Illustrating a story...the story of BEER!

Good day! I've just finished a week doodling at Archerfield Walled Garden in East Lothian (my illustrations are also on their website, just one reason to visit the site...)

http://www.archerfieldwalledgarden.com/

The brief was to draw a diagram explaining the 'story of beer' on the wall outside their microbrewery in time for their Oktoberfest event this weekend (if you can, GO. I'm not just saying this, I have tasted the beer for professional reasons and it is gooood). I encountered a few problems with the wall surface and tricky height of the space, so thanks to very understanding and enterprising client Elly, I was allowed to paint on some boards. Which I found thanks to my very resourceful and helpful brother (who is very clever and makes awesome stuff out of wood - see this stuff here: https://www.facebook.com/EastCoastGardens).

So it started looking like this:

(oh yes, I was painting in a barn. It got a bit...spidery...but apart from that it was peaceful and fun and made me very pleased about my career choices)

And then it looked like this:

And then it went on the wall where it looks like this:

And then I went doodle nuts and did this to their chalkboards:

So, that was that. Another example of how I don't know where this job will take me next...and how cool is that?

House doodling and other activities

Blog time! 

Where to begin? I'll start with houses. Lately I have been designing posters, illustrating maps and drawing on chalkboards, but all the while I have been taking commissions to draw houses and special places for people to pass on as gifts. I love doing this. Like, really love it. Basically people send me photos of the house or place they want me to draw (so far I have received commissions to draw new homes for people moving in, old homes for people moving out, wedding venues for newlyweds and even the odd bandstand and treehouse). 

These are popular gifts, I guess because they are such thoughtful gifts and are something quite different. I've also just extended the service so you can now chose from a few options:

• Framed (usually best for local delivery)
• Unframed (printed to a specific size and ready to frame - best for posting further afield)
• The digital file at high resolution. This has numerous benefits...1: It is much quicker as you do not have to wait for the post (which is always useful if the gift is a bit last minute!) 2: It means you are able to print the image at whatever size/on whatever item they like, and 3: It is £5 cheaper :-)

I've made a small website where you can see a full price list and examples of the commissions I have carried out so far.
If you are interested in taking a look, here it is: http://cargocollective.com/doodlemyhouse


AND in other news...

The residency is in full swing and so far so good. I am officially 'Illustrator In Residence' so I have been doing my best to reside at my desk in the lovely Hunter Building studio and act like I know what I am talking about. I have delivered one talk (terrifying), given one Photoshop tutorial (less terrifying and it turns out I am far more Photoshop-literate than I thought I was, which is nice) and today I took some lovely third year students to see 150 Years of Printmaking - an exhibition at the Open Eye Gallery in Edinburgh:

http://www.openeyegallery.co.uk/exhibitions/

I can highly recommend visiting for a look at the etchings, screenprints, wood engravings and lino prints that are not only beautiful but also give a wee insight into the creative practices of a few influential British artists and designers. The stand out piece was the Paolozzi screenprint.

That is plenty for now. I'm off to draw a house, have a hot chocolate and catch up on Downton (I'm a good multi-tasker).