Budgerigars, and why doing a candy themed piece was a challenge

Hello boys and girls, hope you're all having a good week so far!

I thought this post I would share with you some things that inspired me recently, to give an idea where I get the ideas from for my work.  As some of you may know, the deadline for the newest issue of Ballad Of was earlier this month, the theme being 'Candypop': i.e., pink, turquoise and sherbet, sweeties, My Little Ponies...!  The project sounded like too much fun to miss out on - the research alone regressed me back to my childhood years, helplessly drooling over anything pink, glittery and plastic.

And yet, the brief also presented a bit of a challenge - the theme 'Candypop' has inherently synthetic associations and up until now, virtually all of my work has been inspired by the natural world.  The subject matter and therefore colour scheme of my work has always been based on a plant or animal of some kind, and while I do use bright /contrasting colours they don't really have that sherbety, acidic quality that suggests 'Candypop' to me.  So for a while, I struggled to think of a subject that would be suitable for the theme and yet not completely at odds with my existing work.  That is, until I took a trip to visit family in Northwest London, and spotted these little chaps in Pinner Memorial Park!

Cute little budgerigars... with lovely acid, bright, sherbet colours!  I had finally found my inspiration for the project!  Add in some seaside sweetie stall fun, and a final piece was all ready and raring to go.  Unfortunately I won't be able to share that with you until I get the final yay or nay about whether the piece is going in the issue - but here's a couple of little tasters to whet your appetite.

I'm really rather proud of this piece... I can't wait until later in the year when I can share the whole thing with you!  And those wee budgies are SO cute.

Thank you very much for reading, hope to see you next time!

Emma x

Folding Bag illustrations for Making Magazine issue 18

Hello everyone!  Just dropping by to share with you some more pictures for Making Magazine, these ones were in February issue 18 and show how to make a folding bag.  My part was just the pictures, if you want the full article with instructions you'll have to look for it in the mag.  Enjoy!

Thanks very much for reading, I hope you'll join me again next time!

Best wishes,

Emma x

Chrissy Wallace's paintings at The Modern Pantry

Hello folks, hope you're having a good week!

So, I've FINALLY gotten round to sharing my pictures from my friend Chrissy Wallace's recent exhibition on here (I was aiming to post them up before the show finished, but sadly I did not manage that...) At any rate, you can see photos of her lovely work in the charming setting of The Modern Pantry restaurant, even if you missed the exhibition.  While I was waiting for the artist herself to arrive and show me round, I took the opportunity to enjoy the unusual buildings of the surrounding area.

I loved the mix of different architectural styles going on - I guess that happens quite a lot in London anyway (since you get places being built and then rebuilt on, over and over) but this part of the city seemed to demonstrate that in a much more concentrated space.  Once Chrissy arrived, we proceeded to the venue (and I can confirm that their brazil nut tart with ice cream is pretty bloody good!)

I hope you agree with me that the pictures look really nice in the space, no?  Thanks so much for reading.  Until next time!

Best wishes,

Emma x

Visit to Leytonstone - Eden at The Stone Space

Hello everyone! So it's a rainy Saturday which makes it a good one for catching up on some blogging.  So first of all, allow me to share with you some photos from my jaunt to Leytonstone this Thursday.  I met up with Flash Bristow and Carne Griffiths at The Stone Space, where Carne's new show Eden had just started.  Here's some snaps of the artist at work!

Me and Flash then headed off for some tea at her place, and then set out to walk Cray, her pet greyhound.  The camera doesn't really capture it, but he is the most beautiful shade of blue-grey!

Later on I bid farewell to Flash, and headed back to Leytonstone tube station.  On my way I paused at The Stone Space to see how the drawing was coming along - lookin' good so far!

If you're around in Leytonstone, make sure to go and check out the show!  There is also a live video link on The Stone Space website, so if you're a West-ender like me you can watch the drawing as it progresses remotely.  The show is also collecting any plants you'd like to donate - they will be used as inspiration for Carne's drawing and you can collect them again at the end of the show.

Thanks for reading, until next time!