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!) 

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!

Food illustrations and a lovely weekend

Hello,

I hope you've had a good week.  Today I'm sharing the illustrations I created for this months Women's Health Magazine.  The article is all about trace minerals in food and I do love drawing food!

I really enjoyed working on these, I think they make quite a nice set all together.  I'm especially happy with how the fish, eggs and nuts turned out.  It also gave me the opportunity to draw one of my favourite things, oats, twice :).

I spent some of last weekend with a visit from a lovely friend Kerry Lemon spending time gallerying (with plenty of tea and coffee stops, obviously!)  We did get to see the Picasso exhibition at Tate which I think closes this weekend so go if you have the chance!

We also visited Camden Arts Centre and had a very delicious lunch there in glorious sunshine :).

Ok, that's it for me I'm off to Saturday Bodycombat then back to drawing this afternoon.  Have a lovely weekend whatever you're up to and I'll be back soon!

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 :).

Exhibition and food illustrations

Hello,

Wow, it's been another lovely hot hot week here.  I can't believe the weather this summer, it's been amazing!  I've got so used to leaving the house without having to worry about taking layers in case it gets cold, it's lovely.
So this week I've been working on some lovely food illustrations for an editorial commission.  I can't wait to show the images as I loved creating them.  I also got out to the Royal Academy to see the Summer Exhibition.  I often miss this but was determined to go this year as Grayson Perry is the curator so I thought I would enjoy it, and it feels like an age since I last went to an exhibition.  I wasn't disappointed.  I took loads of photos so I'll share some here.  My absolute favourite was the incredible knitted and crocheted sculpture Royal Valkyrie by Joana Vasconcelos which fills the octagonal space as you enter.  It's so colourful and delicious, it was a wonderful start to the exhibition.

I also wanted to share a recent iced coffee illustration.  I do love a good coffee, who doesn't?  I drew a load of coffee pots so I thought I'd share those also (I also have a whole bunch of coffee glasses).  I limited myself to only brown rich coffee shades for this illustration.  I really enjoyed drawing the beans and leaves.

After my Royal Academy visit yesterday I also popped to Burlington Arcade and snapped this lovely installation, lots of lovely hanging paper flowers.  Sorry for the poor quality of the pictures, they don't do it justice.

So, that's it for now.  I'm off to Bodycombat this morning then back to edit the food illustrations and work on some nature themed work.  I hope you have a lovely weekend whatever you get up to :).

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 :).

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 :).