Personal: Pressed Leaves

I have come to realise that I really enjoy drawing on natural materials! Starting with the stones and pebbles, which I've been doing for about a year now, and then enjoying drawing on the pumpkins so much for Halloween this year, I thought I would incorporate something which has always been one of my favourite things in nature - Autumnal leaves 

I have always loved Autumn and, when the leaves start to change colour and fall, I can be found running through them, kicking them up into the air and collecting me favourites to take home and inspect further! So, whilst doing this the other week, I decided to press some of the most beautiful leaves I could find so that I could do something with them.

The results were these Leaf 'prints'. Similar to my painted stones with the dot work and patterns, I think the leaves look really effective.

Personal: Birthday Card

I am given the endearing nickname of Lady Trifle by one of my friends, so I made them a lady trifle birthday card, full of butts, boobs, legs, lips and lashes.

Delicious!

Tattoo: My First Tattoo!

The other day I went to Colly who gave me my first ever tattoo! (bar the ones I poked into my fingers but I don't count those!)

I met with her three months back and discussed what I wanted. I showed her this picture.

I drew this when my niece was born almost two years ago. Her name is Rosa. The words come from a song I love by the band Why? I had been holding onto it for a while with the hopes of getting it tattooed but, every time I looked at it, I wasn't sure about whether I wanted it permanently on my skin, so I asked Colly to alter certain aspects of it. I think you are always so critical of your own work that it's hard to be 100% happy with it so creative input from another source can be really helpful... especially with something so permanent!!

This is the outcome - I love it! Although the changes a quite subtle, it makes all the difference. She used a mixture of tattooing techniques, using a gun to do the outline and hand-poking to do the shading.

Present: Painted Globe

So, a couple of days ago I posted that I was doing a typography based project for someone as a gift and I can now show you the outcome!

It's a painted globe!

Yes, my friend is a keen adventurer and I was unsure on what to get him for his birthday so I decided I would paint a globe to tie in with his love of travelling.

I bought the globe from my work place.

I decided to paint over the map so that I would have a blank canvas to put my work on, however quite soon after doing this I wished that I hadn't and had left the map as a background!! But it was too late and I had to commit myself to an idea. I looked up didn't quotes about travel in the hopes of finding something that wasn't too cheesy and settled on the simple phrase 'Adventure Awaits'.

I did a LOT of doodling trying to get the typeface right!

I used paints and pens to try and get the style I wanted and, eventually, settled on using a Posca pen because it meant I have the smoothness of paint but more control.

I struggled for a few days on what to do with the imagery, so I decided to keep it simple and draw some planes puffing out little clouds of smoke with funny expressions on!!

I used a limited colour palette of cream, gold, black, white, blue and green.

 



Pinterest

We all know... Pinterest is addictive!
I could spend hours on end scrolling through ideas and inspirations and creating boards with the hopes of, one day, doing a bit of DIY and making some beautiful somethings out of nothings!

You can find me on Pinterest here.

I have a board of my illustrations on there as well as others that inspire me.

Give me a follow and I'll take a look at your page too!

Personal: It's A Secret for Now!

I LOVE making presents. I think it's the thing I'm most thankful for that I am a creative. Giving someone something that you have created just for them, tailored to their likes and wants, well... it's just lovely.

I'm not going to say too much about this project just in case wandering eyes happen to spy this post, but it is predominantly type based and is super fun already!



Personal: Customer Photo

Recently, I sold one of my lino prints to a very supportive first time customer of mine who has been very pro-Emma Pryce Illustration on Facebook (which I appreciate greatly!) She told me that she loves the sunflower lino print and had been waiting until she had enough money to buy one.

She then sent me this photo of the framed print in her home (with her additional amazing decor!)

Thankyou Charlie!



Uni: Post for Neil

Having graduating from art college, you kind of feel like you can't send your old tutors regular post...

(there was bunting inside!)

Personal: Back To The Future Day!

HAPPY BACK TO THE FUTURE DAY EVERYONE!
Yes, yes, it's silly I know, but still it's quite exciting. After this week, Back to the Future will all be in the past...

So, to commemorate this obviously momentous occasion, I drew a picture!

I wanted to make it look a bit like a retro movie poster to suit the theme of the day so I took some key elements from the film - Marty McFly, Doc, the Delorean, the hoverboard and the date (as displayed i the Delorean) - and arranged them together. I then grouped it together by putting lightning in the background. After this mock up, I drew it out properly and started to colour it in.

 

 

I wanted to do a black background as a lot of the promo images for the original films used a black background with the Delorean leaving a trail of flames behind it.

I was pretty pleased with the outcome. Doc's expression isn't quite crazed enough though!!!

It is now for sale in the Vintage Emporium in Hereford.

