Above: New card design! Below: Some new faces. The online shops are still closed at the moment but the prints will be available to buy – in person- on SATURDAY 20th, as part of the Handmade Nation event at Broadway Cinema. Come along on Saturday and say hello :) Here’s a sneak peek though in case you can’t make it.

2 SCREENINGS of Handmade Nation will be shown on Saturday 20th at Broadway cinema, Nottingham. In support of these screenings we will be hosting a craft market! The screenings are early and the market is on til late, so come along and treat yourself to some locally made treasures. I’ll have some exciting new odds and ends available. Some limited editions and someoriginals to offer. Hurrah! See you Saturday! (Tickets for the screenings are available on the Nottingham Craft Mafia site and they’re selling fast!)

The new ladies have finally made their way into the shop! I’m pleased to say they do include the mounts :) Horray! The page measure 8″ x 10″ and with the mounts are all ready to frame. They will be signed on the back and sent in a sturdy hardback envelope.

It took me a while to come up with names for the pieces. I settled on the ‘Me and You’ series. Someone pointed out the portraits reminded them of the Philip Pullman stories, with each girl having their own little animal companion. I hadn’t thought of those books when I was drawing them but it’s a really nice association to make. If I was a character in one of his stories I’d like to think my daemon would be a red squirrel. How about you?

ps – HAPPY NEW YEAR!

A new print to welcome in the new year! I’ve been sat on this one for a couple of weeks, itching to get it out there and in the shops. I’m pleased to say you can now find it on etsy and folksy! It’s an open edition print so it won’t just vanish after the new year festivities, so panic not. The print measures 8″ x 10″ (landscape) and is printed on archival heavyweight matte paper. There is room around the edges for framing with or without a mount. The colours are all bright and crisp. Feel free to get in touch if you have any questions.

Cha Cha Cha…

It’s Christmas come early! Not just one new print but FIVE new prints soon to be launched in the shops! 5 lovely new ladies with ribbons in their hair and colourful creatures by their sides. I drew these while I was away over the weekend and I’m really REALLY pleased with how they’ve turned out. I was inspired by a random drawing I did a while back, which was posted on flickr (here). There was something about the partially coloured image that I was really drawn to. Splodges of colour here and there mixed with the simple black and white detail straight from the original illustration – lovely!

Anyway, the prints themselves measure 8 inches by 10 inches and come with an ivory oval mount* (as shown in the image below) so it’s all ready for you to frame. The image sits comfortably in the middle and framed beautifully within the oval. I’ll let you know when they hit the shops!

*The availability of the mount may vary in the future, I’m currently researching suppliers – for now the mount will be available for a limited time only.

Well I did as promised and brought back a post card :) or maybe 500 of them… I love postcards and nothing quite beats finding a shop with an old shoe box filled to the brim with beautiful old battered pictures. I thought I would share this one with you.

Everything’s slowly falling back into place, although I’m filled with guilt because I’m sat at the computer and not outside! (although in this weather, I’m starting to feel like it’s acceptable to stay indoors) In those short 3 days I got so used to getting up and out. Plotting routes on the metro, seeing some beautiful places, getting stopped and asked directions by the locals (which was followed by my  “I’m not French! I don’t know what you’re saying, ah!” speech). The weather was amazing, no rain, sunshine, blue skies, 17 degrees… I’ll shut up now.

Rather than bombard you with every picture taken I thought I’d construct a little montage summing up some of the 3 days: 1. I had a bit of a pilgrimage to visit Oscar Wilde’s grave in Père Lachaise. Beautiful place, massive too so be prepared – buy a map. 2. Some beautiful painted on windows we found on the last day as we were heading for the station (sniff). I’ll dig out some better pictures of them all, the colours were to die for. Love lovely. 3. Autumnal Pere Lachaise once again. 4. Chocolate – masses upon masses of chocolate… mmm. 5. Lovely rocking horse we came across in a beautiful Victorian arcade filled with shops and boutiques. The horse was situated outside a dolls house themed shop. 6. Slightly creepy window display from one of the many beautiful antique bookshops located in the previously mentioned arcade. 7. A painting I noticed as we left Pere Lachaise on the first day. 8. View from our hotel window one morning. Lovely golden light, blue skies… sigh. 9. One of the many many many coffees we drank on our travels. I liked the yellow cup.

This picture works better alone. An amazing display of mushrooms varying in all shapes and sizes.

We arrived back around 7 ish local time. I spent the evening colouring in some new illustrations (talk about diving face first into work related activities), I’ll do most things to avoid having to unpack. Unpacking is rubbish. Anyway, the reason I brought this up is because I’m too impatient to wait so I thought I’d show you a sneak preview of what is to come over the next few days!

What do you think? I’m very excited :)

ps- Yes I was watching time team online at the time of taking this screen shot…

A new print now in the shops! (Above) ‘Out of the rain’ is printed on archival, brilliant white, watercolour paper using archival inks. Lovely crisp colours. I wasn’t kidding when I said all I’ve been doodling lately are cats. I’ve also designed a new card (below), which is also in the shops. A nice neutral card – suitable for any occasion. It’s blank inside and comes with a lovely ivory coloured textured envelope.

Today was a perfect day off. It was spent making cards and colouring new illustrations. I’m looking forward to a delicious home cooked meal courtesy of Miss Petite Poisson, a glass of wine and possibly an episode of Fast Forward. The evening is crisp, the sunset a lovely shade of copper. I’m so so so glad Autumn is officially here :)