Lines from a Fairytale...

Fairytales are actually really scary. I'm just making sure that you know that I know this. Because when I draw pictures from my favourite fairy tales, you really wouldn't think that I knew most of them involve stealing, abandoning children, kidnapping children, cannibalism and bloody murder. But I'm okay with the decision to focus on the nicer bits. 

Cinderella

My 2013 degree show included patterns and characters inspired by Grimm's fairytales and I've recently returned to this theme. I'm working on a series of line drawings of places, characters and events from some classic fairytales. 

Rapunzel & Sleeping Beauty

The tales I chose were all adapted by Andrew Lang at the turn of the 20th century. I like his versions for a few reasons. I like that he was writing at a very interesting time for fashion, interior design and the decorative arts. I've always loved the patterns of the Arts and Crafts movement and the collection of decorative designs at the V&A, all of which influence the decorative patterns in my line drawings.

I also chose him because he colour coded his books. I like colour coding. And lists.

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.

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.

London Calling

Today I'm taking a day off. This should be very easy. I am on the sofa, it is raining and I have plenty of snacks. However, it turns out that I can't stop thinking about the two books I am working on this month. Which is probably a good thing. So here I am, blogging again (at last) because if I am not drawing tigers or elephants or bumble bees I will write about drawing tigers, elephants and bumblebees.

Recently I went to London and it was brilliant. I went to Carlton Kids HQ and spent a day working in house on the colouring book they have commissioned me to illustrate. By 'working' I mean 'reading children's books and chatting to lovely people' (see above photos for examples of books and lovely people - the latter of these is Editor Anna Brett). The office was like a treasure trove of goodies, and as much as I love freelancing I did have the odd pang of envy as I was given the tour and a fancy desk to work at and went out for yummy lunch in bustling sunny London. Day two of my trip took me to Tate Modern to meet with the incredibly talented and lovely Paula Burgess, the Art Director I am working with on a picture book for Scottish Book Trust. A picture book I am very excited about. So all in all, my first trip to London 'on business' was very grown up and important and I felt like I was playing at being someone who is grown up and important. (I think I might even have almost pulled it off!)

Board for Archerfield Walled Garden (frame made by my wee brother)

Menu board for The Pleasance Dome Cafe

To avoid becoming a complete recluse and to get my brain thinking about other things than picture books and colouring in pages I have been decorating chalkboards. Typography is fast becoming something I am very interested in and as I am aware this is a very  complex and precise craft I fully intend to start learning how this sort of thing is done properly...in the meantime I have been having a go at my own hand lettering for clients in the run up to the Edinburgh Festival. Which is now under way and I love it. So as much as London was sparkly and enticing I came home to beautiful vibrant Edinburgh in full festival swing...good choice.

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!

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).

Busiest. Month. Ever.

So August, we are having fun eh? After a whirlwind week or so at Oasis and some extra visits beyond that, I can show you this:

(The finished window complete with castle backdrop)

And this:

(The finished window complete with castle backdrop CLOSE UP. oooh)

And this:

(A photo booth screen that I drew all over and is now in store for customers to sit in front of and say cheeeeese)

And finally this:

(A photo of my bag in the 'Wardrobe must-haves' section of the Scotsman on Saturday. Yes, really!)

But it doesn't stop here. I finish at the book festival in one week, before which I will be live drawing (eek) with the lovely amazing author Viv French at the book festival's "Are you sitting comfortably?" storytime session this Sunday. THEN I will be diving headfirst into my residency at ECA and I can't wait. Got a few exciting commissions and meetings lined up. It's all go! Speaking of which, I start work in half an hour....

The Month of Windows: Part One

I have been hiding. I have been hiding all over Edinburgh. I have been hiding and drawing and being quietly terrified because it has all been in preparation for this week. This morning I installed 10 new illustrations in the windows of the Central Library of George IV Bridge, Edinburgh. The work is my response to this beeyooteefool city of mine and is also there to encourage folks to head into the library and check of the amazing resources. There are literally hundreds of boxes full of incredible photos and newspaper cuttings about Edinburgh. I lost about two days in there. So worth a peek. Also the library is part of the Open Doors event this year, so you can come along and get a guided tour of the library - the bits that are usually off limits. And trust me, it is impressive.

Anyway, here are some snaps of my work in some windows. Tick!

And now it is time for me to get some kip before I embark on 'The Month of Windows: Part Two', which begins tomorrow. It will involve me live drawing in a window in a very prominent part of Edinburgh. Watch this space for a post about it (I'm waiting until I have started and I am less TERRIFIED).

Prints for sale!

Today I was more productive than usual and also more full of coffee than usual. Coincidence? As a result, my online shop is full of prints again. You can buy prints of some of my recent work here:

https://www.etsy.com/people/eilidhmuldoodles

They look like this:

and this:

and will come with a sticker:

Stickers are great.

Fairy Tale Characters

ECA degree show industry opening tomorrow night! The show opens to the public on Saturday 1st June. Until then, here are some of the folks you might find there, my wee paper pals Sleeping Beauty and Sleepy Rapunzel.

A sneaky peek at my degree show...

Here is a couple of snaps from my MFA degree show space at Evolution House in Edinburgh - it will be open to the public from 1st-10th June. These are some of my fairytale paper figures and wallpaper designs. Feeling good to have submitted. I've had three days off. I'm getting bored. New project please!

Flowers, birds and shoes

New patterns inspired by things I like (that also happen to be in fairytales I like)

Sleeping Beauty (or maybe just sleeping...)

ZZZZZZZZZZ

Degree show is almost here! Setting up the space this week. I have been making patterns. It has been fun. Some were hand drawn, some lino printed (I'll post these up in a mo).

Hello!

I made this illustration and entered into the Hallmark design competition a couple of weeks ago. The theme was 'love'. These birds are all about the love. 'Love birds' if you will.

Anyway, I WON!

Tip top news, and I am very pleased. Here is the link where it says 'WINNER' (and means in relation to my illustration, not a swimming race when I was 12 which is perhaps the last thing I won)

Hallmark Design Competition

Surrounded by stories!

Hello! It has been a while...but I'm back in the studio. I have some work in an exhibition as North Edinburgh Arts centre which will be on display until 2nd Feb (oh look! here's the poster...)

Setting up the exhibition with lovely talented illustrator pals (and feeling very chuffed to be exhibiting alongside em' all) was tip top, and I also had much popcorn and wine after. So it was a winning day. Here are some pics to show it actually happened, and that my friend Phil looked at it.

 

AND today I came into the studio and my lovely pal Holly and I got our print on! Today's menu: Lino printing. I'm off to get more lino and some proper tools. And plenty of plasters.

Yesterday my bonnie wee nephews turned 1, and as a present I made them these name and date prints. Hand-lettering and hand drawing bunting, stars and patterns... I could happily do this all day!