Escape

collage on paper 4 by 4 inches, on etsy

Ethnic Ellie

Personalised nursery canvas new in the shop

Pattern heaven

I've loved patterns from an early age. Mum would by those mathematic pattern books that were big in the 70's (I've since discovered the science museum still makes them) and I would sit and colour them in for hours and hours - clever mum, anything to get me from under her feet! At college I even considered textile and fashion as a career path but my other love of books and lettering won over and I chose graphic design and illustration instead. I still bought a load of pattern source books which have proved useful here and there but now that I have finally figured out how to create patterns on my computer they are coming into their own and are the main source of inspiration for my new wedding designs. No more being at the mercy of suppliers who decide to stop stocking a line of paper half way through an order and I can guarantee mine are 100% original! By the way did I tell you I was a contol freak?

New Wedding Designs

Here's a sneaky peak at one of the new wedding designs I was working on yesterday. I'd got into a bit of a slump with the wedding designs last year, didn't like what I was doing but couldn't come up with anything new that was 'mine'. So I've started again this time with a bit more enthusiasm and inspiration; there's more emphasis on drawing and I'm designing my own patterns, basically I'm concentrating the things I like and enjoy doing and am good at. Calligraphy and type are back in with vengence this year, something I've always loved even when it wasn't fashionable so that has spurred me on to experiment with those in a new way too.

Vision

My new found organisational skills are serving me well at the moment, how long it will last I don't know but it feels good to be free of domestic contraints. My work space is free of clutter, my house work is completed by doing little bits often instead of leaving it to mount up. I have had 2 whole days of work, or rather play time, to do what the little one and I choose. We've painted, drawn, watched the whole first series of Charlie and Lola twice, read a small ton of books and gone out for walks in the rain to splosh in the puddles. I've also sorted through 6 months of emails, updated my blog templates to the new beta version, redone the homepage of my shop, done 2 illos, 2 new wedding card prototypes, made a list of things I want to make and sell through various websites, completed a few sketches and the living room is tidy-ish and the washing up done. Phew. My head is still a muddle, but it's a good muddle.

Illustration Friday - Buzz

This weeks Illustration Friday is rather topical as buzz is the noise that is permanently inside my head at the moment. I'm always hearing voices and words and singing songs anyway which in turn get translated in pictures, and if that wasn't enough I've got bees buzzing round and round and causing me to wake at 3 oclock in the morning and not go back to sleep. I've spent the remainder of my Christmas break sorting and shredding, cleaning and dusting, trying to get the house and my life straight for the new year in the hope that getting rid of the physical clutter will help get rid of the mental clutter but the noise has just got louder. I'm excited and fearful all at the same time - the prospect of a new job (only part time), new website (watch this space), new house (fingers crossed), to name but a few things for the next 12 months has got me in a spin to the point where I feel exhilarated and exhausted all at the same time. What is really putting me under pressure is the knowledge that in order for these things to happen I have to go out and get them and I'm not naturally a go out and get kind of girl. I usually amble along at my own pace and see what happens. Not this time. The ambitious, strong Karen that I know is in me somewhere is being forced to come out whether she likes it or not! I can do it I will do it!

New Year

Happy New Year to everyone, hope you all had a fabulous holiday! The photo was taken in the beautiful cotswold hills, the day after boxing day - we were freezing cold, there was a heavy mist over the town so you couldn't see what is usually a beautiful view but it felt good to be out, the wind through our hair, away from the bustle and madness that Christmas has become, away from computers and work and stress and, well, stuff.

The last 12 months has been a real journey for me, I finally feel the pieces are slotting into place and I know which direction to go in. Whether I make it or not is up to me. So no more lists, my new year resolutions this year are simple. Work hard, enjoy my life and my family and try to keep organised and the house tidy along the way but I won't stress if I don't always manage it. I am not superwoman.

8 Today!

Happy Birthday young man! Mum x

Inspire Me Thursday - handmade christmas

It has become a bit of a tradition for a couple of years now that Kamal (with a little help from me) has made everyone cards and presents, partly because we are always short of cash this time of year but I just feel it's nice for Kamal to understand that Christmas is not just about money and what toys you get. This year he has decided on jewellery for the girlies in the family and models for everyone else and they are all his own work.

