Dog mermaid

Seals are dog mermaids aren’t they?

Sketch for Illustration Friday.

Old Tat – The Cats and Hags issue

Cats with pet grannies and clashy tat patterns in the autumn 2015 issue of Old Tat Magazine. Oooooooh the kitsch!

Folio Society competition binding indecision!

I found it very hard to choose between my two binding concepts for this year’s Folio Society/House of Illustration competition.  I wanted something very graphic in bright, strong colours (a nice challenge to the traditional scratchy line work/dark colours associated with ghost stories)

Both images come from The Treasure of Abbot Thomas by M R James.

Firstly, Gregory describes a grotesque carving as “more like a toad than anything” and I like the idea of a toad summing up mystery.

Secondly, poor Somerton is left dangling down a well at the end of a rope after being terrified by an unknown creature.

In the end, although I love the simplicity of the toad, I chose the rope. I thought that falling was a suitably scary sensation for some horror stories and the energetic angle and clear shapes suited the mid century palette I’ve chosen for the piece.  I hope I made the right choice!

Little Free Library for Woolwich

Here’s the new library for Woolwich.  It is being hosted on Red Lion Lane and so a red lion theme was requested.

Here’s how it happened:

 

 

Flamingo Alphabet and Bear – new exhibition

Now on! Two new pieces of work are currently on show in “Zoo” a group exhibition at The Hanbury Arms, London, N1 7DU. The show will be up until October 31st.  The prints are also available to buy from my new shop at helloemma.tictail.com

There’s a Flamingo Alphabet and a Bear:

online shop

The wheels of commerce are slowly turning!  I have opened my online shop at helloemma.tictail.com

So far there are prints, tote bags and badges which will soon be joined by greetings cards and paper sculptures. And it all comes with free shipping to the UK.

My shop features some of this:

a bunch of this:

and a whole lot of this:

Hare, bear, pear now for sale

I’ve redrawn Hare, bear, pear as a digital repeat pattern which is now available on cushions, cups and saucers, shirts, bags and various other bits and bobs via Art Rookie.  And Little Free Library have a new website if you’d like to see the original painting in situ

http://www.littlefreelibraryproject.org.uk/walthamstow.html

Little Free Library

Hare, bear & pear repeat pattern Little Free Library

For the E17 Art Trail this year there will be a series of little libraries across Walthamstow for people to borrow books to read, their motto – Take a book, return a book.  I was lucky enough to be one of the artists to decorate one of these lovely little things.  Here are some pictures including a particularly uncomplimentary one of me writing its name on it (thanks BF!)  It will be in Cleveland Park Ave in time for the opening of the Art Trail on 31st May.

Cat villains for RCA Secret postcards

Yes, it’s that time again.  RCA Secret has come and gone, all the works are sold to raise money for their Fine Art students and the secret is finally out.  Which is a relief as now I can show the drawings.  Phew.

These are sketches for a series of larger, more detailed, full colour illustrations coming soon.

 

 

Pug card

Scan of the sad pug birthday card for a friend’s 40th.  I rather like him, I think I might shine him up a little and add some colour.