Personal: Client Feedback

As an illustrator, sometimes you feel like you're not really getting anywhere with your work, especially since just graduating and never having a professional gig as an artist. However, it is super amazing when you get that email saying someone has bought something from you and it's very MORE amazing when they write to you personally to tell you how happy they are with their item!

This is an email I received a little while back from a lovely Etsy customer.

I was really touched when I read this email. It instils some faith within yourself that you should keep on truckin' and carry on drawing even when you think it might be time to pack it in and get a shitty 9-5 job for the rest of your life.

Personal: Framing Old Pieces

My desk is usually overflowing with papers which means I can very rarely get on it to use it! So I decided to have a little sort out of things and start framing up some items ready to sell.

Here is a selection of pieces I uncovered and framed up. Some of these pieces are up to two years old!

These are all now available in my Etsy shop.

Personal: Chalk Pens

Ever since we had an illustrator come into uni and talk to us about having done chalk art on windows I have wanted to start doing chalk art on windows! So I went and bought a chalk pen!

And oh my, it is so much fun!

I made us a 'Welcome Window' at home with my first attempt.

Commission: Coffee Table

A little while back, I was approached and asked to paint a coffee table for a client. I have never painted furniture before so, of course, I just said YES and that I'd be willing to give it a go! She had seen my henna designs and asked if I could do something similar on the table.

Due to the nature of henna, there is no peniciling in the design first as you are applying it to your skin, so I used the same approach whilst doing the table. I gave myself some basic guidelines, so I could be central/have a perfect circle/etc., and just went for it!

I used a wood stain that the client had provided for me for the pattern design. This worked well as, instead of creating a solid, brown line it had thinner painted sections and heavier painted sections which created a nice effect.

Due to the nature of 'just going for it' it does mean you have to concentrate quite hard when you're trying to make a symmetrical pattern! There are definitely a few mistakes in amongst the design however, I quite enjoy that. Makes it feel like it has been done by hand and not in a factory. I may try and come up with some grid system if I am ever to do this sort of thing again (which I would actually love to do!)

Both myself and the client were happy with the outcome. She even sent a photo of it in her home to me which was very nice!!

Personal: Fashion Illustrations



Whilst at uni, I had the brilliant opportunity on having a portfolio session with Fig Taylor from the AOI, who looked through a rough example of my physical portfolio and helped steer me in the sort of direction I should maybe go with my illustration. She mentioned that I was quite strong with fashion illustration, not necessarily in the traditional sense, but in the more expansive sense that fashion illustration is used for a lot of different things these days, such as advertisement and packaging design.

She encouraged that I practice figure drawing and really strengthen that. But also to ensure that I have my own style with it.

I decided to practice with pencils as this is the medium I struggle most with, I think. I started by just drawing a face, using reference from a magazine. After giving up at the hair, I quite liked the undone, half finished feel of it and left it there. I think that it looks better this way then trying to finish it and making it look too overdone.

I then experimented and this was the outcome!!!

Personally. I quite like the outcome! But I think it is something that needs to be worked on and developed... .and maybe have an explaination as well!? I enjoyed the process though!

Personal: Food Puns

So... I got into a bit of a food pun cycle recently! Puns in general are pretty great, but food related ones just seen to please me beyond my own understanding!

I would love to do a series of cards and stationery with the sushi and tea food puns I've already made and then make prints of the originals as well. I just think they work really well and are that commercial-friendly 'kawaii' cute style that you can a lot in places like Paperchase.



Lino Printing: Wedding Gift

Back in July, two of my very good friends got married in a beautiful ceremony in Norfolk and I was lucky enough to have been a bridesmaid. The wedding had a very English Garden come Tropical Paradise theme!

(photos courtesy of Naomi Goggin Photography)

Pineapples and cacti were prominent features throughout the day (and the invites!) so I thought it might be interesting to make a lino print of a pineapple cactus for them!

In case you have never come across a pineapple cactus before, this is what one looks like...

My lino printing skills are pretty limited and I am, pretty much, self taught after having not done much lino printing over the past 10 years, so my outcome wasn't as crisp as I had first intended it to be but, nonetheless, I was quite pleased with the finished result. It is not a completely clear image, but I think it has an interesting quality to it in that the majority of the image is black with just a few white lines peeking through to create this cactus.

I then framed the image in a bold frame to brighten up the blackness of it all! I think they liked it!! Or, at least, I hope they did!



400 Likes

I set up my Facebook illustration page almost two years ago and, although it might not be gaining fans at an alarming rate, I eventually hit 400 LIKES today which is very exciting!

I have set up a small giveaway over on my FB page. If you would like to partake, please head over to

www.facebook.com/emmapryceillustration

and just like and share the above image!



Personal: Axl Cloves

So, it appears I can't get myself out of this vicious pun cycle...



Personal: Food

I took a sabbatical from drawing for a bit but this week I finally picked up a fineliner again and this is what happened...

I've eaten an awful lot of Japanese food recently.