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!

My Etsy shop

Hello,

I hope you're having a good Friday.  Today I wanted to share some of the work I've created which is now available in my Etsy shop SharonFarrowArt hooray! I'm now stocking stickers, prints and tote bags, and I'd love it if you come and take a look.
The stickers are the latest additions and come in a pack of five.  At the moment I have packs of different types of birds, (some of my favourites) and mushrooms, (they are such fun to draw).  I think stickers are such a great way to brighten up surfaces and pages in notebooks and diaries.

Here's a couple of the Giclee prints which are also available.

I hope you like the products.  I'm planning more for the future and am pretty excited about the shop.  Today, it's not raining at the moment thankfully, which is a nice change this week as it has been rain and more rain, boo!  Anyway, I have been making summery themed work which I will share soon.  Have a lovely weekend :).

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 :).

Christmas things

Hello,

Just a quick one today to wish you all a very Happy Christmas, or just a break if you don't celebrate, just in case I don't get another opportunity.  I'm looking forward to spending time with the family and munching on some yummy food.
Below is a Christmas illustration I created a few weeks back, and some of my homemade 'decorations', I like to use random drawings that I've kept and put them up here and there.

I've been working on some wildlife illustrations this week which I'll share soon.  I hope you have a lovely break if you're getting one and I'll be back soon! :)

Christmas nibble time....almost

Hello,

Brrr it's been a pretty chilly week here.  I've been all togged up whenever I've had to face the weather, definitely hibernation time!
So Christmas is almost upon us which means Christmas food!  I haven't actually eaten either of these....yet.  I know that I will be having some homemade mince pies once I go home to see the family though, yum!

Just a quick one this week as I've got a big to-do list to complete before Christmas.  Now, I need to start wrapping those presents :).

Have a lovely weekend.

Museum doodling

Hello,

I hope you've had a good week.  It's pouring with rain here at the moment which is actually making me feel really nice and cosy, until I have to go out in it.
Last week I visited the Museum of London to sketch.  This is something I would love to do more of so I'm definitely going to find the time to make Museum drawing something I do more often.  It always gives me new ideas and colour combinations and just a fresh approach to my work.  I didn't go with a plan of what to draw I just decided to go with what attracted my attention whilst I was there.  Also, sometimes Museums can be so busy in certain areas it's simply impossible to draw in a relaxed way.  I became obsessed with a cabinet of Mediterranean pots, vases and tiles, they were a joy to draw.  Such beautiful patterns that looked so contemporary.

I only had pencils and pens with me.  I took a selection of colours and then hoped for the best colourwise!  I like working like this, having to make the best of limited supplies.  Then when I came home I worked up the initial sketches with inks, pens and more pencil.  I really enjoyed this process and definitely want to do more.  I've also added these to my website in a new sketchbook section of my portfolio.

I hope you've got a good weekend planned.  I need to do some Christmas shopping and I'm hoping to squeeze in a gallery visit too.  Enjoy your week, and get cosy!

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!

Summery delights

Hello,

I thought I'd share some recent summer inspired food I've illustrated.  This year in the UK we are having a proper summer, which is very exciting!  So everyday has been warm and sunny for weeks which is lovely (although today is cloudy, but hopefully that's a one off, it's still warm!).  My flat gets very hot as it's on the top floor and gets the sunshine in the afternoon and evening, so it means I can't be cooking and creating more heat, so there's been a lot of yummy salads.  One particular favourite has been courgette with pine nuts and basil or my version of pesto (minus the cheese) which I have to say has been delicious.  It's super light, fresh and yummy.  I've been having it with another cannellini bean salad which I'm going to draw up soon, and sometimes potato salad.  Maybe that sounds like quite a lot of food.....hmm, eating is good.

I loved working on these in the sunshine (with the fan going obviously).  I really hope this weather lasts, it's just a joy to feel the sun on your skin and not worry about taking layers wherever you go.  I'm really enjoying it.  Today I'm working on another coffee illustration and then I'm hoping to get to a local park researching for some new work.  Have a lovely weekend :).

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 :).

Out for a walk

Hello,

It's a lovely sunny Saturday :).  I'm sharing another illustration completed after a little break in the countryside.  I went walking through Sheringham Park where luckily some of the Rhododendrons were out at that time, lots of glorious colour.  I made this inspired by the walk which led to the coast in the end, and also to fish and chips and later an ice cream, yum.
Have a lovely weekend whatever you do, I'm about to start sketching for some new nature themed work :).

