WACA

Disrupting the chronological order of my travel illustrations, (not that anyone other than myself would notice or care) because I started an observational drawing whilst at a cricket game in Parth, and wanted to finish it whilst it was fresh in my mind!

I don’t do observational illustration half as much as I’d like to, and I don’t have any particular interest in cricket, but my partner Tom does, and convinced me to go by saying it was only a very small, casual game, and would be a relaxing environment I could draw in, and it was! I’m glad he did as I think it’s super helpful to mix up your process when drawing. I mostly draw from photos, which works a treat, but I always find capturing a live observation gives you a more unique perspective, and loosens the need for perfectionism.

We attended the WACA to see West Australia vs New South Wales. I barely paid any attention the sport, as I was much more interested in people watching in the audience. There were probably less than 50 attendees, and I’m pretty sure we were the only guests under the age of 60. Most of them, like me, had a book or a newspaper with a crossword to give half their attention to 🗞️

Travel Illustration Number 3 🚐

For the last 3 weeks, as we’ve travelled up the East Coast of Australia, from Sydney to Cairns, we’ve been staying in the most adorable little camper van. Travelling in a van has been a dream of mine for a few years now. I’ve done long weekends in the UK, but this was different… and required stepping out of my comfort zone a little, but it was 100% worth it, and definitely met all of my expectations!

We rented our van from Camperman; it’s not the most luxurious of vehicles, but it’s allowed us to travel at our own pace, stopping at all the sites and hidden gems along the way, and to me, it feels like the best way to do it!

I love so many different aspects of van life, and some other bits not so much… but this illustration aims to capture my favourite part. The ability to drive to basically any and every beach, park up right by the water with the best view, almost always having it entirely to ourselves, having a quick swim in the sea, and it being so hot but also nice and breezy, that your swimmers are dry again before setting off 😌🫶🏻👙

Hoping to capture many more van life moments as illustrations in the future!

Sydney Travel Illustration

With my time away, I wanted to take a break and shift my perspective from only drawing images that look decorative or ‘picture perfect’, instead I want them to be more storytelling, single page narratives, and POV’s capturing moments.

For the last 2 years or so, I’ve more often than not, made art with the intention to make into prints. This is because I’ve been pushing my work in the retail direction, by doing more regular markets and selling in more shops. Which has been great, and something I’d love to continue to do, but right now I’m really craving drawing just for me, capturing perspectives, and what a better time to do it, so here’s another attempt at that! This illustration aims to collate most of the parts of Sydney I was lucky enough to experience recently. In the few days we were in Sydney, we caught trains, buses, and ferries, and saw Sydney Opera House, Harbour Bridge, and the Botanical Gardens, and then walked from Bondi, to Brontë, and to Clovelly beach! 

Since then we’ve picked up a lil campervan and driven from Sydney, stopping at loads of amazing spots, and are now about halfway through Queensland on route to arrive in Cairns in about a week. I’m much preferring the quieter beaches and ridiculous abundance of wildlife in the more rural areas. I have hundreds of photos and a long list of things I want to draw to try and capture these experiences!

It’s been about 2 weeks since leaving Sydney and I’ve only just finished this drawing. It’s really difficult fitting in the time to draw all my ideas, alongside adventuring, plus a couple of commissions that are helping to fund the trip, but I love having a project to work on! I can already feel some themes developing amongst my ideas, and I’m trying to be kind, and remind myself none of these drawings have to be perfect, as they are just for me! 

First illustration of the year!

In a conscious effort to draw more this year, here’s my first attempt. An observational illustration capturing part of my recent journey to Sydney, stoping for a lay-over in Shanghai!

I never set New Year’s resolution, as I don’t think I’ve once stuck to them, but more vague goals and themes seem to work, so this year I’m hoping to draw more, and one of the areas I’m hoping to focus on, is capturing more memories of travels and hobbies, and also drawing more food focused illustrations. So here’s a bit of both in one! This was made far easier as I just had 30+ hours to hand with very little distractions thanks to the longest journey of my life… so I can’t promise the next ones will be quite so detailed, but it’s a great way to start.