Cards, prints and Monday sun

Hello,

The start of another (so far, sunny) week.  It is always nice when Monday begins with sunshine.
I hope everyone is keeping well.  Today I'm going to share a couple of recent things I've done.  The first is I've added some products to my Etsy shop.  There is now a range of cards (birthday, thank you, any occasion,) and prints on a variety of themes.  There's nature, London and wildlife.  Here's a little selection :-

Last week I also was very kindly featured on the Feast Norfolk Magazine website.  They did a little interview about me, my work and of course food! 

I'm guzzling down coffee as I write this, keeping it brief.  I hope you're all having a good start to the week and I'll be back soonish with more of my goings on. 

Waitrose food illustrations

Hello,

I know it's been an age since I last wrote a post, but I think we all know the world is a bit of strange place at the moment so I had a bit of a gap.  I'm going to try to get back on posting more regularly from now on though, let's see how it goes!
I'm not going to gabble on for too long.  I have been working away on a few different projects since I was last here and the one I'm going to share today is some illustrations I did for Waitrose food magazine.  They were for the Everyday Food section of an illustrated special and it was the the July edition which is out now.

Here are the actual spreads:-

It was great to work on this as it was a lovely big juicy commission, and it kept my mind active as we were right in the middle of the lockdown.  Also at the time it was really warm and sunny, that's definitely all disappeared at the moment.  

Ok, I'm going to leave it there today.  I will be back with more soon.  I hope if you're reading this that you're staying safe and remaining positive.  I know that can be extremely tough some days.  Please take care and be kind to yourselves xx

London

Good morning!  It's a rainy morning here in London...again!  Still, March is almost here so I am confident that will mean things are on the up.  I can spy a lovely array of spring flowers from my window out in the garden, and that's always a highlight for me at this time of year.  When it stops raining I will pop out to pay them a visit.
I wanted to share a recent personal piece I completed of some London 'things'.  It comes as no surprise that I do love drawing iconic London buildings and bits and pieces.  There is such a wealth to draw from, and many places I've drawn a lot, Tower Bridge is a prime example ;).  I feel I know it very well now!  When you live in such an impressive city with so much history it is tempting to take it for granted, but I still get awestruck when walking around, crossing the Thames and so on.  I still will make many more drawings of London, there are always ideas pulsing away in my head, but for now here's the latest.

I made a lot of preparatory sketches which I then copied and scaled up and down until I was happy with the composition.  In the end I removed the purple and used brown as the additional colour, I wanted mainly to use red, blue, black and white.  

I hope you can tell this is a corgi!  I'm sure that in their spare time the Queens doggos love to have a good run-around in their own crowns :).

Ok, it's Friday which means a drawing day for me.  I've been working on some commissions which I can't share but today I should be able to work on something new that I've been doodling with for a few days.  Have a lovely Friday and weekend!

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!

Happy New Year!

Hello and Happy New Year!  I've had a lovely break away for Christmas and am now enjoying being back, sorting out a few things, and doing some drawing :).  I always really appreciate a break at this time of the year.  It is so nice to just slow down a bit, relax and spend time with family.
I wanted to share an illustration I completed just before Christmas still on a sea theme.  I've really been enjoying drawing sea creatures, they are so fascinating.  The colour palette I hope gives it a vintage feel.  I didn't get to spend much time at the coast on this visit home, just because it's Christmastime and it's a little more difficult to get out.  Next time!

When I got back to London I spent a beautiful day out walking from Hammersmith to Richmond.  It was a glorious sunny day and the light was sooo pretty.  

It was such a lovely day :).  

Finally, as it's New Year, and 2020 I've also got a sale on in my Etsy shop SharonFarrowArt 20% off everything.  There are prints, xmas cards, originals, stickers and postcards to choose from so please come and have a browse.

I hope you've had a lovely break and I hope you have a wonderful 2020.  I can't believe we're at that date already!  I'll be back soon, now it's time for coffee and some drawing :).

Beyond the sea

Hello,

Today I'm going to share a personal piece I finished this week.  I've been thinking about the idea for a while now, ever since I took a trip out to the Suffolk coast back in September.  The area is full of folk tales and I get really caught up in those when I'm out wandering there.  I love going for long walks in the countryside possibly because I live in a big busy city so I really appreciate nature when I get out in it, and also because I grew up in the countryside so I feel the need to get back to it when I can.  This particular illustration is inspired by an old tale that when fishermen die they become seagulls.  I read it whilst looking in a local museum and it began conjuring up ideas in my head.  They've had to stay there for a while whilst I was completing other work but I had time to work on it this week.  I really enjoyed drawing all the sea creatures and I'm now sketching out ideas for some new work on that theme.  I love how one thing can lead to another!

Here are a few photographs from the trip.  If you are interested the place I visited is called Dunwich.  It has suffered heavily with erosion in the past, and there are many tales of the sound of bells ringing from sunken churches on dark windy nights ;).  The gravestone shown is the last remaining from one of the churchyards that have fallen into the sea and the photo below shows the ruins are from an old monastery.

I'm hoping over Christmas I can get out and do some brisk winter walking in the countryside.  I can't wait!  

I hope you've had a good week, are wrapping up warm and enjoying the cosy time of year! :). 

Bargains in the shop!

Hello,

So December is now upon us.  I don't know about you but November/December always feels pretty busy getting organised for Christmas, I tend to have a lot of lists!  Illustration wise, I've been working on a couple of commissions which is great, and alongside that organising my Etsy shop (SharonFarrowArt) so it now has a few more products.  I've added some original mini nature-themed canvasses and I've also made those canvasses into A6 postcards.  Plus, I also have a sale on, hurrah! so right now there is 20% off everything.  The four images below are the canvasses.

It was fun to work on these.  It's been ages since I painted on canvas, so it was an interesting challenge to paint on a different surface and I'm really happy with how they turned out.  

Right, time to get organised again.  I've got an early start tomorrow so I need to go to bed!

Have a great week!

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!

Brrr....London Frost Fairs

Hello,

I hope you've had a good start to....September!  I can't believe we are here already, the year is speeding past.
Today I'm sharing something I've been working on during these sunny days but which is on a wintry theme.  A while back I came across an article about 'London Frost Fairs' which took place on the river Thames when it..gasp! froze over.  Hard to imagine I know, but in those days the river was wider, slower flowing, and of course winters were much colder.  The last recorded fair was in 1814 and the best records are from the early 17th century.  The frost fairs were like parties on the ice, lots of games, food, drinks, King Charles II came to join in the fun at one of them, and there was even an elephant walking the ice at the final fair so the ice did get pretty thick.  There must have been a great sense of excitement and also quite a lot of risk I would imagine, as it could all end very suddenly.  My frost fair is based in the 17th century, I hope you can tell from the clothing and it meant I got to imagine my own version of the Old London Bridge which I wish I could have seen with all the buildings along it.

I did a lot of sketching beforehand then took copies and began to figure out the arrangement.  I find this is the best way for me to do it ;).

Just because I took a nice sunny walk along the Thames last week, here's a pic of the river as it is today!  It was such a beautiful afternoon :).

I hope you have a lovely start to the week, I'm off to start work on a new project and I'll be back soon!