drawings

Christmas drinks

in , , , , , , ,

I drew some festive line decorations around seasonal wine bottles for Waitrose supermarket's free Christmas drinks guide this year.I created a green-on-green patterned wallpaper for the background, so the white lines would pop, and the lovely rich colours of the wine bottles would sparkle.You can pick up the guides in any Waitrose around the UK!

Kansas

in , , , , , ,

This week I'm in Lawrence, Kansas. Yesterday I gave an artist's talk at University of Kansas about my work, with an emphasis on my printmaking and sketchbooks. The students were very responsive and I really enjoyed discussing my work with them. It's nice to feel I may even have inspired them a little. I also visited Leila's Hair Museum in Independence, Missouri. It was a little creepy, but in a fascinating can't-look-away sort of way. There were old photographs with real hair glued on, as mementos. There were pictures in little frames with hair inside...There were large ornate gilded frames with decorative flowers made entirely of hair...There were even simple delicate snippets of hair...I enjoyed it, as a truly unusual obsessive collection. I recommend it!

whale watching

in , , , , , ,

I saw a whale! Actually I saw two. It was amazing. We went on a whale watching trip on a very cold foggy day in San Francisco, heading out under the Golden Gate Bridge. Even before we got far we'd seen seals and porpoises and all sorts of seabirds. But it was the lovely gray whale that made me happiest. They waved their fins, and dove down so their tails flipped out of the water... Also the murres, I loved them! Sort of like a penguin, but floating on the water. So adorable...

rodeo!

in , , , , , ,

Last weekend I went to my first rodeo, the 2013 Grand National Rodeo, held at the Cow Palace (what a great name!) in San Francisco. There were all sorts of events, but most were just too fast to draw: bareback riding, saddle bronc riding, steer wrestling, they only last a few seconds! There were lots of parades with people on horses holding flags...and displays where the horses galloped super fast too...I enjoyed it all, it was such a spectacle! Before the main event we went to see the animals, and I adored the goats and soft furry cows (that were having their fur blowdried to supreme fluffiness) and was super happy when they did a parade of the best-in-show.

Winchester Mystery House

in , , , , , , ,

I went to visit Winchester Mystery House in San Jose recently, home of the widow of the heir to the famous Winchester rifle fortune. She was a bit eccentric (to say the least) and built a truly bizarre house. There was a very nice little mini exhibit of all the things that the Winchester company made in their heydey, and I drew these sketches there. I really love old handtools!

Topsy-Turvy

in , , ,

I did some line illustrations for this fun knitting book in the US recently.I drew several different frames that were used for chapter headings throughout the book:and created little background scenes for the knitted creatures to feature in, some as double pages, some as single.I've never been that good at sewing or knitting, but I may just give these a go! The book is available on amazon.

thank you

in , , , , ,

I designed some thank you cards that matched our wedding Save-the-Dates and invitations, to send our lovely guests. The illustration features the watercolour leaves from the wedding, but small pink flowers have been added to the design, to show love blossoming...The leaves were printed in HK (my friend Sandy at Lui & Co handled this for me) on specially chosen thick soft paper, and these were then sent to my friend Katie Baldwin in the States, who letter-pressed my calligraphy and flowers by hand. This created the effect of softness and crispness, in one beautiful package. I hope it's a special way to thank everyone who shared our wedding, and those who sent us gifts from far away...

my birthday!

in , , , , , , ,

It was my birthday this week, and I spent it in San Francisco. I went to the Asian Art Museum to see the Japanese art exhibition, and admired some lovely ceramics (this is a birthday peach from a Chinese plate),and some Japanese sculptures and painted screens.I walked through the civic centre and then on to the Hayes Valley to look at some pretty boutiques......and then in the evening we went to Sons & Daughters, a lovely little restaurant in Nob Hill. The service was delightful, the food exquisite. I drew each dish in the tasting menu as it came out...and took some photos of the colours and presentation. Yum in every way.

BEYØRG

in , , , , , , ,

I worked with organic cosmetic company Beyørg (Beyond Organic) in HK this year, to create images they could use on promotional products, supporting the Breast Cancer Foundation charity.I drew pandas (cutest of all Asian animals) interacting with various ingredients from the cosmetics, such as acerola fruit, ginseng root, and white lupin flower. The illustrations also featured a farm element, as the client wanted to emphasise organic farming. I tried to make the pandas cute, but not too cute. They were used on packaging, and promotion for the brand.I  created a repeat pattern with the pandas along with some extra elements, and this was used on a patterned white umbrella. I love it! The umbrella is a limited edition gift item for customers in the shop, and will only be available until the end of August. There's also a cuddly panda...The products have been featured in various local magazines, along with a little about me. How nice!

Fish Market cookbook

in , , ,

I've done some illustrations for Running Press in the States, for a book about how to choose, buy and prepare seafood. The cover looks like a market blackboard with chalky lettering and illustrations of today's catch.The drawings for the inside pages are pen and ink line. They were used reversed out for the inside cover.Inside I did drawings of each individual fish.There are also instructional illustrations, showing you how to do various prep things...If you're into seafood, I think this would be a great book to have! It's available from amazon.

honeymoon in Andalucia

in , , ,

I've just come back from a lovely honeymoon in Spain. We did nothing much, and watched the world go by. We stayed for a week in a pretty cottage on the side of a hill full of olive groves,then another week in the village of Bubion in the Sierra Nevada mountains. We had a delightful garden overlooking the valley, and on good days, we could see the Meditarranean and even the mountains of Africa!There was one amazing day when the whole mountain was in the clouds, and everything looked a bit spooky and mysterious.I loved the greenery all around us, and started imagining my dream garden, full of fig trees, ferns, moss on the stones, and hanging roses...We also visited the Alhambra in Granada. It was wonderful to wander in the gardens, and explore the palaces. I especially liked the variety of mosaic tiles in all the rooms.Afterwards we sat in the late afternoon sun, and watched the walls of the Alhambra slowly changing colour.

wedding (mine!)

in , , , ,

I'm getting married tomorrow, hurrah! Here's our Save the Date.I kept to a simple colour palette of greens, pinks and browns, on white. This runs through all the stationery and the decoration at the reception. We're having a Quaker wedding, so I drew two of the founding members for the invitation,and a little vignette of me and my fiancé for the cover. Congratulations us, happy days!

pies

in , ,

I love pies! In case you hadn't already realised. I was thinking about pies the other day, and suddenly remembered a lovely little job I did for Parade magazine in the States, all about pies...The article was all about American pies, their history, which ones are famous, and what's so great about them (everything!)