Goodbye 2011!

Thank you for the support this year!

A special mention to: 

Cynotia for choosing me for your band CD/website artwork

Playful Promises for my commission over the summer (final results/ products coming in 2012!) 

and to all those who exhibited with me at SORTED London in June. 

and to all the Little Monsters and Blackjacks who supported my Lady Gaga and 2NE1 fanart. THANK YOU! ♥

My art- tattoos

Over the past year or so, people have been contacting me regarding my drawing of 'Alice in Wonderland' back from my final major project at University in 2010. They loved the image so much they had it tattooed onto various limbs.

Below are 3 separate people who have sent me images of the outcomes:

I can't believe someone would like my drawing so much they are willing to have it permanently etched onto their skin!


I've had 2 other messages from others who asked for my permission to get it done and will be sending me their photos when its finished.


My original drawing:

Alice rebelling against the Queen and painting the roses white

In other news:

I have seen the prototypes for the products that Playful Promises are using my illustrations for and they look really amazing! They will be officially released later in 2012. I can't reveal anything else until that time. 

My blog has hit well over 10,000 views from all over the world! Hopefully I'll get the chance to do a bit of an art giveaway in the new year to celebrate. :)

I'm still very very busy with my job and studies, but hopefully, I'll have some more artwork to share with you in the new year.

Merry Christmas and a Happy new year to all of you! 

Photos

The last few months have been rather busy and stressful for me. I don't have as much time to draw at the moment! I thought I would share some photos I took using the instagr.am app on my phone.

I have been informed that my images for Playful Promises have been sent off and are likely to be released next year. I'll keep you updated.

I hope to try and get some more drawings and paintings done soon! 

CL - I am the Best

The images for 'Playful Promises' are done. I hope it won't be too many months before I can reveal the final results. :)

For now though, here is a drawing a made a few months ago of 'CL' leader of the Korean girl group 2NE1. It was just for fun! Based on stills from the music video. YGFamily always have the best MVs and stylists! 

I haven't got much other work to show at this point. My life is filled up with other things right now, like a new job and a Postgraduate University course. I don't have much time for painting, but hopefully once I get the hang of all this coursework I'll have some more time to paint again.

Playful Promises Teaser 4

Teaser number 4 of my work for 'Playful Promises'

It's nearly all completed, only a few more finishing touches to do and to edit!

One member of staff at Playful Promises is the extremely talented and gorgeous Anna Swiczeniuk who is also my dear friend and was my housemate for 2 years.

Check out her photography, modeling and Marketing work for Playful Promises on her:

tumblr

Blog

Also the boutique is having a tumblr giveaway where you can win £100 worth of goods! go here to see how to win!

Playful Promises Teaser 3

Teaser number 3 of my work for 'Playful Promises'

more to come soon!

(Oh and if you found this blog through a website called 'Gothise.com', please contact me somehow and let me know where exactly the link has been posted. I am not a member of the site and I can't seem to figure out why I am getting so many hits from there! I'd like to know who or what is promoting me. Thank you! )

Playful Promises TEASER 2

Another teaser of my work for 'Playful Promises'

Once again, this 'teaser' artwork is not necessarily final and might end up being changed, edited throughout the project.

These sketches are just bases for the inking and painting that is the next step of the process.

more to come soon!

Playful Promises TEASER

In my last update here I mentioned I was doing some artwork for 'Playful Promises'

Now the deadline is a pretty quick one, so for the last couple of days I have been getting some ideas down and starting some preliminary sketches. 

(A big thank you to my friend Fabianna who helped me by agreeing to pose for me for some reference)

Here's a small teaser of just some of the stuff I've been doing:

'Playful Promises' Teaser

Of course, not all this 'teaser' artwork is not necessarily final and might end up being changed, edited, or scrapped altogether during the process with the client, but once the project is finished, I can show you all the artwork fully, and anything that was taken out as a bonus. 

More teasers to come soon!

Playful Promises

I am very excited to say that I have recently been asked to produce some artwork for 'Playful Promises' who describe themselves as 'A London-designed brand which mixes quirky, directional design with all things playful, flirty, and even a little bit dirty. Our sumptuous collections consist of corsets, bras and panties, quirky gifts and swimwear.'

I am not going to reveal any final artwork until they have officially released it themselves and the project is completed, but I will be able to tease you with some work in progress through the duration of the project.