A little break - part two

Hello,

If you saw my post from last week you will know I'd been on a few days break out of London.  As soon as I came back I knew I wanted to make some work inspired by what I visited there when I can. One of the places I visited was Sutton Hoo in Suffolk.  It's a place I'd been wanting to visit for years and it was great to go during the week, on a beautiful day, where I could have a good walk around in the sunshine :).  It's fascinating to think a lot of the objects found here lay dormant for so long (minus the rabbit disturbance!) and it must have been so exciting when the finds were revealed.  There was so much detailed patterning on a lot of the items, it's incredible to think how they were made at that time.
For me, making work in this way means I can choose exactly what elements really stood out to me on my visit, and I wanted to make sure I incorporated the earthy feel of the dig all those years ago.  This also meant I was able to use all the gorgeous brown inks I have keeping the feel of the earth very loose in contrast to the lined work of the rabbits.  I was lucky that at this time of year bluebells were out, and after days of visiting places where the bluebell displays weren't quite as anticipated I walked into an area of woodland here and they were everywhere.  It was a real treat!

It really was lovely to have a break, get out into the countryside and just walk.  I think I really needed it.
So, back to work.  I have a lot I want to get done today.  It's a gorgeous day so a great way to spend a day of drawing looking out at some lovely sunny weather :).  See you soon!

An Owl

Hello,

I haven't posted anything for a while but fear not I have been working away.  Here's a recent illustration of an owl, I find them quite fascinating.  I've been drawing quite a lot of birds lately, mostly those I see around me.  I haven't seen any owls unfortunately though!  I really wanted to restrict my colour palette for this one and I'm pretty happy with the result.

It's a short post this week, I have work calling.  I am drawing something that would really fit better with a sunny day (it's cold and rainy here), but I'm hoping that it will bring some sense of summer to me :).

Have a great week.

Tigers

Hello,

I hope you had a lovely break if you had a nice long weekend last week.  I spent most of mine drawing which was lovely I have to say.  This week I'm sharing some tiger illustrations I've completed recently.  Since I created the Regents Park Map it's sparked off a curiosity to draw more animals.  I have a big list in a sketchbook that I keep of any ideas I have of work that I want to do, and I'm always adding to it (it's a great place to scribble in when I get those ideas in the middle of the night!).
I worked with a restricted palette of blues and turquoise/greens, this is something I love to challenge myself with and I'm pretty happy with how it's turned out.  I like how the tiger is camouflaged amongst all the plants.

Below is one of the sketches I worked on.  This was an experiment with ink and bleach, a technique I haven't used for a while.  It's a great way to get some really interesting colours and there is always an element of surprise which I love.

I hope you have a lovely weekend.  I think tomorrow is meant to be a sunny day here, yay! 

Springy things

Hello there,

So it's the easter weekend and although it doesn't feel very spring-like I wanted to share some spring influenced illustrations.  I've been drawing lots of daffodils this week.  Just having a bit of an experiment with some techniques and colours and having a good old play around.
I did loads of colour sketches here's three below

I decided in the end to go with the yellow/blue tones.  I enjoy experimenting like this so much and it really helps sort my ideas out in my head.

The image above is my final finished version.  I'm really happy with the colours because for me they really remind me of spring.  Unfortunately I was working on this whilst it was a very grey and rainy day outside, (I was pretending there was sunshine!) but we have got lighter evenings here now so things are looking up! 

I hope you have a lovely break if you're having one over this weekend, so far I have only eaten one hot cross bun :).

Food illustration

Hello,

I thought I'd just share a food illustration I completed recently.  I really enjoy drawing food, especially things I like to eat.  I have to say it has been a while since I ate a falafel.  It has to be a good one with plenty of crunchy salad so it's not too dry.  I loved drawing the actual falafels they have a great texture which is right up my street.  I have a list of foodie things that may become illustrations which I keep in my sketchbook.  If I make a tasty dish those often get added.

I hope you're having a good weekend.  It's been pretty cold here today I am waiting for spring to properly arrive!  Tonight the clocks go forward here so lighter nights from then on, which makes me believe warmth is on it's way!

Bye for now

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!