Sunday, December 01, 2013
Friday, November 15, 2013
ladybird
I love when I make an illustration and it completely surprises me. Here is one of them. I think it is also the first time I am posting a child character on this blog. No tail, no whiskers!
Sunday, November 03, 2013
Picture Hooks Exhibition
The Picture Hooks exhibition at the National Gallery in Edinburgh is open!
Over the past year five of us - Laura Clark, Lesley Barnes, Naomi Howarth, Stuart Simpson and me - have been mentored by more established children's book illustrators - Sue Heap, Natalie Russell, Catherine Rayner, Ross Collins and Alison Murray. It has been a very busy year for all of us, especially the final month when we all had to finish four final pieces for the exhibition.
It was lovely to finally see all the artwork up and enjoy a very much awaited drink at the private view last Friday. The exhibition id open until 16th February 2014 so there is plenty of time to come over and visit if you are around. The gallery also organised illustration masterclasses for those who are interested in the process of creating picture book illustrations. I will be doing one with amazing Viv French on the 7th December. Here is more details.
And some photos from the exhibition.
Amazing artwork by Laura Clark who was laso chosen The Best Scottish Picture Hooks Illustrator 2013. Congartulations Laura!
Illustrations by Stuart Simpson who will have his book published by the Orchard Books. Well done Stuart!
Here is the most awesome walrus Magnus by Naomi Howarth. And the flying rabbits!
Lovely artwork by Lesley Barnes. The story is about a girl whose name is Jill and a dragon whose name is Dragon.
And my illustrations. There is a crocodile, a wolf, a teddy bear and a cat.
As a part of the exhibition the organisers asked us to submit our work in progress, sketches, dummy books, notes etc. Below are sketches by Laura and Naomi.
And my work in progress. I realised I forgot to remove some silly notes from the margins. Too late now.
Here is more details about the show.
Picture Hooks
Scottish National Gallery
The Mound (entrance from Princes Gardens)
1st November 2013 - 16th February 2014
Over the past year five of us - Laura Clark, Lesley Barnes, Naomi Howarth, Stuart Simpson and me - have been mentored by more established children's book illustrators - Sue Heap, Natalie Russell, Catherine Rayner, Ross Collins and Alison Murray. It has been a very busy year for all of us, especially the final month when we all had to finish four final pieces for the exhibition.
It was lovely to finally see all the artwork up and enjoy a very much awaited drink at the private view last Friday. The exhibition id open until 16th February 2014 so there is plenty of time to come over and visit if you are around. The gallery also organised illustration masterclasses for those who are interested in the process of creating picture book illustrations. I will be doing one with amazing Viv French on the 7th December. Here is more details.
And some photos from the exhibition.
Amazing artwork by Laura Clark who was laso chosen The Best Scottish Picture Hooks Illustrator 2013. Congartulations Laura!
Illustrations by Stuart Simpson who will have his book published by the Orchard Books. Well done Stuart!
Here is the most awesome walrus Magnus by Naomi Howarth. And the flying rabbits!
Lovely artwork by Lesley Barnes. The story is about a girl whose name is Jill and a dragon whose name is Dragon.
And my illustrations. There is a crocodile, a wolf, a teddy bear and a cat.
As a part of the exhibition the organisers asked us to submit our work in progress, sketches, dummy books, notes etc. Below are sketches by Laura and Naomi.
And my work in progress. I realised I forgot to remove some silly notes from the margins. Too late now.
Here is more details about the show.
Picture Hooks
Scottish National Gallery
The Mound (entrance from Princes Gardens)
1st November 2013 - 16th February 2014
Monday, October 14, 2013
Ghana
There has been quite a lot exciting things happening recently. I will blog about them soon but first, a very much delayed post about Ghana.
---
Ok...
For some reasons I seem to be unable to write about the project at the moment. I guess the experience was so amazing that it is really diffucult to sum it up in a few paragraphs. I will try to come back to it later and write a few things about the awesome kids we were working with, the volunteers, the films children made and about the experience of living in Ghana for a month.
For the moment here are some pictures:
And also Kate have been blogging a lot while out there on our fundraising blog.
---
Ok...
For some reasons I seem to be unable to write about the project at the moment. I guess the experience was so amazing that it is really diffucult to sum it up in a few paragraphs. I will try to come back to it later and write a few things about the awesome kids we were working with, the volunteers, the films children made and about the experience of living in Ghana for a month.
For the moment here are some pictures:
And also Kate have been blogging a lot while out there on our fundraising blog.
Sunday, July 28, 2013
georgia
A few sketches from our recent trip to Georgia. It was my second trip to Georgia and I must say that Georgia is still my absolutely favourite country.
Konrad reading Milan Kundera, waiting for a flight in Istanbul.
Some sketches from Tbilisi.
Random stuff really.
Travelling on a marshrutka (minibus). It takes a while to get used to crazy suicidal driving but it is an experience not to be missed while in Georgia. This one was from Tbilisi to Signagi.
Signagi is a pretty town set on a hill with some spectacular views to the Caucasus mountains.
