Summer is on it's way!

Welllll,

It's been a while.  So rather than dwell on that I feel it's time to just get on with writing another post :D.  If you're reading this ta very much!

Today as it's getting warmer here, and we've had a run of really lovely sunny weather here in the UK (which as everyone knows is something to celebrate here), I thought I would share some work I made last year in the summer which I haven't yet revealed here.  It's also some of my favourite work.  

Last year I did a lot of markets.  It was an experimental year on that front for me, some worked, some didn't.  I still do think generally speaking the best time for markets is in the lead up to Christmas but I did do pretty well at some summer ones too. 

I made these two prints mainly for my shop, and I wanted them to work well together so if people wanted a pairing these could do the job.  Both of them have proved to be my best selling prints for sure which is great for me obviously.  I'm also hoping they show my food illustration style well as I would like to get more commissions in that area.  You're always welcome to email me sharon@sharonfarrow.com if interested.

I thought I'd share them now as they have that summer vibe (I think) I hope they resonate with you too!

I'm selling them in my etsy shop SharonFarrowArt as both A4 and A3 prints and I'm also with the stockist Deptford Does Art in London so you can find them there too.  

I am have been working away since then even if I've been very slack on here.  I'm working on some new things now which hopefully I should be able to share with you soon.

I do really appreciate you if you've stayed around to read my blog.  I do think I've been on here longer than anything else online now so it's good it's still going.

See you soonish for more updates, until then have a good one!

Sharon :)

It's all about the mushroom

Hello,

My good intentions of more frequent posts have appeared to have gone out of the window!  Life gets busy and so this blog takes a bit of a back seat.  I do want to keep it up though and will strive to get better!  

A lot has happened since my last post back in....well, whenever it was.  I've been creating some new work and taking part in several creative/makers markets which I've really been enjoying.  I've got some more of those coming up so I'll aim to write about those properly nearer the time.  I'm also going to be having a piece of work in a group exhibition coming up shortly which is very exciting for me.  I haven't exhibited anything since my college days so I'm delighted to be a part of a show now.  I will post about that soon.

In the meantime I'll share my latest piece of work all about mushrooms.  They fascinate me and are something amazingly fun to draw.  This work did go through a few iterations before I settled on this composition and colour palette, but I'm so happy that I stuck with it and I'm really pleased with how the final piece turned out.  My intention was for it to have a vintage kind of feel to it, and I so enjoyed playing with all the textures in this one.

I WILL be back soon with more updates.  In the meantime I hope you're having a good week.  It's Saturday so I'm getting out and about in (hopefully) the sunshine!

Sharon :).

New cards and upcoming markets

Hello!

I hope you're all doing well.  Today I'm going to share my brand new card designs that I've been busy working on recently.  

Apart from Christmas cards it's been a little while since I made any new greetings cards so I thought it was about time to create some new ones.  I also heard in January that I'd got a slot at a market I'd applied for so I wanted new cards ready for that.  I've now got two upcoming markets in spring (hooray)! so I'm super excited for those. 

I knew I wanted to make at least three cards and that I wanted them all to have the same colour palette so they work as a set.  My first market is the day before Mother's Day in the UK so one of the cards I wanted to be is for that, plus a Birthday and any occasion floral card.  

They're now all at the printers so they should be with me in physical form very soon.  It's always exciting to see them when they come back in finished form.  Once they arrive and get photographed I'll also be popping them into my Etsy shop SharonFarrowArt.  I also have a sale on there at the moment with 50% off all A5 prints including these below.

I mentioned earlier that I've got two markets coming up.  The first is @localmakersmarket on March 9th in Wanstead and the second is @craftyfoxmarket on April 6th in Kings Cross.  Both are brand new markets for me and I'm super excited to be taking part in them.  I will post more about them soon.  If you're in London then it would be great to see you!

That's all for now, time to head out for a refreshing morning run.  Have a good week :).

Happy New Year and a sale!

Hello and Happy New Year!

2024 is now upon us.  Strange to think just one week ago was Boxing Day and I was eating crisps and losing (yet again) at Cluedo.  I hope (if you had one) that you had a good break and are feeling refreshed.  This is what I call my first day back proper, and I've tried to make it not too challenging with some sketchbook work.  So far I've been quite happy with what's been going on in there today.  There's a bit of admin to do as well so overall day one looks ok.

