Illustration commission for The Lowry’s Creative Writing Challenge 2023
I am always excited when I get to share work that I had a blast creating. I really love it when I get to create pieces for children, and a recent project came along last month which was a joy to make! I was contacted out of the blue by Emily Harwood from The Lowry, who asked if I’d be interested in creating four bespoke illustrations for the winners of their annual Creative Writing Challenge. Of course I leapt at the offer! There’s nothing like a tight deadline and a dose of storytelling to inspire new work, and I was lucky enough that each winner wrote with so much imagination and talent, that it wasn’t difficult to figure out what I was going to draw. Today I thought I’d share some of my process pics with you - my favourite kind!
For this tight deadline I began with my usual strategy, labelling and re-reading the text until I decided on which scene I wanted to show in each painting. I sketched out my ideas in messy A5, then scanned and resized to A4. Then, once I tired of sketching I began testing in gouache, watercolour and pencil crayon on different paper stock to decide which I preferred. Luckily I could see the colours in my head for each piece, which made decision making a lot less challenging. This doesn’t often happen! It was more about getting the paint down as fast as I could, working intuitively as I go, which is honestly sometimes the best way to work. I really love the result, and I think each piece suited the stories and the writers very well.
For the tiger painting I first went for a blonde character, but then later changed this as I wanted Salome (the winner for this piece) to feel as though she was inside the painting herself!
I was also honoured to attend the celebration evening on stage at the Lowry’s Quayside theatre, and watch the children receive their commissioned piece in front of a live audience. It was a wonderful evening and even better to see the faces of the children as they received their illustration. So much cuteness!
Biggest thanks to Emily for allowing me to be a part of the project <3
The World Illustration Awards 2023
May was a month of festivities! I was extremely honoured to be recognised by The World Illustration Awards (check out my long-listed work here) in partnership with the AOI and Directory of Illustration. I feel so grateful to be acknowledged by the WIA jury, and to be in the midst of so many incredible talented artists from around the world. It feels inspiring and intimidating at the same time! Life is crazy right now - but in such a good way.
Hear ye, hear ye….
*There’s always a new book for me to shout about each month, and this one is a MUST read if you’ve been wanting to move forward with a project (or life goal for that matter) and don’t know where to begin. The book is, Feel the Fear and Do It Anyway by Susan Jeffers, and I absolutely love it.
*I have a new stockist! Merseyway Workshop in Stockport now have a selection of my prints and cards in store! Make sure to pop by if you’re in the area.
*Even more exciting is that I’m going to be mentoring over the summer! I had a blast last year working with my own mentor for illustration, and now I feel that it’s the right time for me to start passing on my experience to newer students in illustration and publishing. I can’t wait.
*And last but not least…frozen yoghurt! I guess I’m late to the party I discovered Frurt in Manchester this month and its delish! (I had mango and green tea flavour which is a match made in heaven if you ask me)
Lots more projects on the horizon to share, but right now I’m going to spend my June soaking up the sun and drinking copious cups of tea.
Go do the same!
C