At Bodbe convent near Signagi.
St Nino's Holy Spring.
More Signagi.
Ok this is rather random. I have no idea where this bird comes from.
On the marshrutka to Tsnori. Have I mentioned that each marshrutka we took had a suggestive crack in the windscreen?
Waiting for a marshrutka to Telavi.
Chilling out on a hammock in Telavi.
On the market in Telavi.
Tusheti is a remote region in the Caucasus (close to the border with Dagestan and Chechenya). Getting there was quite an experience (a 4 hours drive through a mountaing pass, mostly looking down the cliff and thinking about the trajectory of a falling 4WD while the drivier is happily listening to The Best of Boney M...).
Zemo Omalo with amazing medival architecture. I was also trying to learn the Georgian alphabet.
We went horseriding!
More sketches from Keselo Hotel in Omalo, a lovely guesthouse we were staying in.
Back to Telavi.
On a marshrutka to Borjomi. This one was actually really fun. There was a priest with us, he started a prayer at the beginning of the journey and the whole marshrutka was praying. It actually made me feel better about the whole journey as the driver was particularly crazy. There should be a priest on every minibus in Georgia. Just in case.
We spent last few days of our Georgian holidays in resort town Borjomi. Again, I am not sure what's with this bird.
Drinking salty mineral waters, swimming, chilling out, doing normal holiday stuff.
Konrad reading Milan Kundera, waiting for a flight in Istanbul.
Some sketches from Tbilisi.
Random stuff really.
Travelling on a marshrutka (minibus). It takes a while to get used to crazy suicidal driving but it is an experience not to be missed while in Georgia. This one was from Tbilisi to Signagi.
Signagi is a pretty town set on a hill with some spectacular views to the Caucasus mountains.
At Bodbe convent near Signagi.
St Nino's Holy Spring.
More Signagi.
Ok this is rather random. I have no idea where this bird comes from.
On the marshrutka to Tsnori. Have I mentioned that each marshrutka we took had a suggestive crack in the windscreen?
Waiting for a marshrutka to Telavi.
Chilling out on a hammock in Telavi.
On the market in Telavi.
Tusheti is a remote region in the Caucasus (close to the border with Dagestan and Chechenya). Getting there was quite an experience (a 4 hours drive through a mountaing pass, mostly looking down the cliff and thinking about the trajectory of a falling 4WD while the drivier is happily listening to The Best of Boney M...).
Zemo Omalo with amazing medival architecture. I was also trying to learn the Georgian alphabet.
We went horseriding!
More sketches from Keselo Hotel in Omalo, a lovely guesthouse we were staying in.
Back to Telavi.
On a marshrutka to Borjomi. This one was actually really fun. There was a priest with us, he started a prayer at the beginning of the journey and the whole marshrutka was praying. It actually made me feel better about the whole journey as the driver was particularly crazy. There should be a priest on every minibus in Georgia. Just in case.
We spent last few days of our Georgian holidays in resort town Borjomi. Again, I am not sure what's with this bird.
Drinking salty mineral waters, swimming, chilling out, doing normal holiday stuff.
Sunday, June 23, 2013
Last week
We had a successful opening of our In Residence exhibition at Edinburgh College of Art. It was lovely to see everyone and catch with people I've not seen for a while. Thank you all for coming! It was a beautiful evening. The exhibition is open until Friday 28th June. Come and see if you are in Edinburgh. We are on 1st floor in the Evolution House on West Port, 10am-5pm.
Here are some pictures with my new drawings and prints:
And fellow Illustrators in Residence, drawings and prints by Cat O'Neil...
Lasercut illustrations by Astrid Jaekel...
and linocuts by James Albon:
From other news, Zoe from Playing by the Book hosted an online aution with one of my prints. The auction was the last in a series of events we organised to fundraise for our volunteering trip to Ghana.
Big thanks to everyone who took part in the auction and to Zoe for organising it. If you are interested in children's literature, check out her blog as it is pretty amazing.
We are off to Georgia in a few days, a trip I really look forward to. It has been an exhausting few weeks (actually it has been an exhausting 10 months...) and I really feel like I need a break. Also Georgia is in my top 3 favourite places I've visited and I am happy I am returning there this year.
Here are some pictures with my new drawings and prints:
And fellow Illustrators in Residence, drawings and prints by Cat O'Neil...
From other news, Zoe from Playing by the Book hosted an online aution with one of my prints. The auction was the last in a series of events we organised to fundraise for our volunteering trip to Ghana.
Big thanks to everyone who took part in the auction and to Zoe for organising it. If you are interested in children's literature, check out her blog as it is pretty amazing.
We are off to Georgia in a few days, a trip I really look forward to. It has been an exhausting few weeks (actually it has been an exhausting 10 months...) and I really feel like I need a break. Also Georgia is in my top 3 favourite places I've visited and I am happy I am returning there this year.
Tuesday, June 11, 2013
In Residence Exhibition!
There will be some exciting new work by my illustrator pals: Astrid Jaekel, Cat O'Neil and James Albon (James designed our poster). And also awesome new pieces by other artists and designers from Film & TV, Glass, Jewellery and Product Design!