Todays post is really to advertise (shameless plug) that I have a sale on over in my Etsy shop SharonFarrowArt.  It will run for most of January and includes all my Christmas cards, wrap, tags and tree decorations.  There's either 25% or 50% off those items as detailed in the listings.  Some of them are pretty low in stock and it would be good to sell them on to a good home.  I've also got reels over on my Instagram with all the details.  I know many people like to get organised for next Christmas in advance so if you fancy taking a look in my shop have a look here.

Here's some items that have 25%off :

and below some of the 50% off goodies including all my tree decorations :

I had a good and busy December which I really enjoyed.  Can't deny that now feels like a flatter time but it is a good time to plan ahead.  I've got a list that I've been adding to, started in December, with things I would like to try in my business over the coming year.  I am just jotting down anything that comes to mind, no doubt things will be deleted and the list will be added to as we go forward, having it there gives me something to work toward and get going with right now though.  The sketchbook work today is one of those starts, as I want to make some new cards/prints for my shop and I feel starting there is a good way to try a few things without putting a huge pressure on straight off.  I think it's worked but I'll save that for another post.  I don't make resolutions and stuff, but the start of a new year always does feel like a time to reflect and reassess.  

I hope you're having a good start to January, it was raining here this morning and now it's really windy.  I do quite like listening to the wind whistling when I can just stay in.  It really does feel like back to regular life again! 

Speak soon :).

Final December market of the year!

Hello!

I hope everyone is doing well.  I thought I'd pop back with an update as I've now done my final fair of the year.  

This weekend was the @designandcraftfair held as part of the Truman markets in East London.  It was my only entire weekend market of December.  One of the really good things about having a stall here is that it is huge so I can really spread out and bring some framed prints which I can't normally fit on a table, (although my arms are not so pleased with this 😅).  Unfortunately though, it wasn't as busy as I had hoped.  The area in general didn't seem as busy as it is usually, as it's normally very buzzy.  It was a bit of a shame but, I still made a profit and sold a lot of cards in particular so that is the upside.  Sadly footfall is often something that is totally out of a traders control, however, I got to chat to some of the fellow stall holders which is always a lovely part of trading.  

So, that's my December markets wrapped up!  It's the first time I've done a market each weekend and I would do it again.  Over the past year I have increased the amount of markets I've done and next year I definitely would like to do more.  I enjoy them, inspite of the schlepping of stuff around London (which is always a challenge), the days are really fun.  I've met lots of people doing similar things with similar struggles and wins! and that is one of the best bits, as well as people liking your created goods enough to buy which is always a joy.  

To round up my busiest market was definitely the @illustratorsfair.  Very well marketed every time, and the location is itself is busy and has a really good vibe.  The second was the @ktmakermarket and for their first one it really was a huge success, so again great marketing I think.  I really want to do more with them. Even though this last Design and Craft fair was quieter than I hoped, I would still do another.  The last one I took part in in September was much busier, and I still really enjoyed my weekend there.  

I'll just pop in that if there's anything that tickles your fancy in the photos above have a look in my Etsy shop SharonFarrowArt.  I have now sold out of some stock, but most of what is on display here is still available.  If you want in time for Christmas though as I post by second class, the cut off for guaranteed delivery has now passed but....maybe you want to surprise someone for New Year!

This will more than likely be my last post before Christmas so, if you are celebrating, or just having a break, I hope you thoroughly enjoy yourself 😊.  Also just to say, thanks for reading my ramblings I really appreciate it!

See you soon

Sharon x

December market time!

Hello!

So I'm back with my market/fair update.  I have now taken part in two of my December markets with just one more to go.  It's been a bit of a hectic couple of weeks hence why this is now a two for one post.  

My first market was on Saturday 2nd December and was held in a church in Kentish Town with @ktmakersmarket.  It was their first market, it was busy and felt very festive.  I had a very good day and was impressed with the turnout as it was a very cold day.

My second was the @illustratorsfair held last Saturday.  I've done this fair a few times now and this was the busiest it's been.  It seems people do really want to support small businesses which is lovely.  I can't say I got a chance to look around because I really didn't, but just from my vantage point I'm always so impressed with the variety of work on offer.  Again, I had a very good day and really enjoyed it.  Markets are always tiring as the lugging of all my wares around London is exhausting but I always think it's worth it.  This Saturday night once I'd got home and eaten, I had a nice relaxing bath to help wind down :).

So, just one more market to go and that's this weekend @designandcraftfair so if you fancy popping by then please do.  I post photos from the events over on Instagram if you want to take a look.

I hope you've had a good week! 

Back soon 

Sharon :).

