Chambers Street: Now and Then

Here we go! I've been unearthing some lovely photos of Edinburgh taken over the past two hundred years and reading about the history of these places I walk by every day. Yesterday I made these:

This is an illustration of the National Museum of Scotland, Chambers Street, and below is an illustration of the same spot drawn from a photograph taken in 1908. I found this photo in Batsford's Edinburgh, a beautiful book I stumbled upon in Edinburgh's Central Library.

I'm finding that the buildings, photographs and storied that interest me the most are those that have changed almost entirely from 'then' to 'now'. We are lucky enough in Edinburgh to still have so many historical buildings that have been here for hundreds of years, but it is fascinating to find images of shops and residential buildings that are no longer here. These buildings seem so full of life and stories, I hope I can keep finding images and information about these places and the people that inhabited them. 

So...where to next? I'm open to suggestions!

Now and then

Hello, hiya and hola! (seeing as this is my first post since returning from my trip to Spain. It was BRILLIANT.)

I was there with my very clever archaeology boy and while he was off being a real life underwater version of Indiana Jones (I'm pretty sure that's what he does) I managed to fill my days away sketching the amazing city of Cartagena. 

I treated myself to that new sketchbook I was banging on about and it is now filled with things like this.

and this

oh, and this

Then I came back to my own beautiful city and decided it was time for Edinburgh to become the focus of my illustrations again. So, I started a new project...

I have been sourcing photos of the city (the Central Library has a brilliant collection of images and information from Edinburgh's past, while Lost Edinburgh is another great resource). From these photos and the stories that surround them I've been drawing detailed images of key buildings as they were at points in the past, and then drawing how they look now.

Right now I am doing this in my evenings, as a wee indulgence and to keep myself sketching (as I resolved to do), but I am so fascinated by the images I'm finding and Edinburgh's vibrant past that I hope the project will grow into something...though I'm not yet sure what. So I guess I just keep drawing and see where it takes me.

Glow-rious

Buildings. I like 'em. I like looking at them and drawing them and learning about them. But mainly drawing them, which is why this recent commission from Couthie (a wonderful wee gift company run by some lovely ladies and producing some really exciting new products) to illustrate for a new range of gifts was very welcome indeed. I can now reveal the first in the 'Sightlines' range of paper cut lanterns:

Edinburgh being all glowy.

These will be available to buy in shops very soon and also to order (individual or wholesale) online or directly from Couthie HQ.

And now I've turned my attention to illustrating the next in the range - London! 

I'm off to fold bits of paper and cut out tiny windows on miniature London buses. I will probably* resist the urge to make little paper people to ride on the bus.

*I'm making them already.

Sketchy memory

My hall cupboard is one of those open-at-your-own-risk cupboards, so full (of terribly important unthrowoutable stuff I never use) that my catching reflexes and pain threshold are put to test every time I open it. So, as is the custom when I am very busy with work and look for any excuse not to sit down and get on with it, I decided this week I should give it a good clear out. In doing so I found a pile of sketchbooks from the first year of my Masters:

Teapots seem to feature heavily throughout the books...

...as do cakes. Hmmm.

These finds got me thinking about projects I had begun two years ago and then seemed to let fizzle out, and I have decided to get back to some of them. Keeping a sketchbook is one of the most rewarding things I think an illustrator or designer can do. I once filled a book with weekly illustrations inspired by the one word briefs on the 'Illustration Friday' blog (well worth looking at if you aren't familiar with it). And I know many an illustrator pal (Kasia Matyjaszek, Astrid Jaekel) whose sketchbooks are stunning works of art in themselves.

If I needed extra motivation, it has come in the form of The Big Draw - a UK wide drawing festival that kicks off tomorrow with events all over the country. There are a few in Edinburgh that I plan to check out.

So, tomorrow I will buy a new sketchbook (any excuse for stationary shopping), get researching for some new projects and revive some old ones. Look! I procrastinated and it paid off. Nice.

Le immagini della fantasia

A few months ago I was asked to contribute an illustration to be featured in Le Immagini Della Fantastia, an annual Italian publication and exhibition. Immagini is now in it's 32nd year (having been founded in 1982 by Stepan Zavrel) and features illustrators from all over the world. I am lucky enough to have collaborated with such talented illustrators as Jonathan Gibbs, Cate James and Kate McLelland.