The theme of the project is currently a secret!

They really do sell some amazing products and are managed by some lovely people too!
so check out the links below.

Website & Online Shop

Blog

Twitter

Facebook
tumblr

Their boutique is found at:

136 Bethnal Green Road

London

E2 6DG

UK

Cynotia 'I would fly'

At the beginning of the year I posted some artwork I made for my friends band Cynotia
Their CDs have been printed featuring my artwork and they look great! Well done to the band who have been doing loads of gigs and working hard to promote themselves and create their merchandise.

Cynotia's music is available to listen to on their website and you can buy their new CD or download their music there too. Thank you to the band as well for my copy of the album! :)

In other news: I would like to point you in the direction of the creations of Miss Saffron Sugar who is running a contest at the moment where you can win one of her beautiful creations.

http://starchildbysaffron.tumblr.com/

please visit her blog and the tumblr address above for details and your chance to win! :D

Lady Gaga 'Drawn This Way' and 'Free as my Hair'

This month I have entered VMagazine's 'Drawn This Way' contest!

Here is my entry:

Not sure when the winners are being announced but I am keeping my fingers crossed!

Whilst we are on the subject of Lady Gaga, I also have been slowly building up this image of Lady Gaga's hairstyles, inspired by her song 'Hair' from her album 'Born this way'.

It's sort of an endless project, as I've only got up to a certain point (plus I need to go back and add more that I've missed in-between!) and Lady Gaga changes her hair nearly everyday, so this can go on and on! These styles are in as best chronological order as I can get them (I hope!) I had to research a lot to try and get them in them right.

These only go up to mid June this year, I have so many more to add just from the last few weeks, I better get a move on!

Fashion Illustrations for Amelia's magazine

A few weeks back I did two fashion Illustrations for Amelia's magazine which you can see in this article here:  Royal College of Art: Fashion Design Graduate Show 2011 review. Womenswear

here are the two images:

Philipp Schueller collection

Sarah Seaton-Burridge collection

SORTED London exhibition, Japanese Street fashion paintings

SORTED London is now finished!

It was a bit sad to take it all down, but due to its huge success the participating artists are already thinking about SORTED part 2!

So, for those of you not near London or even in the UK, This blog post is to show the work that was on show.

Here are the ink paintings that I was showing, inspired by and based on the 'street snap' photography of Japanese fashion magazine 'KERA'. One image features 2 of the fabulous amazingly bright and colourful ladies of 6%DokiDoki, a fashion brand created by Sebastian Masuda. (6th image down)

The Art on show at SORTED London

Eleanor Bedlow showed her large and amazingly detailed pencil drawings which must have taken such time and dedication.

Sean Burtenshaw had made some awesome 3D paintings of celebrities with hair, eyelashes and clothes and paint. My favourite was Lady Gaga who also had a real umbrella!

Jo Cheung had a series of beautiful prints of animals including polar bears, penguins, wolves and owls. My favourite were the cute penguins with hearts on their belly. (Jo Cheung has posted lots of great photos HERE on her flickr)

Lucy Wragg displayed two different sets of paintings One of various celebrities in comedy. She even got Matt Berry to come and see her painting. Check out the photo of her and him on her Blog. Her other set was a great play on type on packaging including my favourite, a Marmite jar with 'F*ck yeah' on the label.

Chetan Kumar displayed 3 images with lots of colourful and drawings within them. They include objects, food and statues inspired by his travels.

Carne Griffiths exhibited 4 stunning and expressive paintings of people merging with plants made with inks and tea. He also showed some lightbox pieces. 

Thomas Leadbetter developed a way of showing music as a series of triangle shapes and colours for our degree show last year, At SORTED his triangle system represented children's 'rounds' such as 'row your boat' and 'London's Burning'.

Emma Cowley displayed 5 detailed and colourful drawings of birds and flowers, and one drawing included a tiny woman in a cage surrounded by birds, or perhaps it was normal sized woman and giant birds? 

Rosie Smith has a great sense of humor showing some amazing collages of paper, fabric, drawings and real pressed flowers. One image included a Cat declaring how much they love 'Big Tits' whilst watching some blue tits in a tree. She also displayed some detailed pencil drawings of London landmarks.

(Please visit the blogs and websites of the other artists. Most of them have their work in more detail to see there)

My artwork on the wall at the exhibition

The SORTED crew

For more info on SORTED please visit the other artists blogs and websites.

