Friday, 11 July 2014
Today's WIP
Been spending my afternoon working on the next commission on my list; a papercut for a family member's birthday. It's still early days but I'm liking it so far!
Wednesday, 9 July 2014
The London Illustration Fair
Over the weekend The London Illustration Fair held their 'Summer Festival: Tropicana' at the Hoxton Arches, and since I was free on Saturday I made a last minute decision to visit (with my mum accompanying me) and I'm so glad we made the effort to go! The atmosphere was fantastic; the artist-led event was full of like-minded people of all ages, not to mention some incredibly talented creatives from selected illustration agencies, collectives, and print studios such as Handsome Frank, Brothers of the Stripe, and East London Printmakers.
The venue was alive with creativity! We were totally immersed in a vast array of gorgeous contemporary artwork and prints displayed at the exhibitor stands, but in addition there were 1-2-1 portfolio reviews, live mural painting, and screen printing. The energy was infectious and really inspiring!
The Summer Festival also saw the addition of a new print shop located at the back of the venue. I spent a lot of time (and could have easily spent an awful lot of money) thumbing through signed prints, greetings cards, and printed t-shirts available, as well as admiring the framed prints displayed on the walls. It's just unfortunate that I couldn't afford all the pieces of artwork I had my eye on! But I was lucky enough to come away with a greetings card and signed A3 print from the wonderful Sandra Dieckmann, an illustrator I've admired for a while now.
The LIF are holding another event in December, which I'm already looking forward to attending, and I recommend anyone with an interest in illustration to check it out. It's a unique opportunity to chat with artists and discover new talent from the contemporary illustration scene, and it has further fuelled my passion to pursue a career in this fast-paced, thrilling industry!
The venue was alive with creativity! We were totally immersed in a vast array of gorgeous contemporary artwork and prints displayed at the exhibitor stands, but in addition there were 1-2-1 portfolio reviews, live mural painting, and screen printing. The energy was infectious and really inspiring!
The Summer Festival also saw the addition of a new print shop located at the back of the venue. I spent a lot of time (and could have easily spent an awful lot of money) thumbing through signed prints, greetings cards, and printed t-shirts available, as well as admiring the framed prints displayed on the walls. It's just unfortunate that I couldn't afford all the pieces of artwork I had my eye on! But I was lucky enough to come away with a greetings card and signed A3 print from the wonderful Sandra Dieckmann, an illustrator I've admired for a while now.
The LIF are holding another event in December, which I'm already looking forward to attending, and I recommend anyone with an interest in illustration to check it out. It's a unique opportunity to chat with artists and discover new talent from the contemporary illustration scene, and it has further fuelled my passion to pursue a career in this fast-paced, thrilling industry!
Thursday, 3 July 2014
Wednesday, 2 July 2014
Love in NYC
I've been a busy bee over the past month - I've had a few more papercuts to complete, I've got a new job, and managed to get away to Zante for a week too! So it's been all go! But I wanted to share a papercut I'm particularly proud of which I finished shortly before my holiday a fortnight ago.
This is, without a doubt, the most challenging papercut I've done! So far all my designs have been nature-orientated. Using organic shapes means I can be more flexible with my designs as the natural shapes can be easily manipulated to piece together a good composition. The brief for this cut, however, was that the artwork had to be New-York-themed as it was a gift to celebrate the engagement of the client's daughter (an old school friend of mine) which took place in Central Park. To create a successful paper cut design using manmade, rigid structures was admittedly a challenge, but one I'm pleased to have undertaken. It's helped me break out of my comfort zone and expand my portfolio, and the client was extremely pleased - as were her daughter and fiancé!
This is, without a doubt, the most challenging papercut I've done! So far all my designs have been nature-orientated. Using organic shapes means I can be more flexible with my designs as the natural shapes can be easily manipulated to piece together a good composition. The brief for this cut, however, was that the artwork had to be New-York-themed as it was a gift to celebrate the engagement of the client's daughter (an old school friend of mine) which took place in Central Park. To create a successful paper cut design using manmade, rigid structures was admittedly a challenge, but one I'm pleased to have undertaken. It's helped me break out of my comfort zone and expand my portfolio, and the client was extremely pleased - as were her daughter and fiancé!
Thursday, 17 April 2014
Rabbits and mice and bugs, oh my!
So this is my first blog update in about 3 months! My family and I were sadly given some devastating news at the end of January regarding a close friend of ours whom we have known for a number of years; a genuinely wonderful lady who I considered to be the central figure in my extended family. The world truly is a far darker place without her. She naturally possessed all the positive attributes most people strive to have, and the fact that she has been taken so prematurely is unfathomable. She is so missed. So it goes without saying that my art has taken a backseat over the past couple of months, but recently I have decided to get back into the swing of things.
Following the papercut I created for my work colleague at Christmas, I've had quite a few people express their interest in commission pieces! This is a cut I did for a friend of mine, which she wanted to pass down through the family. I thought the foliage in my previous papercut worked really well to frame the typography but I didn't want this one to be too similar and resemble a 'repeat', so I wanted to try something a bit different. Working with the surname 'Warren' my mum suggested incorporating a rabbit into the design, which inspired the woodland theme.
This one was a real challenge to design (ensuring it came out as one whole stencil) but I was really happy with how it turned out, and more importantly my friend was thrilled with the design! I'm fairly certain there will be more animal-inspired papercuts from me in the future!
Following the papercut I created for my work colleague at Christmas, I've had quite a few people express their interest in commission pieces! This is a cut I did for a friend of mine, which she wanted to pass down through the family. I thought the foliage in my previous papercut worked really well to frame the typography but I didn't want this one to be too similar and resemble a 'repeat', so I wanted to try something a bit different. Working with the surname 'Warren' my mum suggested incorporating a rabbit into the design, which inspired the woodland theme.
This one was a real challenge to design (ensuring it came out as one whole stencil) but I was really happy with how it turned out, and more importantly my friend was thrilled with the design! I'm fairly certain there will be more animal-inspired papercuts from me in the future!
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