I took part in a print exchange between my own print studio the Graphic Arts Workshop and the Print Club of Rochester which is now on show in the GAW gallery. There was no specific theme, so I decided to do a new playing card in my ongoing series.
I sketched all sorts of wading birds and chose sandpipers doing a spot of fishing.
The opening reception is this afternoon 3-5pm, please do pop in if you can!
Here's how they look on the walls...
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.
We went very old-school on a recent trip to Las Vegas, and tried to rediscover that classic vibe from the movies. We went to see the Showstoppers musical at the Wynn (where I sketched in the dark)...
...and sat drinking cocktails while an old-timey lounge singer crooned.
We gorged ourselves on the traditional (but indeed excellent) hotel buffet...
and wandered in the weirdly beautiful outrageous shopping malls...
I really like Las Vegas, it's like discovering a mirage in the desert...
I made my very good friend Katie Baldwin a wedding certificate for her wedding, so that all their guests could be witnesses, and sign it on their big day.
I did the calligraphy in pen & ink and the leafy border in watercolour, with dusky pink berries and tulips. Here are some details from the border...
...and a photo of the happy couple. Congratulations Katie and Curt!
The new HOBBS store in High Street Kensington, London is open! And lots of my specially commissioned illustrations are framed and decorating the walls...
I was asked to create illustrations for the stores, in a variety of styles, that reflected their values of quality and British heritage.
I also made a special map of the surrounding area showing the wonderful buildings and streets you can explore near the new store.
I highlighted some of the HOBBS iconic fashion items...
... and added in elements like local British flowers and animals.
Foxgloves and sweetpeas, foxes and a stag...
... and of course a countryside feature, the pheasant!
I also did some hand-lettered quotes, some etchings, and included some pages from my sketchbooks.
I hope you'll be able to visit and let me know what you think. Happy shopping!
Thanks to Nick Jesse for the store photos.
I recently did some artwork for HOBBS fashion stores in London. I produced over 20 illustrations for use inside their stores, and also one very special one for the promotion of their newest store in High Street Kensington, inside the iconic Barkers building. Here's the promo they made for instagram: [video width="640" height="640" m4v="http://www.marikojesse.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/IMG_2885.m4v"][/video]
The illustration also went out on invites for VIPS and local customers...
...and I heard that a good time was had by all. Next post will have photos of the store!
I designed a lovely garden toile for the Huntington Library and Gardens in Pasadena a while ago, and it's been used on a gorgeous parasol (see my previous post) but now it's also available on a teaset.
The printing is beautiful and the fine bone china is delightfully delicate on both the teapot and the two teacups that come with it. 
The design is based on their famous Japanese garden, the rose walk, and the fantastic California succulent and cactii gardens. If you haven't been there, I really recommend it! You can buy the teaset on their online store here.
I recently illustrated my first colouring book pages. It was only four pages in a book that had many, but it was surprisingly complicated!
There's so much detail involved, and all the lines need to match up nicely, and it should be interesting enough that you really look forward to colouring it in. Here's the flower shop as I drew it...
This vase and bouquet is my favourite detail from one of the other pages...
You can buy the book on amazon. Don't forget to show me your coloured pages when you're done ~ I'd love to see how they look.
I was thinking about my Tiffany & Co. mug the other day, and checked on instagram if anyone had posted any pictures of their mugs, and found some amazing images. I especially love this one...
Thank you amberallurecupcakes !
And here's a selection of some others, a big thanks to everyone who posted them. So glad you're enjoying your mugs...
I love instagram so much!
kapok, the hipster boutique lifestyle store in Hong Kong had their ten year anniversary this weekend, and they've been building up to it with a variety of events. I designed and illustrated a map for their #kapok10 anniversary launch, and they've used elements from it throughout their stores, website and social media.
I've never created a map from scratch before, by which I mean that it's an imaginary place, not a real one. I was asked to create a country that embodied everything kapok stood for: creativity, fun, fashion and a truly international flavour. I could start anywhere! And of course a new country needs a crest: kapokland's features the pink dolphin of HK and their new motto: 'future classics'
Here's the full map, showing an archipelago of different exotic fantasy islands, covering all seasons at once, with both tropical and arctic lands.
