Instagram Post: Prompted by @flow_magazine #50waystodrawyourbeautifulordinarylife using the techniques from @tutorbill ’s course #drawpaintclickillustration
With #inktober in mind, and the instructional illustration prompt for #portfolioclub for August, I drew the elements of the recipe whilst travelling to Wembley Stadium and back by train.
One of my favourite books at the moment is, Flow Magazine’s 50 Ways To Draw Your Beautiful Ordinary Life, which set a task of an illustrated recipe, as a family heirloom. I thought it would be sweet to use French for this for my neice.
After adding some colour in Inktense pencils I added water to activate the ink pigment.
These pretty buns made with my niece, who so carefully and beautifully decorated them, were the inspiration for this recipe illustration.
I assembled my drawings in Pixelmator app using a vertical flow for the instructions., I wanted the colour to be subtle and to keep the recipe more drawings than words.
Here is the final outcome,
This is a favourite recipe from family baking as a child, if you bake it do enjoy and it would be lovely to see what you’ve made and hear about it,
I was delighted to see that @Helendardik was holding a workshop on this side of the Atlantic. So immediately booked on the course in Rotterdam.
Helen furnished the beautiful Rotterdam studio with boundless beautiful bouquets. Wonderful teaching with a lovely group of creative people.
I had seen and followed Helen’s work. Always wondering how she achieved the effects with paint, to create her stunning pieces. I was keen to learn from Helen.
Lovely to meet Helen. I felt like I’d stepped into Instagram. I learned so much and had a truly lovely day. .
I continue to explore the techniques, and materials, here are my favourite pieces so far….
Continuing my bird work. 😊
When I accidentally dropped a huge blog of opera pink on my brand new sheet of paper this snail character emerged.
Sweet flower in the garden
Tulip repeat pattern assembled in #pixelmator
Love all life – response to the horrific mass shootings in the US that day.
Cornflower Blues
Flowers, butterflies and balloons
Self portrait following this style. Created in stitch and paint to represent my favourite mediums
Love how the pinks pop against the blues.
Summer Party themed painting
Even being blue can be beautiful
Helen has a workshop planned in Canada in September. I highly recommend her workshops, more info at her website
I’m delighted to have received these testimonials after a run through of my upcoming workshop, which will take place at Stitched Up And Fleeced in Sheffield on 9th March from 10-12:30.
“The workshop had a relaxed environment in which I felt comfortable asking for help or any questions about the work. The organisation of the workshop meant it was enjoyable and the time given meant I wasn’t rushed into completing my design. I am very happy with what I produced and the skills and knowledge about heat press and the dyes I developed during the process.” AGR, Sheffield.
“I thoroughly enjoyed trying a totally new skill. Instructions were very clear and the group dynamic made the whole experience much fun. It was great to see the vibrant finished result emerge from my own design. It was rewarding to complete the task from beginning to end in just a few hours.” JPS Chesterfield.
“Amazing evening experiencing the ‘Magical’ creation, made possible by the unique experience of Kim and her Heat Press techniques.” MK, Manchester.
The workshop provides the opportunity to create a design and transfer it onto fabric for use in a fashion, sewing or craft project.
Priced at just £30 it’s a lovely, great value experience for some quality ‘you time’ or a lovely early Mother’s Day gift.
I have wanted to create a book since I was 7 years old.
The fluffy white Maltese Terrier Dog Sam has featured in each of my paper cut pictures, so I started to feel a story was emerging.
Seaside Village. Copyright Kim
‘Sam’s Adventures’ came to mind and I decided to sign up for a Writing Children’s Books workshop with London-based publishers Nosy Crow. I ticked the box for the option for a manuscript review, and then was shocked when I received an email asking for the manuscript a good time ahead of the course. I swung into action and started to build a book from the pictures I had created.
I didn’t enjoy the process and the publisher’s MD didn’t like the outcome, as the character wasn’t prominent enough in the illustrations.
In the time between sending the manuscript and the course I had a burst of courage in my painting ability and I decided to paint the character and hoped to capture his spirit.
Here are some of the watercolour and acrylics paintings I created of Sam.
Meet Sam – Copyright Kim
Detail from the book – Copyright Kim
Book design in progress – Copyright Kim
Sam was my brother’s dog, we had great adventures in the Alps and Provence together. I loved him very much and although it would be wonderful to have a dog of our own for the time being creating stories for Sam will have to suffice.
Meet Sam – Copyright Kim
On the theme of Sam the dog wanting to fly I created a range of artworks. I scanned my paintings and created a PDF file which I then uploaded to create an e-book through Kindle Direct Publishing. I’m proud to say that the book is now available online.