Gorgeous christmas card designs, at this rate he will make a million long before I ever do! But not to be out done I have a little drawing to give to nanna and papa. Merry Christmas everyone!

Art Cards

As requested I have put greeting card versions of my prints into the shop too. There are lots more to go on at some point so please ask if you want something that's not there yet!

Tutorial - Christmas Cards

If you haven't made your cards yet have a go at these, they are not as complicated as they look! Full instructions here

Prints

A4 prints of some of my latest paintings are now for sale in my shop with more to follow soon. (Free p&p to UK customers, if you live overseas please email first for shipping costs.)

Illustration Friday - Might

AEM DAY 30 - Inspire me Thursday

Inspire Me Thursday is back, and low and behold if this weeks subject isn't line drawings - and more specifically it mentions the one-line drawings Sarah Pezdek-Smith and I did a while back. Fame at last! Thanks should go to Sarah for sparking this off in the first place, it's opened up my drawing in a way 3 years at art school could never do!

Today also coincided with Kamal's friend's art lesson so we all had a go. Trying to get 7 year olds to do this is quite a challenge as they were both cheating but it was a lot of fun. Here is Kamal's drawing of me... It's a good job I'm not insecure or I could have a hang up about my nose looking like a coat hanger - better than a beak I suppose. And my hair's not that curly, it had just been raining. Anyway I digress, this is my drawing of Kamal....
....yes he does look like a girl....hee hee....

and last but definately not least, Patrick's drawing of Kamal. Kamal unfortunately is a bit of a fidget so Patrick had a bit of trouble getting it right but I think it looks fantastic, Picasso would be very proud!

AEM DAY 29

Well here's the little illo I promised made with the indian papers that matches the tags. It turned out to be incredibly difficult to photograph, it's so dark in here so you don't quite get the true colours but it's the best I can do until my new scanner turns up.

AEM DAY 28 - doodles

AEM DAY 27

Got my gel medium today so had another go at this canvas. I added image transfers of one of my own photos along the bottom - you can just about make out the arches. There was also a tree but it made the whole thing feel bitty and too green so I've painted it back out. I've redone the face but it came out too pale and I added some writing but I didn't like that either. It actually doesn't look too bad in the photo, the real one is dark and rough and gloomy. I'm not very good at gloomy. My instincts are telling me to give up and paint over the lot and start again but another little voice is telling me to hang on a while longer. I know what the problem is too. I want to paint the face myself, I'm reluctant to rely too much on the transfer technique as useful as it is, but the last time I tried something like this it came out really childish. I need to grit my teeth, face my fears and just have a go. Then I can paint over it if it doesn't work out, right?

On a lighter note I pick up these pretty indian papers in the art shop, they are so sparkly and light, perfect for christmas bits and bobs. So inbetween stressing with the canvas I was playing around with these and started 4 large tags and an illustration (pic to come) so I had quite a productive day in the end. Looking forward to tomorrow!

AEM DAY 26

Life doesn't end when you don't have any gel medium, honest!

AEM DAY 25 - Disaster!

Just goes to show you should never try to cut corners! I'd run out of gel medium aaagh so thought I would try to add an image transfer of a face with normal acrylic medium. Big, no, huge mistake! Because it is more liquid it takes longer to dry and soaks up more of the paper as well as the ink. Pull it off too early and you get nothing, leave it too long and you leave behind too much paper and it's a so and so to get off. So I've painted over it with more gold and blue to darken the painting, leaving the area around the window as is. The papered area doesn't show up quite as it does in the photo, that's just the effect of the camera flash and it all adds to the texture! Will have to amuse myself with something else until I get into town next!

AEM DAY 24 - Work in progress

We had a fun and creative day yesterday. Apart from taking Kamal to school we didn't have to go anywhere or please anyone but ourselves. Bliss. So Anya sat at the table across from me to paint another masterpiece while I broke into one of my new canvases. It's not finished yet as I haven't decided which way to go with it but I started off covering it in torn strips of a Japanese newspaper I bought from Borders, then sploshing a thick layer of paint over it which I promptly wiped back off to allow the paper underneath to show through. This will be another tutorial piece if it works out!