I decided to create something a different than usual and have a little break from my children book stuff. No cute animals this time! What is more I thought it would be good to get out of my comfort zone and exhibit the original drawings and collages. This is totally new for me as I've been exhibiting both traditional and digital prints so far but never the original pieces. I am really excited about the process and also slightly worried about the final result!
Come and see our show! The exhibition opens next week Saturday 22nd - Friday 28th June 2013, Evolution House, West Port, Edinburgh.
See you there!
Saturday, June 01, 2013
updates
Last few months have been rather busy with all the projects I am working on. Basically having four jobs and doing some additional stuff is quite much. It is tiring sometimes but on the other hand I love what I am doing I wouldn't give it up for anything else.
The residency at Edinburgh College of Art is going very well, I am developing some new illustrations and working towards our final show in June. The students have been busy hanging and finalising their degree show and our job was mostly to provide the moral support (and a little bit of tailoring, decorating and cleaning services here and there) as they were extremely well organised this year. The show looks amazing and it is now open to public so if you are around you should definately come!
Work at the community art centre is going well too. The creative workshops we run are always fun no matter if we make little creatures from recycled plastic bottles or simply splash the paint against the wall. I am very lucky to be working with such a lovely team and the families and children are awesome too. I am going to make a separate post about our workshops.
After two months of fundraising for our project in Ghana we almost achieved our goal! And this is all thanks to you all. You are awesome! Thank you!
And finally some illustration updates. I have been collaboration with an amazing Edinburgh-based author Anna Claybourne. I illustrated her beautiful poem and now we are in the process of submiting the dummy book to various agents and publishers.
Here is one of the double spreads from the book:
I really like these guys and I decided to develop the characters further and play around with other story ideas for them. Here is a few character development sketches:
Phew.... now time to go to work:)
The residency at Edinburgh College of Art is going very well, I am developing some new illustrations and working towards our final show in June. The students have been busy hanging and finalising their degree show and our job was mostly to provide the moral support (and a little bit of tailoring, decorating and cleaning services here and there) as they were extremely well organised this year. The show looks amazing and it is now open to public so if you are around you should definately come!
Work at the community art centre is going well too. The creative workshops we run are always fun no matter if we make little creatures from recycled plastic bottles or simply splash the paint against the wall. I am very lucky to be working with such a lovely team and the families and children are awesome too. I am going to make a separate post about our workshops.
After two months of fundraising for our project in Ghana we almost achieved our goal! And this is all thanks to you all. You are awesome! Thank you!
And finally some illustration updates. I have been collaboration with an amazing Edinburgh-based author Anna Claybourne. I illustrated her beautiful poem and now we are in the process of submiting the dummy book to various agents and publishers.
Here is one of the double spreads from the book:
I really like these guys and I decided to develop the characters further and play around with other story ideas for them. Here is a few character development sketches:
Sunday, May 19, 2013
trip to Poland in July 2012
Ok...it took me a while but here they are - the sketches from our trip to Poland in July 2012.
We arrived to Łódź and here is a sketch of myself (wearing far too many layers for the Polish summer)
and a brave woman who stopped the whole bus and helped to catch a thief.
In Kazimierz Dolny. Konrad is doing his presentation about synagogues and then chilling out
in the garden (slightly overwhelmed by the warm weather - over 35C and
the abundance of plants, insects and other creatures).
Chilling out in a coffee shop.
Some quick sketches of the architecture in Kazimierz and extreme sketching on an overcrowded
minibus from Lublin to Kazimierz.
Iced coffee!
More landscapes and more architecture. I guess this is what Kazimierz is about.
Ola chilling out in the garden. Lots of chilling out and relaxing but it was the only wise thing
to do in these temperatures.
...
On the way back to Warszawa. Warszawa is cool!
Mada and John's flat and and a map documenting our alternative tour of the city.
(I always find Mada and John's flats very inspiring)
Some random sketches.
More random sketches.
This is when I thought I needed a proper break and decided not to do any sketching for the rest of the trip:)
We arrived to Łódź and here is a sketch of myself (wearing far too many layers for the Polish summer)
and a brave woman who stopped the whole bus and helped to catch a thief.
In Kazimierz Dolny. Konrad is doing his presentation about synagogues and then chilling out
in the garden (slightly overwhelmed by the warm weather - over 35C and
the abundance of plants, insects and other creatures).
Chilling out in a coffee shop.
Some quick sketches of the architecture in Kazimierz and extreme sketching on an overcrowded
minibus from Lublin to Kazimierz.
Iced coffee!
More landscapes and more architecture. I guess this is what Kazimierz is about.
Ola chilling out in the garden. Lots of chilling out and relaxing but it was the only wise thing
to do in these temperatures.
...
On the way back to Warszawa. Warszawa is cool!
Mada and John's flat and and a map documenting our alternative tour of the city.
(I always find Mada and John's flats very inspiring)
Some random sketches.
More random sketches.
This is when I thought I needed a proper break and decided not to do any sketching for the rest of the trip:)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)