New Christmas goodies

Hello,

I thought I'd do a quick shop update.  I've added some new Christmas/Festive cards to my shop.  I've got two new designs, both bird themed.  I had such fun working on these, just as we had turned into autumn and the weather had started to change.  The cards can be bought as singles or as a pack of four.  I know it may seem a bit early but if you're someone who likes to get organised you can find them here at SharonFarrowArt.

I've also got lots of art prints, illustrated cards, pocket mirrors and more over in the shop if you're looking for other non seasonal goods.  

It's a lovely start to the day here today, blue sky and those lovely leaves that are beginning to golden are swaying gently in the breeze.  Starting the day with sunshine can't help but give you a lift!

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

A November update

Hello,

So it has been a looonng time since I wrote on here.  I guess other things just took over.  Anyway, I'm back now and so I'll share a few things I've been up to.
Firstly, I've got some Christmas themed cards and decorations up in my Etsy shop SharonFarrowArt. I've created six new cards and some stocking and star decorations.  It does feel a bit strange to have kind of completed Christmas things before I've really started thinking about it (if you know what I mean).  I have started my shopping though, I like to get that done early :).  Without further ado here are the Christmas things.

Making the decorations was a bit of a departure for me but I had the ideas and the materials so I thought I'd give it a go.  It was fun to do something a bit different too. 

Today I've been working on a bit of personal work which I will show soon.  It's been a hibernation day :).

Have a lovely week and I'll be back sooner next time!

A couple of dishes

Hello,

Today I'm sharing some recent food illustrations.  One of my favourite things to eat when it's cold are hot, spicy, soupy noodles.   If I make them myself I always make too much (and generally eat them all!).  In fact I ate them last night, yum.  You can bung in any ingredients really but I try to put in lots of colourful vegetables and then add fish, tofu or nuts.  It's also a great 'using up' dish.  I'll be honest I generally make quite a mess eating them but that's part of the joy :).

From hot to cold.  I also make a lot of big salads.  The one below is really colourful and the illustration is shown on the They Draw and Cook website as part of their 'Eat the rainbow' challenge.  This salad seemed like the perfect recipe.  I especially loved drawing the beetroot and salad leaves, mixing all the mediums.  

Right, back to work.  The sun is out today, hooray! and I'm starting to see the arrival of spring flowers.  I love spring, the colourful flowers, and longer days.  Have a lovely weekend :).

The end of Autumn

Hello,

I hope you've had a good week.  Just a quick one today, I wanted to share this illustration I created all about autumn before it comes to an end!  I can't believe it's almost December already and winter is almost here.  It has certainly felt that way this week, although thankfully today was warmer :).
I loved drawing all the detail in this one and thinking of all things Autumnal to include.  I hope you like it.

I've been working on a London themed illustration this week which I'll share with you soon.  In the meantime have a wonderful weekend and week :).

The crow

Hello,

I hope you're having a good week.  This week I've been working on lots of fun new work which I will show soon.  I also finished a large scale drawing I'd been working on.  It's been an age since I did anything this size and it was so nice to get back to large brushes and lovely large marks.  If I'm honest I'd wanted to create this illustration for ages but didn't have the time to really focus on it properly, I wanted to give it all my energy rather than just dipping in and out.  I really enjoyed it and I'm definitely going to do more.  My subject was a crow because I find them so fascinating.  I wanted to use blacks, greys and a hint of gold leaf as once again it's been so long since I just created a piece in black and white.  I did do numerous large studies before committing to the final and I am really happy with the result.

That's me at the bottom, for the purpose of scale and being a bit silly I know :).  I would love to create more work like this so if you're a business/person with a space on your wall that needs filling why not give me a shout (shameless plug). 

Have a lovely weekend, it's going to be a nippy one methinks, a great excuse to find somewhere nice and cosy to have a lovely hot drink.  See you next week :).