Once the kids had gone to bed I did more work on my card / wedding site, which although I am still working on it in places it is open for business if you want Christmas cards! I've only set it to accept UK orders I'm afraid, mainly because when the wedding orders start coming in again I won't be able to cope but if you live overseas and have found it through blogger please email me if you would like something and I will send you a paypal invoice instead. Don't forget to look at Kamal's christmas cards, they are ones he did last year for his friends but I think they are good enough to put on the site too, much better than mine! www.ocellusartanddesign.co.uk

AEM DAY 23

Even more Christmas cards!

AEM DAY 21 - 22

Catching up with posts for Art Everyday Month, have been creating but too busy to post, so here we go - Tuesday and Wednesday I was working on wedding designs. Daisy and Cherish.

I've disappeared...

...under a pile of work and life stuff, why does everything always seems to happen all at the same time!? But I'm still creating, just haven't got time to show you yet, unless you want to see the 80 labels I've just typed up but I'll show you one of Kamal's Christmas cards instead. I'm delivering my paintings for this weekends exhibition this afternoon so will catch up properly tomorrow when hopefully I'll be back to normal. Oh and I had loads of new canvases arrive yesterday and I can't wait to get started on them. Don't go away!

AEM DAY 20

Just playing around with faces in different drawing styles. I find if I think to hard I lose what I am trying to do so need to distract myself and let the drawing sort of flow. Don't know if it's a left brain, right brain thing but my logical side is saying one thing and my creative side struggles because of all the noise. So I always work with the radio or TV on to shut the voices up and quite often have one or two things on the go at the same time too - if I get stuck with one thing I move over to the other until the flow comes back. And of course having a little one around is enough of a distraction. And guess who I caught adding her own little embellishments this morning. Wish I'd had a camera handy to capture her face when she realised I was watching her, a mixture of guilt and smugness all rolled into one!

AEM DAY 19

When digging through my boxes of stuff left over from the time I did craft fairs, some to go on the website, some to go on ebay, I came across some plain brown gift boxes that were just calling out for decoration. I only managed one with little fingers about trying to 'help' but I'm pleased with it.

As gorgeous and talented as she is, fingers with that much paint on can stay well away!!

AEM DAY 18

More Christmas cards!

AEM DAY 17

Christmas cards!

AEM DAY 16

Back to the computer today to finish the wedding/card website I've been talking about forever and a day, will spend tomorrow tweaking and twiddling and putting more stock on then it should be ready for the grand opening - yeah! I designed a header months ago but wasn't completely happy with it so have altered it a bit (you will have to wait before you can see it, sorry) but while I was at it I had a go at one for my art tutorial blog. Thank you to everyone who has been blogging about it and adding links, you are all so kind! I shall put new tutorials on as regularly as I can, about one a week if I can manage it, and they won't all be collage related, I want to keep it varied and fun! If there is anything you've wanted to try but didn't know how to get started please ask, or if you've tried any of the techniques I've demonstrated I would love to see - either link to the blog or join the art tutorial flickr group or both! (Oh and while you are there check out my whispers group, there are some absolutely fantastic pictures there by some very talented people.)

AEM DAY 15

I needed a break from computers and websites so sat with my sketchbook and a magazine and cup of tea after the kids had gone to bed and did more sketches. I've got an idea for a wedding design floating around my head but can't quite pin it down, a contemporary version of a 1950's fashion illustration perhaps. I also want to do more editorial type stuff for my portfolio and another reason why I need to sort out my drawing issues. It's funny really because when I was studying illustration back at college in the early 90's, anything even remotely resembling art nouveau and too heavily drawing based was considered old fashioned and cliche but these days you see it absolutely everywhere. Over stylised girls with flowing hair surrounded by twiddly leaves and flowers and ornate typography is right up my street - I swear I was born 10 years too early, or too late, either would do! But of course I can't just go and do it because everyone else is, I need to find my own voice. Oh and go and get my hair cut, the drawing is inspired by a photo in the magazine, just look at that hair!