women who draw

I'm very proud to be a part of the women who draw website, an open directory of female professional freelance illustrators, artists and cartoonists. It was created by a group of women artists in an effort to increase the visibility of female illustrators. You can read all about it here and in this VOGUE article and in this one in the Huffington Post. This is my little lady illustration (recognise her from the Miss joker playing card?) that represents me on the site.She was even featured on the BBC news website this week, in an interview with the women who set up the site. I hope it will be a huge success. Thank you Wendy and Julia!

happy new year!

We took a few days off during the holidays to have a little road trip down the coast to Capitola by the sea......and then on to Pinnacles National Park. I spent time sketching, walking and thinking about my goals for 2017.I tried to paint pinnacles in the red of the rocks, but then realised that I more interested in the shapes than the colour, and did a wider panorama in just blue and green.We also visited the Lick Observatory outside San Jose, which was fascinating.Hope this year will be full of wonderful views, and incredible possibilities!

christmas cards

This year I splashed out and printed my Christmas cards properly. By that I mean they were offset litho printed (rather than digital) and included a shiny copper metallic foil stamped element. Hurrah!For the design I wanted to create a pattern, but one that wasn't a straight repeat. To do this I sketched different types of trees you might find in a  forest, and then all sorts of woodland animals. I then sprinkled the forest with twinkly stars, a moon and a greeting.This man (and his dog) printed them for me in Hong Kong. I would thoroughly recommend him. New Hip Lik Co. in Central. tel: 2541 1992 (old school and no website!)Have a wonderful Christmas everyone! M x

BEYORG Christmas packaging

I drew a variety of cosmetic products for BEYORG's Christmas packaging in HK this year, creating a fun repeat pattern. It's been used on the website and shopping bags. There are 2 colourways...... a very Christmassy red and green, and a more modern red and white...If you see anyone carrying a bag with the design, do let me know!

christmas cards for sale

I designed a limited edition small batch of christmas cards for sale this year. They're bundled in packs of five, and there are still a few packs left if you haven't sent your cards out yet. You can purchase them from my shop here. There are two designs, both featuring a cheeky robin in some ivy and berries.If you're interested, please contact me and I'll get them to you as fast as possible!

Caution May Be Hot

I made two pieces for this show of paper cup art in San Francisco. The brief was to turn this ordinary object into a work of art, and artists from all over the US were invited to participate.I tried to create the effect of blue and white china, and used my collection of Chinese ceramics as reference for the design. I made a cup with separate decorated panels first, and then did another based on the famous willow pattern design. It was interesting to work in the round, after working flat for such a long time. https://vimeo.com/192408212

The show was on simultaneously at Long Weekend store in Oakland... and Fayes in the Mission...Today was the last day to see the show at Long Weekend, but Fayes will still be open to visit this week. Hope you can make it!

HKDI workshop

I've just got home from my trip to HK, and looking through all the wonderful things I did while I was there. It's especially great thinking about the monoprint workshop I did with the illustration students at the Hong Kong Design Institute.It was truly wonderful to see them making a mess and getting really into it. I think they were all happy with the work they  produced.Here are a few pieces of the students' work that I thought worked especially well...I also gave a presentation about my work and being an illustrator. I may have scared them, but hope I put resolve into the ones who are serious!  

Hong Kong

I'm in Hong Kong at the moment, working on all sorts of projects, and loving being back after far too long. I had breakfast at the retro Hoi On Cafe with a friend and did a quick sketch..I adored the glossy red booths! I visited my favourite sort of hardware store......and wandered the evening streets, admiring the old and fast disappearing Hong Kong.

BEYORG organic market

This weekend I visited the BEYORG organic market pop-up store in Pacific Place mall, Hong Kong, to see the bags I designed for them.It's such a lovely idea, it was super fun to see! I love the way they animated my illustration in their instagram feed too: [embed]https://www.instagram.com/p/BLix95mlS5n/?taken-by=beyorg[/embed]

The little market stands are just how I imagined them...and I think I captured the atmosphere of the market quite well...Hope you can pop down and see the market for yourself and buy a bag for charity!

open studios 2016

Yes, it's that time again! I'll be showing prints at my workshop in Dogpatch, San Francisco, as part of the City's ArtSpan openstudio weekends. I'll be showing a selection of framed works, ready to hang:...and a variety of new unframed prints, such as these:I'll have some new mokuhanga prints,...and new playing cards:I'll be showing with 7 of my studio-mates over the weekend of 22/23 October. 11-6pm both days. I hope to see you there!