Flyer winner!

Hello,

So I'm back with some exciting news.  Yesterday I was told that my flyer for the @illustratorsfair won the competition!!  I'm so shocked and dead chuffed.  There were so many beautiful flyers (check out the @illustratorsfair feed to see all the entries), I don't know how the judges ever made a decision!  It's been so lovely to read everyones comments and see the likes, I'm totally overwhelmed!  

I had a lot of fun creating this flyer.  I'll be honest I started out with a totally different design, the only similarity to this was that there was a bird on it.  I worked on it for a bit but I wasn't happy, abandoned the idea, sketched out a new one, and went for a new colour palette.  I am really happy with how it turned out.  Sometimes an idea just seems to come together and that happened with this.  I got to play a lot with texture and I loved making the border and the blue frostiness in the background.  

They are now continuing with a wildcard flyer competition that anyone can enter to also create a flyer for the event.  So if you'd like to submit a design check out their feed to see how to get involved.  

The fair itself is now just under two weeks away (how did that happen)!!?!  This weekend I've been organising my stall ready for the next few weeks of markets.  The first is this coming Saturday in Kentish Town.  It's the first market of @ktmakersmarket it's going to be held in a beautiful church.  There will be pizza on sale as well so if that doesn't make you want to come I don't know what does :D.  I will be there with all my prints, cards, illustrated mirrors, notebooks, stickers, Christmas themed goods and tree decorations..phew! 

This is their flyer for the event and below that all the markets and fairs I'll be doing.  If you are looking to buy from me, or just want to see my creations but can't make the markets, everything can be found over on my Etsy shop SharonFarrowArt.

These are all the markets I'll be doing in December.  It would be lovely to see you if you are coming to any of them :).  I will post more about each one as we go through the month.

So, have a great week and I'll be back soon :).

December Markets and Fairs

Hello,

It is a very dreary rainy day Tuesday here in London.  I've already been out and got drenched so I'm happy to be back in the warm and dry.

To brighten up the day I thought I'd share a bit more about the markets/fairs I'll be doing and sharing flyers for the events.  Firstly I'll share the flyers I've made.  They're all made for Instagram so they're square in shape.

This first one I've created is for all the markets I'll be at, arranged around my shop logo for SharonFarrowArt shown in the middle.  

SharonFarrowArt

Kentish Town Makers Market

Illustrators' Fair

Design and Craft Fair

The next is a flyer specifically for the Illustrators' fair.  For every fair they do, all stall holders are invited to create a flyer for the event a #festivalofflyers.  It's a great way of showcasing the work of the illustrators' involved and it makes for a beautifully diverse gallery over on their feed.  I was thinking of crisp and frosty December days for my flyer and I'm really happy with how it's turned out.

Here's the generic flyers for two of those events :

I'm getting ready ensuring I have everything to display all the items I have.  It's not that long until the first one now.  I will be bringing all my Christmas cards, wrap and gift tags but I'll also have prints, greetings cards and small illustrated gifts.  These markets are the perfect place to find something really original to give as a gift or keep for yourself 😀 (well, why not)?  I'll be posting more over on Instagram if you'd like to follow me there to keep up to date. 

If you do come by come and say hello!

Ok, that's me done for now.  Have a great rest of the day.

Sharon

New festive shop goodies

Hello!

Once again, it has been a while since I've last posted, whoops!  Still, I have a bit to share right now so I think today is the day for more of my scribblings.  

I've been busy getting ready for......I daren't say it, because it is early, but, yes, for Christmas.  It's tricky, but as a person making and selling things for that time of year you do have to start gabbling about it early!  It's been quite exciting for me really because I've tried out a few new things this time.  Foiled cards is one. They've been something I've wanted to try for a while, and I'm really happy finally to have made some.  I've also ventured into making wrapping paper and gift tags this year.  

My original plan was to make one set of cards, the foiled ones, but once they were done I was in the swing of festive ideas (you know how it is), so I made another card featuring partridges (any excuse to draw a bird), and seasonal foliage.  I'm really happy with all the designs, I've realised it's a very green coloured Christmas in Sharon land but that's ok I think :).

They are now all live in my Etsy shop SharonFarrowArt

Also, if you're in London in December I will be selling in the flesh at various markets every weekend throughout that month.  I'm going to save all that information for another post though.  That means I will be back soonish with all those details.  I'm very excited about all of them.  Markets and fairs are something I started doing in the last few years and I've really been enjoying them.