Autumn loveliness

Hello,

There's been a bit of a gap since my last post, whoops!  It's been a busy time but now I'm finally getting back to it.  I've been working on some festive illustrations which I'll show when they've been published, and just recently it's been all about Autumn for me.  I absolutely love the wonderful warm colours that are around at this time of year, and I do like this cosy time of year even if it is sad to wave summer goodbye.
Today is a totally gorgeous sunny day and I'm looking out onto some lovely golden trees in the garden :).  These two illustrations are inspired by this, (what always feels very brief) time of the year, full of rich colour.

I also (as with every Autumn) have been taking lots of leaf photos :).

I love the colour combination below.

Ok, that's it for now, I'm just finishing a lovely cup of tea, then I must take a walk in this sunshine before heading off for dinner tonight with friends :).  Have a great weekend!

Golders Hill Park

Hello,

This week I'm sharing an illustrated map of Golders Hill Park, a lovely park not too far from where I live.  It's attached to Hampstead Heath which (if you're not aware) is a huge heath in London.  I wanted to illustrate Golders Hill Park because it has so many different elements to draw and it's the perfect time of year to be outdoors.
I always enjoy projects like this where I can research a place and pick out aspects of it that I think are important and that will be of interest to the viewer.  I loved drawing all the animals especially.  I visited a couple of times and was completely spoiled because the weather was so lovely!

I also took loads of photos, so here's a selection.

Today I'm back at my desk working on some nature themed illustrations so hopefully it will be a lovely drawing/painting day (well that's the plan anyway).  I hope you have a lovely weekend and it's sunny where you are :).

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 :).

Birds and summer sun

Good morning,

Another lovely sunny day, I love being able to sit with the doors and windows open and just listen to the birds all around :).  It's also officially summertime here, woohoo!
This is a nature illustration I completed a few weeks ago.  The leaf pattern was a perfect opportunity to combine lots of different media and create a variety of marks and textures.  There is so much green around at the moment, it's just a lovely time of year.

Right, I think it's time for a coffee, then to work on a food illustration, and I may have a visit to the sunshine later :).

Dulwich and Tea

Hello again,

I hope you've had a good week.  January is racing past and it's been going pretty well so far.  I'm creating lots of new work and planning all sorts of things which I'm really excited about.  It's also been (unsurprisingly) very cold, (well I am a wimp with the cold, so very cold for me that is!).  This time of year is a great time to be cosy at home with a nice cup of tea which is what inspired the illustration below.  I do enjoy drawing food and drink and I had fun inventing the cup and teapot design and arranging the composition.

Yesterday I also had a lovely day finally visiting the Tove Jansson exhibition at Dulwich Picture Gallery. I really enjoyed it, she had a wonderful way with colour and it was great to see a range of work besides what she is best known for.  It was also a beautiful day with a wonderful blue sky so I took the opportunity to go into Dulwich Park for a bit of a wander.  This was one of the first London parks I visited when I first came to London many years ago.  It's quite far for me now so I felt incredibly lucky to be visiting on such a gorgeous day.  It was wonderfully peaceful and very relaxing.  Nature is an amazing thing!  I would have liked to spend longer there (even though it was very cold) but I really wanted to come back to sketch up for some new work I'm doing.

I'm glad I went yesterday because it has been raining most of the day here today so I definitely would not have had such a lovely walk :).

Have a lovely week and I'll be back soon!

Flamingo

Hello,

I had a lovely walk today out in the sunshine.  It was so nice to feel it on my skin and see a lovely blue sky, it's been lacking here!
I just wanted to post this illustration that I completed a few weeks back.  I wanted it to be quite decorative but simple and really reduce my palette, always a challenge!  I'm thinking to experiment with it and turn it into a pattern although I think it could work well as a card.  What do you think?

Right, I think it's time for a cuppa and then back to work.  I just made myself a delicious dinner of smoky beans (my own made up recipe which was a success! I do love it when my food experiments come off!) with baked sweet potato.  I've got some new work to start sketching for tonight, then tomorrow the gym, and lots of drawing.  Have a good weekend whatever you get up to :).