun watching this collection of faces grow and spark new ideas for the next. Every time I finish one I think "MORE", "AGAIN AGAIN", "NOW" - which is quite refreshing post drawing block.

Anyway head over to the shop to see whats up for grabs - I've snuck in a couple of super post May Day bargains too, hurrah!

I've got an afternoon of 'sketchbooking' planned so be prepared for doodle updates/doodle spam over on my instagram (username @amyjpeg).

Enjoy!

shop update!

Hey homies! Just a quick note to let you know I've just popped a couple of new necklaces in the shop, HURRAH! Totally smitten for neon peachy pink colours at the moment. Can you tell??

A lot of lovely folk ask if these beauties will ever be available for wholesale - unfortunately not these ones. I am planning some slightly simpler designs though that could work! So keep you eyes peeled and hopefully these ideas will start to take shape over the summer!

beads!

HA! I spoke too soon, house stuff takes over your life. I managed to sneak a few minutes in the studio after work today and varnished a batch of beads, which can only mean one thing.....

NEW NECKLACES COMING SOON!

... but now it smells terrible in my studio so I've filled my backpack with pens and books and I'm off home to make a creative nest on my sofa and entertain the cat - she's getting a bit cabin feverish. 

back in the studio!

Woah nelly, what a week! The house move is complete and today is my first day back in the studio doing something that's NOT HOUSE RELATED! PHEW!

I have to admit, I've probably inhaled a fair few dust bunnies this past week and it's made my brain grind to a halt. But, oh boy, it feels good to be back..

Today, rather than start from scratch I decided to play around with some recently started (and temporarily abandoned) paintings - there's an ever growing stack of these forming in the studio, I don't suppose any of you lot do that too?? I think a good portion of my brain is in 'recycle and adapt' mode (I've been using blocks of soap to prop windows open in the new place and building useful things out of boxes of books - THAT kind of mode). So today I decided to adapt a portrait I'd begun a few weeks back (of course my dusty brain forgot to snap a before photo - that would've actually been quite an interesting comparison... I'll do that next time). For those curious I'm using my acrylics on greyboard instead of my paint pens. I just really fancied taking my time a bit with this picture, slow things down a bit after so many hectic weeks... I'm so pleased with the results.

Tribal

Getting a bit more creative with the face paint and trying out some ideas I've had on the to do list for a while...

I tried out a very full colour scheme but I think I'm preferring the more muted/similar colour pallets - especially the pinks, black and white. Anyway, that's one of the nice things about trying these things out, you can't always imagine what they'll turn out like and sometimes it's inspiring to see a finished picture so you can start thinking about ways to develop it.

more portraits..

It's been a busy week juggling house and studio time but I've only got one more sleep until the house move so fingers crossed the juggling won't be going on for much longer. Here are a few of my most recent portraits. I've been focusing on stripping the detail right back and playing around with colours, face shapes and shadows. I'm building up quite a collection so keep you eyes peeled next week when I start to add some new faces to the shop!

blog-3-pink.jpg

faces in the crowd

Sorry for the quiet week. I've been hiding out in the studio or at home - packing. The house move isn't going as smoothly as I'd hoped but that seems to be the nature of this process. Fingers crossed I'll find myself more settled soon - I'm so grateful for this little home away from home (aka studioland) at the moment!

I've been working on those abstract portraits a lot lately - playing around with detail, sometimes stripping it right back and focusing on block colours, which goes COMPLETELY against my nature of drowning pictures in patterns. I think I can safely say I find it hard to leave a picture alone when it's beginning to look finished. I am however enjoying finding a balance between the 2 styles AND watching the face shapes and styles develop.

Here are a handful of new faces I've drawn over the last week...

Just in case you're curious - I've been painting these using paint pens on a piece of watercolour paper primed with block colour acrylic paint. The same process I use in most of my sketchbooks and for all of my drawings. The colourful background makes the paint pen ink "pop" and adds depth - it also helps direct the colour scheme, which can be a decision that'll easily dominate an afternoon and put your doodling on hold.

I've been scanning these drawings as I go along so if you spot anything you'd like to buy please feel free to get in touch and we can talk prices for prints and original drawings!

new faces

I got all inspired by the shadowy portraits I drew in the last project - so I decided to have a go at expanding on the idea and I'm really enjoying the results! These 2 cropped up over the last 2 days and I thought I'd share them with you. They're still very much in the "sketching" zone but I'm having fun watching them develop and gradually fill up with detail. I'm interested in the face shapes and shadows (the shadows need work, but I'm looking forward to practicing them as the project progresses). MORE, BIGGER! That's the next step!

Keep tuned in to see what happens next!

Progress

I finished the drawings!!! 