SORTED London exhibition Private view

The crowds inside and outside the gallery

On the 9th of June at East Gallery in Brick lane London, The 'SORTED' exhibition had its private view and opening night. Having got a mention by grafikmag andAmelia's Magazine amoung others before the opening night, There was an AMAZING turn out and the whole gallery was buzzing with a fantastic atmosphere! for most of the night there were SO many people the crowds spilled out onto the streets.

Our little SORTED finch on a sign outside

The Exhibition features work by Myself/ Chetan Kumar/ Carne Griffiths/ Sean Burtenshaw/ Lucy Wragg/ Emma Cowley/ Jo Cheung/ Eleanor Bedlow/ Thomas Leadbetter/ Rosie Smith

Everybody was enjoying themselves, although at times, it did get a little warm and hectic as we rushed to make sure everybody had a drink!

It was such a huge success and we've had lovely reviews including one from Amelia's magazine (where you can see a photo of me standing by the door looking a bit crazy as I was in a bit of a panic trying to get hold of someone! lol)

The exhibition even managed to attract a celebrity! One of the artists Lucy Wragg (who is also my old classmate and friend as well as the organiser of this exhibition) was exhibiting a painting of Matt Berry from The IT crowd and The Mighty Boosh (among other shows) and he came along to the exhibit to see the artwork!

Matt Berry checks out our art

On the right is my sneaky photo I took of him in the gallery! He even tweeted about the show and had his photo taken next to Lucy and the painting she did of him.

I am so happy and proud. All the artists in this exhibition have worked really hard to create a vibrant, varied and exciting exhibition (even if I do say so myself. lol!) But don't just take my word for it, go see it of you can! Not to mention there is an amazing bagel and cake shop opposite the gallery which is a perfect post exhibition viewing snack!

Sneak peek!

Here's a tiny sneak preview of just some of the work on show:

I will post again when the exhibition is over with more photos of the work on show when it has finished. Until then, if you can see it, head down to East Gallery on Brick Lane and check it out! It's showing until the 15th of June open all day from 10.30 - 8.30.

SORTED website

Twiiter

Facebook

Here's a photo taken of us artists involved by Amelia Gregory at the end of a rather busy, warm but fantastic evening!

The SORTED crew!

x

SORTED London

Here is just one of the paintings I will be exhibiting next week in the SORTED London exhibition in East Gallery on Brick Lane from June 9th to June 15th.

All the paintings I am showing are influenced and inspired by and based on Japanese street fashion and the vibrant images in KERA magazine (A Japanese alternative fashion magazine with a huge focus on street fashion) Our exhibition has been mentioned by a few art blogs, including by the lovely Amelia Gregory of Amelia's Magazine which you can see HERE.

Our website has had just over 2000 views which is great! :D

http://www.sortedlondon.com/

Twitter

Facebook

Very excited about the show, a little nervous too, crossing my fingers that everything runs smoothly and there are no last minute problems. (like me discovering this afternoon my picture hooks are the wrong size! lol)

By the way, if you don't already, you can follow me on Twitter, Tumblr or DA

:) thank you!

Here's a random painting for you inspired by my love of pin up and burlesque and another reminder about the SORTED London exhibition coming up very very soon! (This painting will not be in the exhibition)

I've seen the work of other artists as our catalogue is being made and I have got to say, These artists are amazing and it looks as if its going to be a dynamic, interesting and fun exhibition. (I guess i am biased though eh? lol) So on behalf of all the artists involved:

Chetan Kumar/ Carne Griffiths/ Sean Burtenshaw/ Lucy Wragg/ Emma Cowley/ Jo Cheung/ Eleanor Bedlow/ Thomas Leadbetter/ Rosie Smith and Myself, we invite you to pop in if you can!

9th- 15th June, East Gallery Brick lane, more details here:

http://www.sortedlondon.com/

Twitter

Facebook

Sorted London and Lady Gaga

Just a reminder, the SORTED exhibition in London is coming up soon! There is a slight

CHANGE OF DATE. The exhibition will now be running from the 9th until the 15th of June, not the 16th.

I will be exhibiting 8 paintings inspired by Japanese street fashion photos from KERA magazine. There are other amazing artists in the exhibition displaying work related to many different topics and in different styles so if you can, come along and have a look.

http://www.sortedlondon.com/

Twitter: SORTEDlondon

In other news I am excited about the release of Lady Gaga's new album 'Born this way' out on Monday the 23rd of May. Here are two paintings I made inspired by the songs 'Judas' and 'Government Hooker'.