Here is my submission. My brief was to create an image to accompany the 'April' section of a piece written by the amazing Viv French which celebrates Scotland throughout the 12 months of the year. The exhibition will be held in Italy this October. What's that you say? I should go to Italy? I SHOULD go to Italy...

Go bananas!

Good news...(okay, so this might not be news to everyone - and to many people this may be very old news, but)...I am illustrating a picture book! 

I am over the moon to have been asked to work on Never Bite a Tiger on the Nose (sound advice) by the brilliant Lynne Rickards. The book is all about healthy eating and features some very hungry children and their cheeky animal friends. 

Today my desk looked a bit like this:

And at times like this:

Things have started to get colourful:

Lynne has written a lovely rhyming story, hopefully I can do it justice and help bring her characters to life. The finished book will be distributed to 3 year olds across Scotland as part of Scottish Book Trust's Bookbug scheme in March 2015. So it's back to work for me - tonight I think I'll work on some monkeys and bananas. Mmmm bananas. This book is making me hungry.

Pop in to the pop up!

Edinburgh Festival is GO! There is a lot happening and I am definitely not involved in enough of these things. I am, however, proud to say my prints are on display and up for sale at the Saltmarket pop-up shop and gallery at RBS in St Andrew Square all week. I went in today and it is brill.

Gallery visitors getting the low down on some of the artists

My prints sitting alongside work by some very talented folk

There is some lovely jewellery, cushions and treats by Kezikoko and prints by illustrators and designers including Alexander Jackson. So if you are passing, why not pop in to the pop up?

Retro Future is Past

Last night was the National Museum's Retro Future event and I was there. Drawing. In front of people. And some of those people had cameras. And some of those people and their cameras were there on behalf of the BBC. Although I wasn't interviewed, if you tune into Museums At Night on BBC 2 at 7pm tonight (or catch it on iplayer) you might see me looking flustered in the background. So, my clambering over another hurdle on the track towards becoming a confident self assured professional type person involved drawing on blackboards as revellers sent tweets of objects for me to draw. 

I was up against fellow illustrator Rosie Cunningham as she drew on an iPad. She is very talented and very lovely and rather than the advertised 'illustration battle' it was more a case of us helping each other through it. My brother, sister and best pal Jen were also there making me smile. Yes, I am not ashamed to admit I need a team of supporters to get me through most things. They're used to it, it's okay.

It is all thanks to The Red Door Gallery who stock my work and asked me to take part in the event. Thanks guys! I'm off to prepare for my next step - I'm off to Newcastle to see my lovely friend and amazing illustrator Holly Sterling and impose myself at her place of work Paper Dove for a couple of days to learn all about the world of illustrating for greeting cards. Bring it on!

Museum musings

You know when I said May was going to be busy? Well it just got busier. It's okay, I asked for it and deserve no sympathy. The project most rapidly speeding into view is this months' Late Night at the Museum, and I have pens at the ready and am genuinely excited by the project. I just happen to be totally terrified at the same time. That's possible, right? Meeting the lovely Rosemary Cunningham this week has helped to calm my nerves, so fingers crossed for a successful event. I'm not even going to be unsettled by the fact there will be cameras there. From the BBC. Nope. See how calm I am? I'm relaxing myself drawing shapes. Helpfully these shapes are based on the objects I will be drawing on Friday.

Shapes. And the pens I made the shapes with.

In other news I have a new stockist. The lovely Archerfield Walled Garden shop near North Berwick will have a selection of my prints on sale this week. The North Berwick and Edinburgh prints will soon be kept company by a series of St Andrews and Glasgow illustrations - having lived in both places it is nice to be revisiting my old homes in the name of research. 

And finally: the ECA Degree Show is about to commence! The very talented illustration students this year set up this week and have worked so hard and produced incredible work. I hope they are all very relaxed/drunk/asleep right now. The opening is 24th May and the show runs until 1st June so swing by if you can.  