Animals Asia products

I was recently asked to design some products for the charity Animals Asia. These products are sold here and the profits go towards their work saving animals.I painted illustrations of wonderful moonbears, as I really love them and can't stand the way they are farmed and treated so cruelly. I tried to show them being curious and adorable, and most of all, hopeful.I started the project by researching and sketching moonbears, and playing with ideas on how to bring some colour and fun into the images. I then tried out different styles and media, and picked watercolour to give the illustrations a loose, free feeling.There's a teatowel, a tote bag and a tshirt, with different illustrations, and all available from the Animals Asia online shop.Buy them for all your friends! Please help save the bears!

nursery mural

I recently painted a fun mural for a friend's nursery. I was asked for simple scenes with friendly animals, in muted colours, that would work for a girl or a boy. I started with sketches of various combinations of animals and foliage, and put them into photos of the room to decide the best scale to paint them.I did one of the sketches in colour, to show how they would all look on the pale yellow walls... ... and then put together a colour pallette. I used the same colours in all three scenes, to hold the room together. Eventually I did add one additional colour as I was painting: a pale orange for the lion.This is a photo of the elephant scene half-way painted. It shows the building up of the layers of flat smooth colour.And here's a photo of all three finished painted scenes, after they were given a final protective coat of varnish. I love how they came out.Can't wait for the baby to arrive now and see if they like their room!

Star Trek improv

I went to watch Phasers on Stun a Star Trek improv group in San Francisco and I absolutely loved it! The actors was so versatile, playing starship crewmembers, aliens, animals, and sometimes even playing two characters on stage at once.This is the crew of the USS Golden Gate, exploring new worlds.I sketched throughout the show, trying to capture the strange situations, wonderful conversations and fantastical characters. My very favourite drawings are these little simplified characters I made of all the actors...Try and go and see them if you can, they have more shows this month. Live long and prosper!

exchange show

My printmaking workshop GAW has done a print exchange with a small gallery in Yokohama, Japan. It's very exciting! The exhibition of both our work and their work will be on show at the GAW gallery from next week 9 September to 1 October on fridays and saturdays, 12-5pm. I'm showing two of my San Francisco snowdome prints. The lighter one will be on show in Yokohama, the darker one in SF. There will be a reception at GAW on saturday 10 September 3-5pm. Hope to see you there!

There will be a reception at Launchpad Gallery, Yokohama, on saturday 17 September 7-10pm, with the show running from 16 - 26 September. Hope you can make it one or the other of the shows.

Los Angeles

Went to stay with some friends in LA at the weekend and spent an afternoon in their lovely back yard.Summer the dog, an adorable labradoodle, helped me with my watercolour sketch...Long live the sunshine!

Nathan's wedding

My friend Nathan asked me to create some illustrations for his wedding invitations, and I came up with several ideas for the three different event cards. Each card had a slightly different level of formality, so I tried to accommodate that.I also drew a little vignette of their names for the cards, that could be used on various stationery. I was asked for 'rustic but stylish', as the wedding was in Yosemite National Park, so I thought about the time I'd been there, and concentrated on the sweeping views and sequoia trees. The first event was on the lawn at the Wawona hotel, where I drew the lovely floral arrangements in the glowing early evening light.The wedding ceremony took place on the lawn of the Ahwahnee hotel, with the glorious mountains as a backdrop, on a perfect summer day.As a wedding favour each guest was given a waterbottle with my illustration of Half Dome on, but as a special thank you, Nathan and Strawn gave me a set of glasses as well, and I couldn't resist taking this picture. Congratulations to the happy couple!

Yosemite

We went to Yosemite National Park at the weekend to attend a wedding, and I loved being surrounded by the trees in the wonderful clear air.We stayed at the historic Wawona hotel (now renamed the Big Trees Lodge), and completely relaxed.We went up to Glacier Point twice, the first time at midnight to watch the Perseid shower, and the second time during the day. The meteor shower was one of the most magical things I've ever seen: the night was totally dark and all the stars in the milky way were visible. And then the stars fell, some brightly, some quickly, and some leaving a trail of sparkles. During the day the view was spectacular, with blue mountains and valleys all around as far as the eye can see. Truly a marvel of the world...

watercolour sketches

I've been experimenting with watercolours these last few weeks, every time we've been to see the Pacific Ocean along the west coast.These two are beaches some way below Half Moon Bay...

improv theatre

Last weekend we went to see The Iron Stage doing a Game of Thrones improv night in San Francisco, it was amazing! I did lots of sketches while I watched...I said hello to the cast afterwards and showed them my drawings and they posted them on their facebook page, hurrah!Next month, Star Trek improv!~

not a lemon

I have a piece in a group show opening next week in San Francisco called Not a Lemon. It features the work of 50 Bay Area artists and there'll be paintings, prints, drawings and sculptures. I had my first real California moment when I made lemon curd from lemons from my very own little lemon tree growing on the balcony, so for this show I created a hand-lettered recipe. I printed a woodcut lemon branch and wrote the recipe in pen and ink. I made 3 different versions, to experiment with type style and spacing, and they'll all be available at the exhibition.The opening reception will be on thursday 7th July 6-9pm. I'll be there, it would be great to see you! Hope you can all make it to see the show while it's up.