Marc's wedding

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We attended our friends Marc & Liz's wedding at the weekend, which was a beautiful, sparkly, glamourous event in downtown Los Angeles.wedding copyI sat to one side, and had a wonderful view of all the pretty bridesmaids, and loved the way they all had the same dress, and yet managed to look individual.bridesmaids copyMy favourite sketch of the evening is this one of the bride and groom cutting the cake, it really makes me happy!cutting the cake copyWe sat at a table full of wonderful people, surrounded by glittering glass and soft lights in the trees.wedding dinner colour copyCongratulations Marc & Liz! Happy days to follow...

botanical pattern

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I've  designed a pattern of coral and seaweed for Spoonflower's fabric competition. The brief asked for designs reminiscent of those found in a botanical sketchbook.seaweed patternI based my watercolour drawings on seaweeds I'd seen at the Oceanographic Museum of Monaco, and references from various old illustrated botany books, like this one.print vintageHere are a few of the original sketches, including some that didn't make it into the final design. I added pencil calligraphy to the sketches, in a variety of styles, and developed a repeat pattern in soft shades of red.scan The design has now made it to the semi-final round, hurrah! This round is open to public vote, and voting is open until the 2nd of September, so please vote for it here. I'd love to see this made into a fabric, and to develop it further into a collection you can actually buy.

coffee and jug print

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I've been working on some Japanese woodblock prints recently, and thought I'd show a few process photos. Here's my initial sketch...IMG_1876I then carved and sanded the wood plate and did the printing in three colours.IMG_1929I wasn't happy with the line showing the rim of the jug, so I carved it out, and printed extra layers of a more brushy look on top of the original flat dark areas, to add some depth and texture.IMG_2039And voila, the finished print.

Darjeeling book talk

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A few weeks ago I went to a fascinating book talk at Omnivore books in San Francisco, about Darjeeling tea. Author Jeff Koehler spent time in the various tea gardens there and learnt about the tea, how it's picked and processed and made into 'the champagne of tea'.talk and sketchYou know I love tea, and everything about it, and now I can't wait to try Darjeeling again! You can check out his book here.

Montana road trip - part 2

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We drove from Missoula across the Continental Divide in the Rocky Mountains and along the edge of the Great Plains up to the Eastern entrance of Glacier National Park. The Park was beyond breathtaking. The mountains, the trees, and the wide vistas of lakes, they were all so beautiful, I think they'll fill my mind for a long time.many glacierI painted several of the lakes, loving the reflected colours of the skies. This is a huckleberry cobbler, keeping my watercolour company...many glacier 3This is Lake McDonald, where we tried to swim in the freezing water, brrr.glacier 1And Holland Lake at sunset...flathead ... and in the morning.holland lakeWe stayed in a beautiful ranch cabin surrounded by meadows,cabinthat also inspired me to paint...farmThe sunsets and sunrises were bigger than I've ever seen, this is truly the Big Sky Country!flathead lake 1We saw a mama bear and her cub in the forest, and I collected images of Montana bears:bears of montanaYay Montana! Can't wait to visit again...

Montana road trip - part 1

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We've just started our road trip in Montana and I'm already loving it. We landed in Missoula, and were greeted by this bear at the airport.bear We spent our first day wandering the town on the hottest day of the year so far (40C!) We tried huckleberry pancakes for breakfast, and huckleberry ice cream to cool down in the afternoon, what a delight!huckleberriesWe browsed junk shops in the historical part of town, full of fascinating Americana and I bought a wonderful box of vintage pencils, hurrah!Who knows what wonderful things we'll see when we set off today, into the Great Plains...

Follow my trip on instagram @mariko.jesse

summer solstice

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Today is the longest day of the year, the summer solstice (for us in the northern hemisphere). This is an illustration I made for the poet Dick Russell who commissioned a set of cards for his summer and winter solstice poems. I picked elements from the poem and did a watercolour painting in summer greens...summer solstice smallerHappy Midsummer everyone!

social media update

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Hello! I'm finally upping my social media presence, and am now on twitter and instagram, as well as facebook. Tweet me, follow me, and let's all be online more together. Here's a sample of what you could be seeing on instagram every day...insta 2 I'll still be blogging, I've grown to love this weekend ritual, but there'll be extra treats to see mid-week on other platforms, hurrah!

kokeshi

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I've been trying to do more mokuhanga, and recently completed this print of Japanese kokeshi dolls for my new collaborative project with Yoomni Nam and Katie Baldwin.kokeshi 2 c;eaned This time we're calling our project alabama + california + kansas. You can find out more on our blog. We'll again be travelling to visit each other in our studios in these locations, and sending work to each other. Here's a pic of the wood block for this print, as I was carving it.

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HK toile ceramics

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Here are some lovely photos of my HK toile ceramics, showing the Chinese tea time set, with rice and soup bowls, dipping plates, chopstick holders and spoons! hk toileThe ceramics are available in contemporary red or traditional blue, and feature little details like egg tarts and dim sum in the middle.hk ceramics blueYou can buy them directly from faux and tree in HK, along with a few other retail outlets. Sik fan!

Connecticut magazines

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I recently created some maps for a series of town guide magazines for Litchfield, Ridgefield, Fairfield, Bedford + Pound Ridge, and Wilton, in beautiful Connecticut, USA. The magazines are super nicely produced, and full of useful local information.Exif_JPEG_PICTURE I illustrated one map per magazine, like this:bedford mapSmall details from the maps were used throughout the articles to highlight various attractions and historical notes.Exif_JPEG_PICTUREYou can see the town websites here. I hope I can go there one day!

Huntington Library

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The Huntington Library, near LA, is a beautiful botanical gardens and art gallery/museum. I recently designed an exclusive toile pattern for them, to use on a variety of products to sell in their new museum store, which has just opened. This lovely paper parasol, with wooden handle, is available now!h_parasol-side_largeWhen I was commissioned for this project, I visited the gardens, took photographs and did sketches...Exif_JPEG_PICTUREand then designed this repeat toile featuring many of the elements I saw there. I especially loved the Japanese bridge, the rose gardens and the cactus gardens. huntington repeatThe parasol has been featured in Romantic Homes magazine.for blogIt's available to buy in the museum store or online here. Look out for more products with this pattern, coming soon!

aquarium + museum

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At the Oceanographic Museum of Monaco I admired the gorgeous anemones and seaweed in the aquarium.Exif_JPEG_PICTUREThere were fish, seahorses, sea slugs and coral, and all sorts of weird squiggly things.sketchbook monaco bwThe shiny gold sparkles of the piranha were mesmerising.Exif_JPEG_PICTUREThere were also fascinating historical displays on the upper floors. I just can't resist the labels and cataloguing of these types of collections.Exif_JPEG_PICTUREI loved all the hand-writing and little boxes...museum sketches