Under the sea

Hello,

I hope you're having a good week.  Today I'm sharing another sea-themed work (I think I really need a coastal visit!).  I had a very specific colour palette in mind when I started this and I'm really happy with how it turned out.  Drawing all the creatures for this was such fun and I hope it conveys as sense of the movement of the sea.  

Below is one of my work in progress sketches.

Also I picked up a copy of Uppercase Magazine which features an illustration of mine.  The illustration was for a They Draw and Cook challenge.  The theme was 'Food Geometry' so I created a food pattern.  I was delighted when it was one of the entries picked to appear in the magazine.  

Ok that's it for now, keep warm!

Heatwave, fruit, birds and flowers

Hello,

Phew, it looks like the super hot weather is over for now here.  I've been working with the fan on trying to cool down, popping to the pool, enjoying the air con at the gym, (coolest place) and eating food that requires no heating (including ice cream).  It is rather nice to be feeling a little cooler today, although I have loved leaving the house without having to lug any 'just in case' clothing with me and to feel sunshine.
So, something else I have been doing just lately is adding some products to my Redbubble shop.  I really wanted to make patterns with some of the work I made whilst doing the 100 day project over on Instagram.  I've made florals, birds, and fruity prints and stickers so far, and I'm intending to add to it over time.  Here's a selection, the first are stickers available in several sizes.

 These images below are all patterns available on a variety of products from duvet covers to notebooks.

I really enjoyed making these, it's really lovely to be able to make work from recent sketchbook creations, and it's giving me all sorts of ideas for the future.  

I hope you've had a lovely week and I'll be back soon :).

My 100 Day Project

Hello,

For the last three months or so I took part in the 100 day project over on Instagram.  It was something I had been considering for a while but as it was a big commitment I wanted it to be something that would really benefit me, and keep me enthused until the end, 100 days is a long time after all!  In the end I decided to do '100 days in my sketchbook'.  I do have sketchbooks, but to be honest a lot of them are more full of notes and general mess and not something that I consider to be a nicer looking sketchbook (you know what I mean).  I thought this project may help me get down some ideas on any subjects that I wanted to pursue, (I did have several in mind), I also hoped I may get some work that I considered half decent out of it, and some potential future work ideas.
I'll be honest it did take me a few days to get into the swing of things, relax a bit and go with the flow.  Some of the work I was not happy with, but I posted anyway, as that is all part of a challenge, right?  Some I was pretty chuffed with, and some are ideas that I'm going to come back to and make work from.  On a personal note it has also become a visual diary of a time in my life which was something else I hoped for.  When I look at the images I remember where I was, what I was listening too/watching, thinking and feeling at that time.  So for me it's a good personal record.
I'll share some of my favourites over a few posts starting with the earliest.  I hope you enjoy!  Did you take part (or are you taking part) in the project?  How did you find it?

I've been spending the time since finishing scanning and cleaning up the work.  I still have a few to finish.  I've also got plans for some of it and I'll share that when they're finished.  

Have a lovely week and I'll be back soon :).

It's picnic time!

Hello,

As it's summer I thought I'd share some picnic/summery food illustrations I've worked on.  The first is a submission for They Draw and Cook for the theme of a Birthday Bash.  I choose a picnic as I think that's a lovely way to celebrate.  My birthday is in winter, but I can always celebrate other peoples :).

A couple of close ups.

Here are some sketchbook illustrations on a similar theme.  I have been taking part in the 100 Day Project as a way to increase sketchbook work (seen on my Instagram).  I have to say I've found it pretty beneficial.  If time is tight I've created some quicker drawings and it's been a great way to test things out and make a visual note of potential future work I would like to make.  

I hope you've had/are having a good Monday!  It's always a bit of a busy day.  Have a great week and I'll be back soon :).

Festive food and drinks

Hello,

So I’m writing this from my phone as I’ve managed to damage my laptop screen and it’s in for repair :(.  Pretty annoyed with myself but it’s happened and so I have to get on with it!  It will take a few days so until then, no computer!  Thankfully at least I can keep making work in the meantime as it’s all hand drawn.
Anyway, I wanted to share the illustrations I created for this months Women’s Health UK.  It was a lovely festive commission of food and drinks.  I especially loved drawing the tree crackers and the mushrooms.