Update April 2018 – A hard copy of the book is available at my Folksy Shop
My conclusion:
The first book was about the scenes, the second book/ iteration was about the character. My challenge now is to find ways of putting the more developed character into unique environments and settings. When I achieve that I will share the outcome. Watch this space. You can do that by following the blog, just add your preferred email address in the box at the top sides of the page. I love welcoming new followers to the fold and won’t clog your inbox.
“My latest paper masterpiece, “Hot Days Eating Cool Ice Cream”. It is pretty with details and interest, always something more to see and packed with pictorial love from corner to corner.”
Read the full story:
I often have an idealistic view of what an event will be like. For instance say to me garden party and instantly an image conjures of pretty bunting flapping in the wind, smiling faces, beautiful colourful tablecloths, bright blooms, pink lemonade with ice glinting in the sun, gorgeous dresses and a cloud leisurely tracking across a vivid blue sky. My idealism can often lead to the reality being a little disappointing. I had seen this as a trait that was negative, that I was being naive and childishly silly.
But I have realised that it is this ideal world imagination that is the magic that can make my special kind of art.
My growing number of paper cut creations, finely crafted like a self-made jigsaw, come from this visual idealism.
Best seen in their original form the pictures are intricate and unique. In their creation is a calm happy place for me, one where I am in that sweet spot between consciousness and subconscious. Piece by piece, thought by thought I cut and stick to form a whole that when I step back I wonder how that came about.
When I was a youngster I would get frustrated that my art did not look like I had envisioned. That I could not recreate on paper the picture that I had in my head. But my paper artworks never start from a whole vision, it begins like a building, first the walls go in place, then I furnish the building with pretty furniture from my imagination and add personal items that belong to the imaginary owners, curated over their lives.
Ta-Da… My Latest Picture Revealed
I very recently completed what I feel is my latest masterpiece, “Hot Days Eating Cool Ice Cream”. Like the earlier smaller (A4) Beach Huts, Allotments and Ski Chalet (all in the strip above), it is pretty with details and interest, always something more to see, but this new piece is A3 and packed with pictorial love from corner to corner.
I created the Ice Cream artwork with new colour understanding after studying the relationships between colours. As a result it really pops off the page.
So here it is for your visual consumption. Have a Flake with that.
Hot Days Eating Cool Ice Cream – Copyright Kim
Hot Days Eating Cool ice Cream is a design made entirely from pieces of paper cut into shapes to make a bright, colourful work of art. The design feature an ice cream cafe on a sunny day. The ice-cream maker also sells the delicious ice creams out and about in the sparkly ice-cream van.
Two girls are at the cafe to enjoy ice-cream and a small white dog trots by to in the hope of a little chocolate or sweet treat.
In the distance people enjoy the fun and thrill of a rollercoaster ride and a plane flies overhead to spread the work about the wonderful ice-creams.
This is my first paper cut work that prominently features people. This was a challenge, at first I painted people and cut and added those, but later recreated them in paper and am happier with the paper characters.
Here are some details from the picture… (watermarked).
Of course Maltese Terrier Sam, as in each of the paper-cut pictures, is there – Copyright Kim
And now the fun starts on creating canvases, fabric and products which will take the picture out and about and on the move in the world.
Hot Days Eating Cool Ice Cream – Copyright Kim
I am seeking an art agent or art business mentor/manager to assist my art out into the world. Please share my post so that it can find its way to the ideal person to help.
If you’ve enjoyed this post here are related posts to feast your eyes and imagination on. Enjoy!
I will let the pictures do the talking on this post. Following my knee injury I got creative to aid visualisation, positively affirm and channel healing energy.
Patriotic pilot knee – I drew a smile on my knee to make it feel happier. I then thought that the brace hinges look like headphones. This then became the first knee art character.
Couture knee – my favourite, inspired by a magazine feature about hats
This couture knee character was warmly received on Facebook so I continued to be creative with my knee however following my Anterior Cruciate Ligament reconstruction surgery I was a little restricted on my knee art, so had to turn to the other knee and non contact art.
Please send love and healing light – don’t worry I
I didn’t want to risk contaminating my wound by doing anything directly on my dressings. So for this final, at this stage, piece of knee art I stuck stickers on acetate and captured on a photograph. The icons represent things which I will be able to do when healed and when I look at my knee I see those as opposed to the dressings. Where next? If you enjoyed this you might like to see my Knee Injury Drawings – Art Challenge 20 where I sketched my initial injury experiences – click here to view the post.
With #inktober in mind, and the instructional illustration prompt for #portfolioclub for August, I drew the elements of the recipe whilst travelling to Wembley Stadium and back by train.
Early work by Kim 
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