More Birds

I've been doing some more little bird collages recently and here is my latest effort. My take on a pair of Long-Tailed Tits, a commission which requested more than one bird, because it is apparently better Feng Shui. I loved this concept and it immediately made me think of these social little birds who I absolutely adore. I sometimes see them when I am out walking the dog, in their little flocks flitting between the trees and it never fails to bring a smile to my face.

Birds of Paradise

I've just finished doing a wonderfully exuberant painting of Birds of Paradise for a fabulous client you wanted something wild and colourful!

This is just a section of the painting, there are two other male birds displaying above and below and the colourfulness continues! I've used lots of gold, which doesn't really show up that well when photographed but it looks lovely in the light and gives things an extra dimension which I really love.

It took me two attempts to get it right but I'm really liking the wildness of this one and can't wait to see it framed up!

Jammy Coo Love

Well I write shamefaced (again) at my lack of blog action of late. I am trying to choose what to blame this on... No time due to keeping up with my non-stop toddler, busy doing commissions, doing a few revisions of the Bear book pages or wanting to post up some pics of Birds of Paradise that I've been working on but not ready yet!

Instead I choose to blame my lovely sister Delia (well if you can't place blame on a sibling, then who can you eh?!). Delia is the proud owner and creator of the wonderful Jammy Coo, a fabulous gallery and coffee shop in the beautiful Scottish Borders (it's the kind of place you always hope to find but rarely do) and I've been busy designing lots of lovely things her.

I designed the JC logo a couple of years ago and it is such great fun to play with and encorporate into all sorts of designs, you can do anything with her! She features on the Jammy Coo crockery (you can purchase the Hot-Choc mugs!) and some gorgeous heavy duty canvas shopper bags and just yesterday I was frantically finishing an exciting new design for a new product to be sold in the shop and hopefully soon online (keep an eye on the Jammy Coo blog for details.), but I will leave that to Delia to share! For regular customers, you can pick up a Jammy Coo loyalty card, and open to all is the Jammy Coo Late-Night-Shopping nights (click on this link - there is a free recipe that Delia has posted!!!) where the mystery new product will be launched!

I've designed a few logos in my time now but the Jammy Coo is by far and away my favourite, I don't think I'll ever get tired of playing about with her. In fact, I can't wait to see what she is going to feature on next!

Christmas Penguins!

Apparently, it's only 100 days til Christmas (sorry!), so here are some festive designs with one of my favourite characters, the penguin. Designs available to license!

Tweet Tweet

So I have finally finished doing my bear book (Yay!) which I am so excited about and I am keeping everything crossed that it goes down well at the Frankfurt book fair in a few weeks time!

This leaves me with a little bit of time to do a bit of blogging and start thinking about the next project and to perhaps create some images just for the sake of it! Here are a couple of little pics I did recently, inspired by something I did for a friends birthday present. The leaves are collaged from pieces of backgrounds I created for the bear book. Although not particularly accurate, these little birds are inspired by the gorgeously perky Wren, possibly my favourite british bird.

I am going to take these off to the framer later and put a lovely big mount and frame on them ready to be exhibited at the Jammy Coo's "Jammy Coo Turns Two" exhibition in October.

The Bear Book!

Well I couldn't wait any longer - here is a sneaky peek at my Bear book! This is an image I have just done for the interior title page, so this is a double page spread with text still to go in. I really hope you like it!

Illustration Friday!

So I am finally getting round to entering something into Illustration Friday! This weeks subject was "Dessert" and I immediately knew just the illustration to put forward. I hope you like it!

I Miss My Sister

Last year I did the illustrations for a fantastic little book for the Child Bereavement Charity to be used as an aid to help children cope and work through the stages of bereavement following a loss. It was an amazing project to be involved with and they were fantastic clients.

From a creative point of view, this was one of the first book commissions that I did where the main subjects were people, although I couldn't resist adding a little four legged friend companion too! I really loved the challenge of illustrating the sensitive emotions involved in the story.

Even though the subject is very sad, this is a really uplifting book full of warmth and love and with really positive messages, perfect for personal use or great to have in a classroom library. Definitely one of my favourite book projects to date.

The book was published by the charity itself and you can find it here.

Like a Bear With a Sore Head!

Well he's not the bear I am working on at the moment but one I have dug out from the archive and was a concept for a get well card.

A few more designs for you to look at. All available for licensing!

Card Designs Galore!

Well I am busy beavering away working on my Bear Book for Harper Collins which I am loving! I have developed a whole new approach for me in creating the artwork which I am so excited about. The as yet, untitled book will be published next year and I am trying to get it ready in time to be taken to Frankfurt Book Fair in the Autumn. This is definitely the most fun I have had creating artwork for a book!

I would love to share what I am doing with you but I want to keep things under wraps until it's all finished, and the book at least has it's title! In the mean time though, here are some more card designs for you, which are all available for licensing.

Card Designs

Was tiding up some files on the computer and came across a whole heap of card designs I did a wee while ago, so thought I would pop a few up for you to see. All designs are available to license.

Colouring In!

Well since I last blogged I have been super busy getting things underway working with a new publisher to produce my Bear Book! Am so excited about it and am working with such a lovely team which is so refreshing.

I'm currently having lots of fun exploring different techniques to bring colour together with line in a way which would be suitable for the finished artwork. Lots of challenges here and I really want to get the feeling just right so am going to keep experimenting, but here's where I'm at at the moment.

Let me know what you think...

I am typing shame-faced at my lack of blog action of late but hope that attaching a pretty picture will make up for it a little!

This is an commission for a cd cover for a collection of soothing songs for Mums and babies to listen to and is called Nightingale.

I went quite a way from the suggested format of the design and opted for a wrap-around image which I think will look lovely on the product. The client was great and was really open to my creative input and ideas - always makes a job so much more interesting!

Hope you like!

Tiger Tiger

I can't believe how slack I've been already about posting on my new blog! I am blaming a raging cold and writers/illustrators block for this one I think! I've been working on some book concepts, story and character development but nothing worth writing about at the moment!

So I thought to tide things over, I would post up a pic of one of my paintings to show what else I do! My painting work is quite different from my illustration work but I still have a real focus on character. I love making spontaneous, lively marks with vibrant inks and gorgeous golds and working on a large scale. You can see more of my paintings on my website.

Thinking about doing something with a Kiwi...

I've been playing around with thoughts of doing a nocturnal book with a Kiwi character instead of an owl. My other half is a New Zealander and so the Kiwi was an obvious character for me to explore. I love it's shape and just its sheer unusualness but being a nocturnal creature means quite a dark book and so lots of creative challenges!

This is very much an early rough and I fear that he is a little inconspicuous here (he's on the log looking down at some ants!) but just thought I'd keep you posted with what I'd been up to!

Just another couple of roughs from the bear book....

Am working on a new book at the moment, and here is a sneaky peak of a double-page spread to get you started. If you can't already guess, the main character....is a bear!

The book is all roughed out and is with my agent at the moment and we are playing the waiting game to hear back from publishers - fingers crossed!

Hello!

Hello and welcome to my blog!

Jump, jump, jump for joy at long last I have got around to creating a blog to show you what I am up to on the illustration front!

I will try my hardest to place regular posts and keep up to date with my latest jobs, doodles and illustration concepts, in between feeding, changing and entertaining my very energetic 8 month old little girl!

Feel free to post comments etc and I hope you enjoy what you see!

Thanks, Holly x