So, I will leave it there for now.  I hope you're having a lovely week and I WILL be back soon!

Sharon :)

A bird fest

Hello,

It's been a while (again) since I've written a post but better late than never!

I've been busy over the past few weeks creating new work and it's been an exciting and productive time.  I came back from a short Christmas break full of energy and enthusiasm, ready to flesh out some ideas that had been brewing for a while. 

For the purpose of this post I'm going to focus on three recent images I made.  My plan was to make a small group of images with a similar subject matter and colour palette.  I don't often make sets of work so I thought this would be a good challenge for me and I'm really happy with how they turned out. 

The starting point for each image was a linocut bird.  I love the textures you can achieve with linocut whilst still achieving an all over pretty even covering of colour.  I am a basic linocutter I guess but as there's no real right or wrong way for my purposes (so I've told myself), I feel that's ok.  I wanted each bird to be surrounded by a strange plant land, and I really enjoy creating fantasy plants and landscapes that are a little strange and perhaps unsettling.  I always like to imagine living in those strange worlds and whether I'd feel entirely comfortable!  I wanted the images to be retro-mid century tinged, and I hope my chosen colour palette reflects this.  Once the linocut print was down, I worked into the landscape building it up with coloured pencil, acrylic and gouache.  I get totally absorbed in creating, working up the layers, making the textures, it's a real joy.  I've started using gouache after leaving it for a long time (lots of dried tubes that have now been re-discovered and bought back to life, not always successfully)!  I find for larger areas it scans better that watercolour for me (although that may be my bad scanning technique, who knows, if anyone has any tips I'm all ears)!  I took inspiration from sketches I made from one of my many visits to the V&A Museum in London (love it so), and of course natures delights, birds, are always a lovely subject.  The V&A has a huge amount of beautiful and sometimes strange objects and artwork.  I especially love the medieval period rooms and get lost in time when I'm there.  

Well, I think I've rabbled on for long enough.  I hope you've enjoyed this post.  I'll aim to get more regular at this, although I can't promise anything!

Enjoy your day and I'll see you soon. 

Sharon :).

Medieval musings

Hello,

I hope you're all having a good week.  Today I'm sharing another new piece of work that's been inspired by my museum sketches.  I had a real desire to draw a dragon.  I saw so many of them in my museum wanderings, and there is something very magical about them that really captures my imagination.  It took quite a bit of sketching to get the dragon that I wanted to create, but I'm really happy with how it turned out.  I hope there's a sense of personality captured in my creation!  I've been enjoying drawing fantastic, strange, mythical creatures over these past few months, adding to my usual bird and animal creations.  It's been a bit of a shift for me in terms of subject matter, and something I'm hoping to continue with.

The dragon was transformed into a linocut image and then the rest was a combination of acrylic paint, coloured pencil, charcoal, and pen.  I wanted to take elements of stone work, carvings and fire into the illustration and I loved creating all those textures and patterns.  I also indulged my love of a limited colour palette sticking to three main colours.  

I like to keep the lino smudges in my work and not leave things too clean, just a personal preference really, does that work?  I'm never too sure.   

Just finishing up my coffee now and then I'll be busy organising for an art market tomorrow.  It'll be my first outdoor market and it's for artists based in my London borough of Barnet.  I'm hoping I'll be able to get some pictures of the day and I'll post them here hopefully next week!  

I hope you've had a lovely week and enjoy your weekend :).

Birds and plants

Hello,

Following on from my last post I wanted to share some work I made inspired by the sketch and my museum visit.  My idea for this image was to create something inspired by ceramic work, carvings and tapestries that I saw on my visit.  It's a combination of linocut, handmade stencils alongside painted and pencilled shapes.  I've mentioned before that I love using limited colour palettes, that way of working really suits me.

I've just finished another image in a similar vein, using that sketch and museum visit as my inspiration which I'll share next time.  

Have a great rest of the week :).

Sketching, sketching, sketching

Hello,

Last week I took myself for a midweek museum visit.  I picked one of my favourite museums which I've been to countless times, the V&A.  I always feel so lucky to have such a fantastic museum within easy reach of me, and since I moved to London many years ago it's been a staple place to visit for me.  I always come away so inspired by what I've seen, and it really seems to fire up the creative juices!

