Fiona Clayton Farewell Show!

I recently got a followup commission to create a second poster for Fiona Claytons' upcoming gig at the Brickyard in Carlisle. Fiona is having a baby in the new year so the band are putting on a farewell show to say goodbye for a while.

I tried to continue with a similar theme from the first poster, keeping the colour schemes and the summer camp feel. This ones all packed up and ready to go away for a while.

Best of luck to Fiona, Jan and the band for the future! If you're in the area go support!

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Seaweed Species of the Atlantic

Some new muted colour work. I've been trying to experiment with paper cutting to get some new lines but I'm really not sure about them. I absolutely over complicated this one. There is far too much going on.  

CLICK IMAGE FOR HI-RES

Website news.

My website is currently down. I have done possibly the worst job of transferring my domain to a new web host in the history of html, even after spending a month making sure exactly this wouldn't happen. It has.

Rest assured though that I am working on it even if it means flying to america to punch said web hosts in the face. Its gonna be a phoenix like rebirth of staggering proportions. When it happens. Soon. 

In the meantime my blog is here and some of my work is also up on my agents site here.

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Read, Listen, Learn, Create.

I've been drawing a lot of book covers recently as little drawing exercises to play with my technique. 

I don't really read as much as I should. I'm constantly busy with freelancing and then working my part time job and just being a person and I usually reach for Netflix before bed instead of a book. It bugs me, I used to live in books and I do still love them. It got me onto thinking about how we consume books nowadays. A lot of mine are through the radio or audiobooks while I'm working. Which led into this piece:

I'm trying to vary my colour palette more at the moment. I always grab onto bright bolds and contrast them with cool colours and I find my work doesn't seem to translate well without them. I managed not to use pink, purple or yellow today though. So thats a plus.

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Spooky Shelves

Yeah back to the crazy colours! 

Really enjoyed this one, it felt very natural. (Which might mean that its objectively not great but I like it!)

I also made it into a gif because I couldn't decided on the eyes in the crystal ball. It kind of got out of hand. The voodoo doll is my favourite. :)

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Festive Spirit Infusions

When in the Library last looking for cocktail recipes high off the caipirinha illustrations, I found a super nice book about home-brewing. I got a bit over excited I'll be honest but rather than fill our attic with fermenting bottles and yeast I decided to focus on the rather simple infusions of shop bought spirits. I found some crazy concoctions like lavender and black pepper vodka but the recipes that follow are my favourites.

I haven't made any yet because I want to give them away as christmas presents and none have long lives. The christmas thing fed into forming the illustrations into a book to accompany the bottles. So organised this year!
(P.S. If you are my mum please forget you saw any of this...)

I really wanted to experiment with using a limited colour palette for this project. I'm usually very heavy on the colours and contrasting so I wanted to challenge myself and not rely on it too much. This feels sophisticated but I recon in hindsight the colours could have more pop. Maybe be bolder/brighter. 

At least my eye balls didn't go all 'opening the lost ark' for once...

I'll do a blog post of the process once I'm making the infusions with photos of me wrestling quinces and drinking vodka as soon as I've found some quinces and can afford vodka...

Check out how its going to kinda look when its all lovely and printed:

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Spirits

Sneaky peak of a project I'm working on for christmas. I'm gonna be SO organised this year you'll see!

CAÏPIRINHA

Last month I was commissioned by french adventure, travel, lifestyle and now food blog Les Others to create a series of illustrated recipes for the brazilian cocktail caipirinha. It was a lot of fun but because I'm a terrible (and silly busy) person I've only just had chance to post it up now. (sorry!)

I've still yet to try a caipirinha but will definitely be ordering one next time I visit a swanky London cocktail bar. It better come with its own boat and mini Christ the redeemer.

 Check out the illustrations in situ HERE!

A Festival Guide to Not Getting Scurvy.

I'm working lots of music festivals and events to pay my rent and meet new people over the summer and the staff food is pretty dire. I usually pack loads of extra bits to make sure I'm not a malnutritioned zombie by the end of each event.

So I made this fun friendly guide leaflet:

(click for resolution)

Thats me. In the portaloo...

I'm trying to find a way to print it right now, so I'll stick up some images as soon as I do. 

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Swing!

A combination of elements I've been doodling for a while now. 

I'm trying to fiddle about with my style at the moment, trying to use shape and colour more than details to create focus and less eye bleeding. I'm kinda halfway happy with it but I think I'm getting upset with my lines. Up close I love them but pulled back the textures of the lines get awkward. Soon!

Werking out colours. Can't wait to use those pinks.

The No. 1 Ladies Day Club

A polished version of my Ascot Ladies. I've been talking with my illustration agents and we've decided to pass up on faces and crazy details for the time being cos they're totally distracting and unnecessary.

 Its been difficult restraining myself from doodling patterns into every possible surface but I think I'm getting there!

Click for lovely HI-RES!

Oh man my work is so yellow heavy at the moment. whoops 

The Tiny Islands - BASECAMP

The Tiny Islands don't exist, but in my head they play creepy and brooding but simultaneously uplifting ballads, and have a super ace glockenspiel solo in every song. Also because its in my head I get to choose the vocalist on every song because... I can. And I'm massively indecisive and fickle.

I was really struggling to make this piece work so I decided to make it into an album cover and blam! it's in a context that totally covers up how aimless a composition it really is. Maaaaagic. 

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Fiona Clayton

Gig poster for folk rock singer songwriter Fiona Clayton. Really enjoyed doing this one. 

Ode to Puzzle Island

PUZZLE/PUZZLE/PUZZLETIME/PUZZLE/PUZZLE

How many birds can you find?!

When I was a kid I was obsessed with a book called Puzzle Island. It is the best.

I want to do more kids friendly interactive illustrations so this is a first attempt. Came out a bit yellow. But then yellow is cool.

I can't decide if I like it better on the dark background or not. I think the birds are a bit harder to find.

I still spend hours pouring over this book. Its so magic.

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