With all the bonkers, boring and stressful house stuff going on at the minute this project was a welcome distraction - AND I've started playing around with some ideas inspired by a few of the drawings, success! I love all of them - which is crazy as I figured there would be a couple of duds, but it was so pleasing watching the collection grow and seeing them grouped together at the end.

Highly recommend this as a way to break through a creative jam if you ever find yourself in one. Out of curiosity - What sort of projects do you set yourselves in these situations?

I've spent today scanning them all and I'll be listing the originals up on instagram this week if you fancy buying a bargain! hurrah!

creative rut...

I'm having a go at kicking my creative rut in the butt this week. I know for certain I'm not alone on days/weeks like these but sometimes finding inspiration or fresh ideas to run with can be such a chore! I've sketched out, started and abandoned so many paintings this week - I'm sure I'll go back to some of them one day so it's not all bad, but it's so draining! You think you're on to something and then it's like losing the plot mid story. Your mind goes blank!

My friend text me this amazing little fact/quote about Maya Angelou:

Maya Angelou took the simple idea of writing whatever comes to mind to the next level. "I may write for two weeks ' the cat sat on the mat, that is that, not a rat.' And it might be just the most boring and awful stuff," she said. "But I try. When I'm writing, I write. And then it's as if the mused is convinced that I'm serious and says 'Okay. Okay. I'll come'"

Yesterday afternoon I dismantled a sketchbook,  painted each page a colour I enjoyed looking at and stuck them up on the wall... Today I'm just going to get doodling and see what happens. I'll try not to be too precious and I'll definitely end up drawing a few familiar things but I'm hoping something new will crop up. We. Shall. See. Come on muse, hear me roar!

 

 

patterns patterns patterns

A lot of my recent work has started off as pages and pages of patterns in some of my sketchbooks - even some of the portraits start off as patterns! I scribble and draw and ask myself things like "What patterns would look good together?", "Who would wear something like that?" and "What's missing??". And gradually the shapes come together and the idea takes shape on a piece of card.

I get a lot of satisfaction and enjoyment from just sitting on the sofa or at work or in the studio and doodling. A lot of it is VERY repetitive but the process itself is so satisfying and mostly (not always) quite easy to get into - so if you're ever stuck for ideas it's a good task to come back to every so often.

I thought it'd be nice to show you some of my favourite patterns I've done recently...

IMG_0467.JPG

March Meet The Maker!

I haven't done one of these before but I've often spotted friends and fellow doodlers taking part over on instagram and though it'd be fun to try - I reckon I'll start failing around number 6, ha! Anyway...

If you fancy learning a little more about me, my practice all sorts of random facts hutn me down on instagram - here's a link!

For now, it's day one so here's a really daft picture of my face, enjoy!

March meet the maker was conjured up by Joanna Hawker.

Happy Accidents

Sometimes it just doesn't matter how prepared or organised or inspired you are. Simple bodge-ups on the computer can result in some seriously fun visual treats!

I finished an abstract portrait I'd been working on (the original one, with the red background, is available to buy in the shop) and while I was cleaning up the scan on the computer I mashed all the wrong buttons and voila!

So smitten with these colours! I decided to do a super limited run of A3+ prints (13" x 19") and they're now in the shop too! Mind you, once they're gone they're gone! Here's a link!

Meredith and Lottie

TWO NEW PRINTS!! Now in the shop. These beauties were a chore to scan (because they're massive!) but totally worth it. I'm so pleased with how they've come out. The originals will be heading over the shop soon but I'm currently in search of appropriately sized frames (they need to be massive too... sigh). I'll keep you posted - meanwhile if you're interested in the originals/prices/buying them unframed, feel free to get in touch! 

Meredith

Meredith

Lottie

Lottie

sketchbook time!

I finished another little sketchbook the other month (and did a little video over on instagram - take a peek if you like). I picked out some of my favourite pages for this blog post. I've now got 3 new sketchbooks on the go (?! ...a bit ambitious I know, but I'm going to rise to the challenge...). One's turning into an extra scruffy one, mainly because of the nature of the thin paper, but I'm loving the freedom it's giving me to plot and plan the bigger paintings. I've been so busy with house move prep I think my pens have started to sulk and feel neglected. Poor pens. I've not forgotten you, honest!

new necklaces!

It's been another busy week with the house - the mothership's visiting so we've been clearing things out and emptying spaces so the move next month (possibly the end of this month?!) goes ahead smoothly.

Today I put together a bunch of new necklaces and they're now in the shop. Some of my all time favourite colour combos crop up in this batch. Can't get enough of that lime/yellowy colour with black dots or stripes on... be still my heart!

Anyway! All these beauties are one of a kind and available over at the Audrey and Illya shop!