MAY be a busy month

Lately I have been able to indulge myself and call it work (even more so than usual) as orders for my prints are coming in more frequently these days, which is nice. And the indulging comes in the form of packaging up the prints. I love it. You know the people who moan about wrapping presents? I'm not one of those people. Give me some ribbon and tissue paper and I'm happy for hours. (Flat's covered in scraps of paper and sellotape, but I'm happy).

This is my latest print for sale

Today I was delivering prints to the lovely folks at Red Door Gallery and discussing my next exciting project...I'm not giving too much away as I'm quite nervous, but I will be doing some more live drawing at one of my favourite places in Edinburgh. I'll be sharing the experience with the talented Rosemary Cunningham and will post up on my facebook page the twitter # when it goes live. 

May is full of illustration-y things! And it looks like June will be too. And so was today. Yup, I'm definitely kind of doing a good job of pretending to look like I am maybe possibly making this illustration thing work!

Chessmen. And more windows.

I've been working on a few different projects recently, and one of them involved drawing in windows. Again. (I promise I do get asked to do this, it isn't some weird addiction...though it is really fun) This time I was hand-lettering and drawing fireworks for the Edinburgh University Student Elections.

It was a really fun commission, even the part where I was drawing on the mirrors in the bathrooms. It's a unique profession alright, this illustration business. Not many jobs have you colouring in a giant star at 3am. In public toilets.

Since that wee adventure I have been indulging in some lovely research: Collecting postcards and looking at books of Victorian illustrations. Oh, and yesterday Simon and Angie Lewin came to ECA to talk about the beautiful fabrics and wallpapers made by the St Jude's artists. Check them out here:

http://www.stjudesfabrics.co.uk/

I've also been visiting Edinburgh's Museum on Chambers street in preparation for my next exciting job...(live drawing at their late night event in May - eep!)...The Lewis Chessmen have got me smitten. I love their shocked little faces!

Slow and steady wins the race! (It's not a race. But if it was we won.)

So, February, still hanging around eh? Get a shift on, I want (my birthday and then) some sunshine and flowers. In the meantime, here are some pictures of a workshop I held at ECA yesterday!

(preparation involved some very serious tortoise illustrating)

In collaboration with the Centre for the History of the Book for Innovative Learning Week, we had a group of students from across a number of disciplines come for a day of looking at the amazing collection of Aesops' fables before heading to ECA to print and fold their own books. The prep was fun - it was a pleasure to meet the very clever Masters students. I also love an excuse to hide away in the studio and cut out pretty little stamps for an afternoon. A large group had signed up so with Lucy (teaching fellow), Anine (studio assistant) and Phil (my fellow AiR)on hand we were ready to go. Focussing on the story of the tortoise and the hare (a personal favourite...I don't advocate moving anywhere too quickly so I approve of the moral of this tale) students made folded books, cut out lino images and hand printed their work onto the books. The results were impressive, considering only one of group had ever relief printed before.

Students cutting their lino and rubber stamps (and Phil lending some expert advice in the background)

An awesome example of the work - this student embraced the race theme and made a lovely little sequence of images

Queueing up at the printing bay (Yes it got a bit messy. And yes I loved this.)

So all in all a fun day. I think I could get used to playing around with ink and stamps and calling it 'work'. 

Public Service Announcement: 2014 is cold. Stay indoors and make pretty things.

Merry Christmas, Happy New Year and isn't this weather awful?

Now we have got that out the way I'd like to show you what I have been up to lately. I came back from Christmas in New York (yup, that happened) with a ring on my finger and a wedding to plan (that happened too) and full of good illustration-y intentions. Aside from a lot of house fronts and logo designs I have been busy sketchbooking and making patterns. I'm working on a self-initiated project about my home and things I associate with home:

And today? Well today was pretty good. I was part of the Scottish Book Trust Illustration Lab - chaired by Viv French and with guest speakers Val Braithwaite (Creative Director at Bloomsbury) and illustrators Catherine Rayner and Nick Sharratt. Here is a sneaky snap I took while looking at Catherine's sketchbooks and dummy books:

I manage to seriously geek out whenever I meet Nick Sharratt and today was no exception. I mumbled something about copying his illustrations from the front covers of my Jacqueline Wilson books when I was about 8, then I got all flustered and ran off. Smooth! That aside, the day was really great. Now I have a brief to get working on to present at our next session in two weeks. Busy busy!