Here's a preview of some work that I will be showing in an Exhibition in June in Brick lane in London from June 9th- June 16th. I will be exhibiting along with some other amazing artists/ Illustrators. I also have a new set of business cards being made featuring my more recent work.

I think I'll post up the full paintings up after the exhibition, along with some photos of the event.

My personal theme for my work was my interest in the colourful and eccentric world of Japanese street fashion, the paintings are based off  photos from KERA magazine. but the other artists all have their own themes and ideas.

The exhibition will also feature:

Chetan Kumar/ Carne Griffiths/ Sean Burtenshaw/ Lucy Wragg/ Emma Cowley/ Jo Cheung/ Eleanor Bedlow/ Thomas Leadbetter/ Rosie Smith

Exhibition, 'SORTED'

'SORTED' London exhibition Featuring:

Katie Woodger/ Chetan Kumar/ Carne Griffiths/ Sean Burtenshaw/ Lucy Wragg/ Emma Cowley/ Jo Cheung/ Eleanor Bedlow/ Thomas Leadbetter/ Rosie Smith

Gaga Fan Corner.com

As part of gagadaily.com/ a new website has been launched:

gagafancorner

It has only just opened and it currently features my artwork (I originally posted about this project here)
It's a site for fans to submit and share projects that have been inspired or made for Lady Gaga so I am certain it will grow in the future.

You call also follow gagafancorner on:
Twitter
Facebook

A big thank you to Kirill of gagadaily and the other staff members for giving me this opportunity.

2NE1

Various artwork I have made over the last few months of Korean girl group 2NE1. Just for fun.

('I got that thang thang, if you know what i mean, it goes 'bang bang', you can't handle it')

('Many style from A to Z, Jeremy Scott, Givenchy, B*tch you aint got Sh*t on me'')

('Don't stop the music')

('coz I'm so bad bad but I'm so good good')

Cynotia artwork

The band 'Cynotia' who I did some other artwork for in this post also commissioned me to do a portrait of each band member.
So here they are!



The bands site is now up with their music so check it out!. Cynotia Website
(The band themselves built the website themselves so I take no credit for that. They also edited some of my images slightly with my permission to suit how they wanted it to look.)

A big thanks to the band for the opportunity and I'm glad they've liked what I created for them.

Valentines Day

A painting of Dita Von Teese for Valentines day

'Things I buy too many of..'

(click to view full size)

I think I am a bit of an impulse buyer and have a tendency to collect certain items. For example I can’t stop buying bras. lol

I think as well as adding more bras I own to this image later (I haven't drawn them all), I want to do a few more of these visual lists of 'things I buy too many of' with different stuff. I buy way too many necklaces, printed t-shirts and Nintendo/ Zelda related merchandise amoung other things that I don't really need... I just go a bit wild. lol

'I would fly' Cynotia band artwork

Around 5 or 6 years ago, I made a pact with a friend. She dreamt of being a musician and I an artist. She promised me, if she ever needed artwork for her EP she would come to me for help. I said I would help.

Here I am today, not really an artist, lol, but still enjoying art, and she is in an unsigned band called 'Cynotia' studying hard. As promised, she asked me for some drawings her and her fellow band members could work with for their upcoming EP. I was more than happy to oblige.

The EP title is 'I would fly'. I was told they wanted something with a young child dreaming of flying, something quite straight forward and simple on that theme.
Below is my final image, though the band have also been given extra text, clouds and bird drawings and they will be editing them themselves as designs for their desired merchandise.


(please click to view full size)


The original image was changed as it had a far too depressing feeling to it. (image below) In this image the child was like a caged bird, sad and wanting to be free. This was a little too 'dark' for the songs the band play and so I changed the cage to a swing set, and the childs face was changed. I'm glad it was changed, the second and final image is much less oppressing!


(please click to view full size)

So a huge thank you to my Friend Liv and her band members for being patient with me :) best of luck to them and I can't wait to see what they do with it! :D


In other News....
I shall be taking part in an Exhibition in the 'East Gallery' in Brick Lane London in June this year! :D
I will be exhibiting along with some amazing ex-classmates and friends of mine.
More to come about that in the near future.