The reverse side of the map also featured a close-up of the main town in kapokland: Kapokville. The town had shops and museums, but also global embassies, a castle and even pedalos!
This is how it was used on the kapok website...
They even had a stand at a local design market with fun illustrated props for customers to interact with...
...and also used some of the animals as a banner on facebook...
I especially liked how they used details from the map on the store windows...
and inside...
Congratulations kapok! Here's to the next 10 years of fabulous!
I've just come home from a wonderful visit in New York and Washington DC. I love NY, and it felt wonderful to meet friends and wander in all my special spots...
I showed my portfolio, ate fun dinners, and saw some inspiring exhibitions in both cities.
I was super excited to see the Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, the White House, the Museum of American History and the Capitol.
I was especially moved by the Jefferson memorial, as he's my favourite US President of all!
I recently designed an exclusive butterfly and peony pattern for a jewellery box for tmtplaza in Hong Kong, for their spring beauty promotion.
I was asked to create something feminine and elegant, to match with this season's beauty products and cosmetics.
The illustration started out as pencil sketches of peonies in pale colours, with detailed monochrome butterflies and shadows.
This then gradually turned into a more colourful solid background with smaller butterflies...
...and I then developed the butterflies into more colourful versions, with stronger patterns and outlines. I chose a limited colour palette of pinks and greens to give the feminine feeling a contemporary twist.
I tried more detailed peonies, in richer colours...
...but in the end it went with the paler, more loosely-drawn flowers and more fully detailed butterflies. 
If you spend over HK$1,500 at the mall, from 23 April, you can get my box as a VIP gift, while stocks last! Hurry!
I have a photograph in the annual juried plastic camera show at RAYKO in San Francisco, and I popped in to see it last week. So exciting! 
I'm always taking photos on my holga/Lomo/Olympus Pen and don't show them enough. It's inspiring to see so many people making beautiful images on their plastic, almost toy, cameras.
I recommend checking it out! The exhibition is up for one more week, until April 29th.
Rayko, 428 Third Street, SF, CA 94107
I did an interview with playtimes magazine when I was in HK, mainly to promote the Max and Mei books I illustrated. It's funny to read what I said, in another person's words:
They collected together some of my images for the interview, and I love seeing how other people put them together, it always surprises me.
You can read the whole interview at the Playtimes link above, and see the Max and Mei books here.
I spent a few days in Vienna recently, and finally managed to eat at the famous Cafe Central with its glorious arched ceilings.
I mixed it up a bit, and then went for cake at Simoni's, a very modern cafe, and just as delicious.
The big revelation for me was the visit to the Kunsthistoriches Museum. I couldn't believe how many truly amazingly beautiful works of art there were.
My favourites were this portrait of a lady by Rubens...
and this absolute gem by Vermeer. It gave me such a lovely warm feeling.
Vienna is such a beautiful city, even the hotdog stands are like works of art. This photograph is my tribute to Hopper, and features Durer's Hare on the roof.
Hope you're having a fun weekend, wherever you are! Here's a little collage I made while I was at art school, a long long time ago...
I just got back from a lovely weekend on the Wiltshire/Somerset border in England. We stayed in a bed & breakfast place surrounded by rolling green hills,
and I did a few sketches, and took a few photographs, and just took it easy. This is a watercolour of Cley Hill. There is a fantastic legend about the hill (read about it here) and it's also a famous UFO hotspot! Woo!
I'm in London for an early Spring, and enjoying the flowers in the changeable weather. I've been experimenting with mixing watercolour and pen and ink, and drew some peonies for my mum.
I visited Petersham Nurseries with my parents and had a lovely lunch, and I wished I could take every single flowering plant home with me...
One of my photos has been chosen to be in the annual juried plastic camera show at the prestigious rayko photo center in San Francisco. 
This is a double-exposure medium format shot I took with my trusty Holga when I was travelling in India. I'm not a photographer, but I do love analogue photography so much.
The opening reception is this wednesday evening, March 9th, 6-8pm if you're around! Show continues until April 29th.
Today and tomorrow are the last days to see my show at GAW in San Francisco. Hope you can make it! You can view these two hand-detailed mokuhanga prints of a jug and a mug...
It's a series of four, with pen-drawn lines, but these two just seem to go so nicely together.