That’s it for now I hope you have a great weekend! 

Autumn time in the country

Hello,

I've just come back from a little break in Norfolk/Suffolk visiting my family.  Very nice it was too.  I was lucky to have some lovely sunny days (along with one rainy one but luckily I was inside for that).  I love those crisp autumn days and I really enjoy having a good stomp around in the fresh air.  I've come back full of ideas from my trip.
Before I went I finished this illustration of a blackberry and apple crumble, something which is definitely missing in my life, I can't remember when I last ate one :(.  It's one of those perfect colder day puddings, yum.

A few pictures from my days away.  I always like to go and visit the sea.

I love the light at this time of year in the late afternoon and the long shadows it casts.

I do have a berry obsession, I don't know what ones these are but they have the most gorgeous colour.

 This was the late afternoon sunshine, perfect.

Autumn, :).  I hope you have a lovely weekend (and get to eat some crumble!) 

Tea and a tasty sunny snack

Hello,

Today is all about food and tea (never a bad thing in my mind).  These are a couple of illustrations I completed recently.  I hope they feel quite summery as that’s my intention.  The weather has been consistently hot, which is such a treat for us here in the UK, I hope it continues!  

I wanted to use a really restricted palette for the tea illustration and keep it light, airy and refreshing.  I do love tea, although I never drink it in anything as fancy as this, as knowing me anything this delicate would be broken immediately!  I had fun creating all the patterns all and drawing all the leaves.

Below is figs on toast with ricotta and a drizzle of honey.  I haven’t actually eaten this but it looks like a perfect summery snack and I may well have to try it. 

That’s it for today, I’m loving working in the sunshine it’s such a delight although I really need more pairs of shorts!  My flat gets the sun in the afternoon and evening and it does get very hot so it's nice to feel the coolness of the morning.  Today I’m drawing another summer inspired drink, I’ll be back soon with that.  Have a lovely weekend whatever you’re up to :).

Sunshine and Website update

Hello there,

It's a beautiful sunny day here in London today hooray!  There's definitely been a lack of those just recently so it's fantastic to have such beautiful weather :).
I've been busy over the last week or so with amongst other things completely re-designing and relocating my website.  This is something I'd been wanting to do for a long time.  I was never entirely happy with how my previous site looked, but was quite nervous about undertaking a big re-design because I was worried just how long it would take, and whether I would be able to create what I was after.  In the end I had about a week of downtime and I'm so happy that I decided to do it.  I'm now with Squarespace following a recommendation, thank you! and I've been so happy both with the level of support they give and all the guidance they have available.  For someone with very little knowledge of website creation they have fantastic templates and how to guides.  I'm pretty much done for now so if you'd like to check it out take a look here sharonfarrow.com and let me know what you think!

Besides that I thought I'd share some recent work especially as it seems a fitting day for strawberries! These are strawberry shortcakes (my Mums are delicious :)).  I really enjoyed doing all the plate decoration and detail.

Yesterday I also popped into the Roundhouse to see the immersive installation +/- Human.  I loved it. I found both the orbs and the music totally mesmerising and hypnotic.  I'd just been to the gym so I settled down on the floor all relaxed and just watched them whirring all around me.  It finishes tomorrow so if you're in the area I'd really recommend popping in.  

Ok that's it for now.  I hope you're having a lovely weekend.  It's bank holiday here in the UK so that combined with such gorgeous weather is a real treat!

Summer food and drink

Hello,

It's been a few weeks since I last was here.  I thought I'd do a quick post with some of the work I've created during that time, (I've got a bit of scanning to do!)  I've been drawing food and drink mostly.  I think both of these illustrations were created on lovely sunny days.
The first is a tomato plant.  I do enjoy playing with ways to depict leaves and combining different mediums, (I have a lot of random drawn leaves littered around my desk!)  For this I used quite a bit of ink.  I use different brands but I particularly like Dr Ph Martin's as they have some fantastic rich colours.
I always think I should attempt to grow tomatoes but I'm not very green fingered.....maybe this is something to attempt in future!

Next a refreshing glass of orange juice.  There's been a lot of orange use just lately in my work, although today has been a pink day as I've been drawing flamingos.  I'll be back with that soon.  

Whatever you're up to this weekend have a good one! :)