Getting back in to it

As I said in my first post I've been out of the creative mood for a few months needing some space from my past work and past self. It feels so great to be creating again and to walk in to my living room and see my dining table strewn with magazines, bits of illustrations and empty tea cups. It makes me feel like I'm myself again. I'm still enjoying the mixed media work and it's a surprise to me that my work is going in that direction. A pleasant surprise though, I'm finally producing work that I could see going in to an exhibition. Here's some pieces I'm working on at the moment.

This piece is in it's really early stages, I'm not sure where I'm going with it just yet. It will be a similar vibe to  the "...ball of yarn" illustration I did.

This was a doodle I did at work on a quiet day. I'm not sure if it works as well on mainstream fashion images but I like the pattern.

Sonya Suhariyan

I first became aware of this illustrator's work when I bought my first copy of Noise magazine. Noise has been an endless source of inspiration for me and I get a little over excited when a new issue comes out. They usually feature Sonya's work in a few double page spreads. I really connect with it because it's the kind of place I'd like to get my work to. A lot of the patterns she uses are similar to the ones of been doodling with for the last few years. This reminds me that we really are all connected. I think it's beautiful that two artists who've never met and never seen each other's work share the same lines and parts of their imagination. It reminds me that we should never feel lonely in this world because we are all part of each other, that's the energy I get when I look at the picture below....gorgeous.

www.sonyasuhariyan.com

Pop

I treated myself to Pop magazine after I had a quick flick through in the newsagents and caught a glimpse of Tavi dressed in a newsaper, giant pom poms , girls painted blue and lily cole dressed up as an old lady! Here's some of my fave images.

Tavi  http://tavi-thenewgirlintown.blogspot.com/

Thought this would be cool as an illustration, I could switch the print on the dress for my own patterns and include the face, the pose is really striking.

I just loved this.

Daisy

Today was the first day off I've had in ages so of course I spent the day drawing. I re discovered this great issue of i-D that I picked up a few months back. It's the best of British issue which of course I've kept on my shelf for times when I'm feeling homesick and patriotic. There's some great shoots of british Icons in it and the one that caught my eye was this photo of Daisy Lowe.So I cracked out the old fine liner pen and started doodling. Here's the piece in it's stages.

Finished piece

I am really loving the results I'm getting from working over the top of magazine pages. I've always struggled with backgrounds to my work and often my work sort of floats in the middle of a white page. 

I'm not as interested in fashion illustration as such but I still find fashion images great to work with. I like to flick through an old copy of i-D or Dazed and find an image that really pulls you in. I'll stare at them for ages wondering what story might go behind them. In a lot of fashion photography there's an element of sadness even despair in the models expressions. This is just my opinion but sometimes it looks like the burden of beauty and perfection is too much to bear. It's this side of fashion images that appeals to me, actually it's this side of human nature that appeals to me. We desperately try to mix our mind with unattainable objects. Starting off over excited at the prospect and then shattered with disappointment when we realise the truth. 

I'm also aware of the perfection to my own work, it's almost OCD in it's nature. These patterns and lines are what I create when I'm at my most relaxed but they appear like I concentrate to the point where my eyes might fall out. What am I trying to mix my mind with I'm not sure, it's a journey.....if any of this makes sense please share your thoughts with me, I love to connect!

"OH"

I started doodling over a page of Noise magazine whilst at work. I work in retail and we've been pretty quiet recently so plenty of time for drawing on the job. I had no idea that I would get so in to this piece. I worked on it for 6 hours on and off and this is how it turned out. It's definitely opened up some possibilities for other illustrations. God I love my fine liner pen! Tell me what you think anyhow.....

Ready

The moment before you are about to move forward, you can’t go back and you can’t stay here. It’s time to reveal your new self. Are you ready?

Imagine

Imagination is of the utmost importance, these are some images nourishing mine.

Fresh Start

I took a few months off from my art work to give myself some time to be and some time to be inspired. This week I started drawing again. I've been working with fashion images torn from magazines, using my line work to create new stories, feelings and scenes. I'm really excited to be creating again and to be moving in to a new stage of my life. I feel like my work and I are maturing and it feels really nice. 

"While you are away my heart comes undone, slowly unravels in a ball of yarn"

"Under water Love"