New Work for reform

Here is the new artwork I produced for Lucy Berry's column in Reform magazine. This month focuses on Lucy's mother and how she barely recognizes anyone, even those in her own family. This appears on the surface to be very sad and although it is difficult for the loved ones around her, Lucy's mother seems incredibly happy and leads a very simple life, which is such a blessing. I wanted to convey her as looking content but with a somewhat vacant look and include her grandson, Sav in the illustration too.

Wow, Time Flies...

Well, it's been several months since my last post and that is because I now have a beautiful baby girl, called Ruby, who is just 4 months old and takes up a lot of her mum's time (but in a very good way.) While she is having a nap (quite rare during the day!) I thought I'd take a few minutes out to share the artwork I had been doing right up to having Ruby.

I still try to illustrate here and there but I don't get very long, plus I really want to enjoy this time with my daughter as I imagine these precious moments of her development whiz by in a flash.

So here are a couple of images for The Sunday Express magazine (September, 2011).

I have also been busy with the images I do for Lucy Berry's piece for Reform magazine I did a few back to back so they had a stock pile to use in the first few months. I still manage to keep these going but they have to be done much quicker these days!

Blue Suede Shoes Exhibition

Hello, firstly I would like to apologise for my lack of posts recently. It has been a busy few months and as I have now reached full-term in my pregnancy, it could be a while before I post anything on here in the near future, once my baby arrives...but I will try!

I would love to tell you about the new Gumbo Illustration show: 'Blue Suede Shoes'. It is in fact the second time this exhibition has been shown but this time we are hosting it in a central London location, at the wonderful Nancy Victor Gallery.

I couldn't make the private view (due to my pregnancy), held on 6th October but I hear it was a real corker with a fantastic turn-out. The show only runs for two weeks so if you are in the area and want to check out our collaborative project, please make sure to get there before 21st October. Booklets of our work, as well as limited edition prints from the show are available to purchase and I hear there has been a lot of interest so get in fast!

Sunday Express

Here is the latest illustration, created for the Sunday Express magazine. It accompanied a short story about a young woman who is moving out of her flat and looks through the bottom drawer of her grandmother's chest of drawers to find old slips of paper with past worries written on them. The idea is that you shut them away in a 'worry drawer' and forget about them...

New Work

Well, it's been a bit longer than I'd like since my last post but I have been a busy lady and what with it being summer and all, I've had a fair few short breaks around the country visiting friends and family. All very lovely of course and being nearly 7 months pregnant now, does make me slightly less productive but I have managed to squeeze in a few illustrations lately.

The first is one I did a little while ago for Reform magazine. It was quite a nice illustration to do as Sav (the teenage son in this monthly column) is thinking about his heritage, being a mixture of English and Jamaican and I put together a little sketchbook, which meant I could incorporate pictures from previous illustrations.



The Second piece I have done recently is another illustration for The Sunday Express magazine. I have just sent another one off today but this is the one from a couple of weeks ago:

Single Mum for Reform

Hello Folks, yet another illustration for Reform magazine. This is the one I was telling you about recently i.e. Lucy's account of mental illness and the difficulty this can bring if you want to adopt when fully recovered: "The whole decision became suddenly a paper one, about an illness which, for me, was finished; and for them was not. So Sav never had a sibling."

Lucy Berry's Single Mum Column

Hi Folks,

Here is the May illustration for Lucy Berry's 'Single Mum' column for Reform magazine. The focus of this short story was Lucy and Saville's beloved dog Janice, who has had such an integral role in their family lives.

"I remember the day Saville discovered that animals were not generally attributed with having souls. He simply couldn't believe it. His vehement argument proceeded along the lines that few people have human friends as good, reliable, loyal, entertaining or willing-to-do-what-you-want-to-do-yourself as their dog friends."

In next month's June edition of Reform, I illustrate Lucy's story on coping with mental illness and how this can effect your life way after the symptoms themselves have disappeared.