Wednesday 30 January 2008

3 Treasuries! My lucky Day.




A little update on my earlier post. Just discovered I'm actually in 3 treasuries at the moment. I feel so happy.


Here's the 3rd by seaglassdesigns. I think I see a blue theme running through these treasuries.


My Olinda's the 1st one in the 2nd row.

What a Lovely Day.

Turns out I'm in 2 treasuries on Etsy today. Wow.

Firstly, littlewhims has done a bit for the newbies in blue.

http://www.etsy.com/treasury_list.php?room_id=26043

That's my Snake N Ladders in the 2nd row.











Next, emmapardos has brightened up a cold winter day.

http://www.etsy.com/treasury_list.php?room_id=26170
And there's The Water Village, the red one, in the 3rd row.

What a great pick-me-up for today.

Monday 28 January 2008

7 Little Darlings...

...lying on my floor.

Here's a selection of my new prints freshly bagged. They include 3 of my Chinatown NY series. Each started life as an ink drawing before being coloured on my computer.


Each lovingly printed on lightly textured 100% cotton paper. It's so nice to see my work finally on paper rather than just on my computer screen. And, of course, all in the shop.

On another blog!


Fellow Etsian Intrigued was nice enough to feature a little piece of mine, From the Market to the Fair, on her blog last week. There's lots of fab finds being shown there, why not take a peek. http://intriguedwith.blogspot.com/

Thursday 24 January 2008

New Prints All This Week!

Yes, I have figured out my new printer and absolutely love the results I'm getting from it. That means I'm listing new prints! So far I've got 4 already in the shop and over the next few days I'll be adding even more.


I hope you'll come and visit.

Monday 21 January 2008

Fresh stuff for the Shop

Anyone who's been to my shop in the last couple of days may have noticed it's looking a bit sparse. Actually, it's looking just like it did when I first opened. That's because I'm changing how I make my prints. My fancy new printer has just come through the door and I've got a stash of lovely paper.

This also means that my new collection of prints will be making their way into the shop. Here's a little sneak preview:



Looking forward to a rejuvenated shop once I've figured the printer out. It's an HP B9180 by the way. That means potentially 200 year lasting prints. I'm so excited I could give it a hug.

Friday 18 January 2008

Here's Sally!

Okay, so I'm feeling a little pressure having possibly kept this little girl faceless for so long that there may be certain expectations.

When I first drew Sally I didn't really know what she would look like. Later, I made a few quick sketches of ideas for her face. This is one, but more likely it's Sally in a couple of years.

This is closer to her, though not in the greatest mood.

As for her story, it only really has a beginning. She's a little orphan girl who has spent most of her childhood in a little boarding school in a little town, until she gets a letter saying she has a new guardian in some far off mysterious city. Then she's sent off, accidently accompanied by the boarding house cat.
And there it is.

Wednesday 16 January 2008

Out with the Old....

Just a quick post today. After my last post and a couple of comments about it, I decided I'd show what the old Etsy banner looked like.

This is the illustration it came from.

It was inspired by Italo Calvino's description of the city of Sophronia in his novel, Invisible Cities. A city where they pack up and move the buildings every year and leave the fairground.

In my next post I will be introducing Sally, the little girl in my avatar.

Sunday 13 January 2008

Things are A-Changing!

Today marks a small but I think significant change to my Etsy shop. A new banner, one that actually represents a little of what's in the shop.

Voila!

Now all I need is some new items in the shop. I have a few finished illustrations that are now just waiting for the delivery of a new printer. That could be a while. But hopefully by then I'll have even more ready and waiting. I can't wait!

PS. Thanks to everyone visiting and leaving comments. It's been a great 1st 2 weeks.

Wednesday 9 January 2008

This week's just getting better & better...

So, another email in my inbox and wow!


TalentDatabase is one those places I joined from hearing about it on the Etsy forums. It's so full of amazing work. Anyway, I submitted an image for a chance at getting a channel header in the Art category a few days ago, and now it's on the homepage. Seriously stunned here.

I'm feeling very happy this week.

I'm one of the "Fantastic Four"!

Well, no. Actually, the "Fab Five".

So, I submitted my blog to FuelMyBlog last week and just got an email in about this. That's a real compliment, especially since it's barely a week old.

Fuelmyblog, Social Networking for bloggers: My Fab Five: A selection of great blogs on fuelmyblog#links

Check out the other guys on there!


Oh, and here's a snippet of something I just finished.

Sunday 6 January 2008

486 Lists in the Treasury???!!!

If you're not a visitor to Etsy.com this will make no sense at all.



Very early this morning I got my very 1st treasury, along with many others evidently. Now that's some feat, believe me. All very exciting, but the pressure! After naming it (apologies for the the heavy dose of tabloid sensationalism) in a minor panic thinking it would disappear at any moment, I decided to go with the dark side. And if anyone clicks on me they'll see my stuff is pretty opposite. Darn it, I want to join the dark side.

In a couple of days it really will disappear. Spooky...

Incidently, I also stumbled across myself in the treasury...

Mine's the B/W one at the bottom. I love Labyrinth. Fun day.

Friday 4 January 2008

My favorite place in the world! Well, one of them.

Right, just moving my little bit of self-promotion down.

I give you....
.....the V&A, or The Victoria and Albert Museum.

This has to be one of the best sites in London, chock-a-block full of a multitude of fascinating objects from all over the world, and IT'S FREE!



It's the perfect place when in need of inspiration.

A Shout Out to Sharing Bloggers!

What a surprise it was this afternoon to come home to an email telling me I'd been featured on another blogger's blog. Fellow Etsian Able Mabel's new blog.


OK, so she did ask for submissions, but there were so many great ones I wasn't really expecting much. So thanks to Able Mabel, check her out.

The Etsy community really is pretty great.

Wednesday 2 January 2008

Hong Kong, that crazy place.


A city of chaos and infinite variety. Once my home for a few years, whenever I go back I'm still amazed by it. Especially on those rare clear days, as on the right.

I think it must be where my love of architecture first began, some of it's ugly, and a lot unnecessary, and a few just down right dangerous, but together they're fascinating.












Now I live surrounded by Victorian terraces and 70's flats in cold, rainy London. Not a bad thing, just very different.





Here's a little something I drew when I was last out there.

Day 2 of the Blog.

A little preview of my next series of illustrations.


And a glimpse into the mess that is my workspace aka the dining room table, no longer used for dining.

These are inspired by Chinatown NY, my latest fascination. I love the architecture, the shop signs and the occasional randomness.

Tuesday 1 January 2008

Let's begin

So, the kettle's boiling away in the kitchen and I'm sat in front of the computer deliberating my 1st 'proper' post. Some pictures are needed, I believe.





These are part of a series I've nicknamed 'Waiting Girls'. Not the most imaginative of names, I know. I drew these with a newly bought Sepia ink pen, all very exciting, on 6"x4" blank index cards, then scanned and coloured them on the computer.

In this time the kettle has boiled and I've finished my cup of tea.

A New Year, A New Blog!

So, one of my resolutions for the new year achieved. Hooray!

A bit about me. I'm a burgeoning illustrator based in London, UK, and I've recently opened a little shop on Etsy.com.

Here I'll be showing some of the pieces I'm working on and talking a bit of sense and nonsense. I think I'm going to enjoy it.