I intended to sketch on site a lot more than I actually did, but in the end I did a lot more looking, wandering, and took a lot more photos that I could use as reference later.  The plan then was just to sketch freely, drawing from what I'd seen, and seeing what ideas would come along as I did.  Once I got home I picked a long random piece of paper that was a wonky end from a roll of paper I have, and just began drawing.  It was so much fun.  I was completely absorbed in that drawing, it didn't matter how it turned out or what came about to draw next, I was just letting it flow very naturally and it felt wonderful.  I wanted to just sketch with pencil and without colour, as this is something I've only been using recently to do very quick drawings, so I really wanted to explore using just that one medium.  I was so happy with how it turned out and it has produced seeds of new ideas which may or may not be taken further (more scribbling is due to commence)!  It's also definitely taken my mind off into new subject matter which is always a bonus, and was something that I really hoped would happen.  To top it all off the whole process has given me an enormous amount of pleasure which has been an amazing gift to me.  I could have just carried on drawing and drawing if the paper hadn't run out!

This is the full drawing.

I'm now working up some ideas inspired by these drawings, and continuing to sketch :).

Enjoy your weekend.  

My recent way of working

Hello,

I hope you're all having a good start to September.  Can't quite believe it's here already and as it's been a lovely summer here in the UK, I'm hoping some good weather will continue as I've loved wearing shorts pretty much everyday all the way through.  That's been a real treat for my legs and a nice change from them being cooped up.  So far it's still good so all is well.  

Today I'm sharing a new image I've recently finished.  I've been working a lot with ideas just from my imagination over the past few months which I've then made into prints or cards.  I guess it's a bit of a change for me to just create work where I feel I have complete freedom to experiment as it's all been work that will potentially go into my Etsy shop or just be created as portfolio pieces for my website.  I've mentioned before how enjoyable this has been for me and it's also meant I've allowed myself time to 'have a go' at new processes, one of which has been incorporating linocut into my work and I'm really happy with the results.  I've been combining it with my painted/penciled/stencilled areas and I love the variety of textures I can get from it alongside my regular combinations.  

This is the most recent work.

The sea creatures were created from the linocut and then I've used a combination of acrylic paint, coloured pencils and oil pastels to create the plants and shapes.  The idea stems from a combination of conversations with friends....yep! feelings, music and a desire to create a moving, swirling image with a limited palette.  

Over the past few months all of the below images have been created incorporating linocut into my work.  I really do enjoy the process and the finish it gives combined with the looser marks created by hand.  All of these illustrations are available to buy as Giclee prints over in my shop too.

I thought I'd share that little insight into the way I've been working, I hope it's been of interest!  I'm now off to get some sketching done working through some new ideas.  

I hope you're all ready for the weekend and I'll be back soon :).

New prints and an Illustration Fair

Hello,

I thought it's about time I shared something new here.  Over the last few months I've been working away creating images, just taking my time and not putting too much pressure on myself to post anything until I am ready to do so.  It has meant being more relaxed with my social media (not that I was every an avid poster really) and I feel ok with that.  I know lots of people have been doing the same thing and feeling a similar way too.  It does mean I have collected a few images together, many of which will never be seen by anyone other than me, and it's been a great time for me to experiment and really make what I fancy.  So it's been a very enjoyable time work-wise.  Some of those images have now become new items which I've put into my shop SharonFarrowArt and I want to share those with you.  

First up are some Giclee art prints.  The idea behind these illustrations was to give a positive vibe and message.  I love incorporating text into my work, and the text used in these images was inspired by music I've been listening to, things that were happening personally to me at the time, and in the general goings on of life.  I feel that the words are open enough to be interpreted in anyway that relates to you personally.  I also experimented with adding linocut areas on some of these designs.  I always have a lot of fun creating textures but lino helps me to get an even coating of colour in some areas, whilst still providing subtle texture, I like that contrast.  I had a lot of fun (and made a lot of mess, always a bonus)!

The unicorn and peacocks images are also available as small A6 cards.  I usually make square shaped cards so I thought I'd try something a bit different. 

The other new product I have is a new home card. 

Also, a couple of weekends ago I took part in the Illustrators fair at Granary Square in Kings Cross, London.  It's my second fair with them and I'm hoping to do more.  I still feel very much a fair novice but with each one I learn a little more, and it is lovely to meet people and chat about my artwork.  It's lovely to have that face to face interaction with people.  The Illustrators fair organisers have been amazing at promoting everyone and making the fair a huge success, so a big thank you goes out to them and to everyone that came along :).

All of the products shown here are available now in my Etsy shop, SharonFarrowArt.  

So that's some of what I've been up to recently.  I'm now ready to start with some new ideas which I'll share soonish :).  Have a great week!