My illustrations for The Picture Show - full reveal!

I expect a lot of you might have already seen these on my facebook, but I thought it worth sharing the finished pictures on here for the sake of continuity and thoroughness ;D

Nightjar, pencil and watercolour illustration

Cuckoo, pencil and watercolour illustration

Swallow, pencil and watercolour illustration

The last several weeks have been extremely hectic: what with preparations for The Picture Show, invigilating the show itself (always good to have an exhibitor present to big-up the work!), juggling more deadlines for Making Magazine and a move to a different city thrown in for good measure.  The last couple of months have been a physical, mental and emotional challenge, so I'm very relieved that it's all over for now.  The move is not yet fully complete - at the moment we're staying at my folks' home in leafy Leicestershire, with a view to finding a pad of our own close to Leicester city centre later, so that my Other Half can be within walking distance to the university when he starts his course there this October.  We'll get onto flat hunting soon, but for now it's enough just to know that the most difficult part has been overcome and that things will be easier from now on.  This is a time for restoration, relaxation and renewal - until we regain the energy required to start the next adventure!  Please wish us luck, and I wish happy times for all of you reading in return.

Best wishes,

Emma xxx

P.S. As a side note, I thought I'd mention that the Nightjar seemed to be the piece that was best received at the exhibition, a fact that surprised me in the most pleasant way.  I wondered if people would find the colours too drab or gloomy, but they really seemed to like the woodland setting and especially the fungi, moss and lichens.  I guess it has a slightly magical feeling to it (it did to me at least, but then you can never second-guess the sensibilities of your audience) and it made me excited to think about pieces that might have a similar feel or theme.  I'm considering doing a series of insects or invertebrates in the future - and I think this kind of setting would lend itself well to that subject.