Frannerd At The MET

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I love New York. I love illustration. I love the MET. And I love Frannerd. So I really loved this video. Fran really inspires me to get out and about to draw and study classical art for inspiration.

I also loved seeing the Temple of Dendur when I visited. I read that the room was known as Jackie’s nightlight because JFK had the light in the room left on each night so his wife could see it across Central Park. I’ve no idea if it’s true but what a romantic story.

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Following Your Dreams

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If you look at this page regularly, you will know that I'm a big fan of Holly Exley's work so it was lovely to see her vlog this week in which she announced that she is currently writing and illustrating her own vegan cookbook. This really resonated with me as Holly had previously mentioned on Twitter that she'd love to illustrate a vegan cookbook and she has obviously been mulling this over and has decided to be proactive and just do it herself. I love that Holly's loves of vegan food and illustration have combined to become a project that she's really excited about. And I love that publishing has reached a place where we can now come up with ideas and create our own books in a way that can sit alongside traditional companies. Publishing your own book isn't easy but it's challenging, absorbing and rewarding. I can't wait to buy the book that Holly's creating.

Movie - Lady Bird

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I went to see the brilliant new movie Lady Bird today. It's written and directed by Greta Gerwig and stars Saoirse Ronan and I loved it. I've been thinking a lot about the brilliance of being young lately and how hindsight makes you wish you could do it all again, whilst at the same time being glad you don't have to. The writing, acting and directing come together perfectly to create something so utterly relatable. It inspired me to draw and made me want to get back to writing. Wonderful.

Abstract

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I spend a lot of my time in my day job as an event manager having to be very precise with logistics and planning. I find it very satisfying putting everything in order. But the other side of my personality is messy and free-flowing. Illustration and writing feeds this to a certain extent but drawing the picture book for example still needs an element of structure. This is why abstract painting is something I often come back to. I start with an empty page and watercolours, acrylics, washi tapes and pens and just see what comes. I'm a big fan of using words in art and at the moment I often find myself inspired by one word which I'll meditate on so it can become colours and patterns.

This one is inspired by the word 'resonate'. If you fancy, why not create something yourself inspired by that word too and share it with me on Twitter or Instagram.

Podcast - Sara Tasker & Helen Stephens

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I really enjoyed this treat from the Hashtag Authentic podcast series presented by Sara Tasker. This week Sara interviews illustrator Helen Stephens who wrote and illustrated How To Hide A Lion amongst many other books. Helen has a lovely scribbly, warm style which has lots of energy and detail. She describes how she finds inspiration while drawing from life. I really agree with her about the almost meditative state you find yourself in while drawing and how this can open your mind to let ideas flood in.

Helen also describes how, while her early experience of traditional publishing taught her an awful lot, she found herself straying from her own style. She bravely took a year out to try to get back to her roots. It worked and she now manages to be totally true to herself while still being super successful.

Such an inspiring interview. I highly recommend listening to it even if you aren't an illustrator and are just trying to be true to your creative self. Click on the tweet below to go to Sara's site.