The Lavender Blue Dress snapshot

Just a really little peek at some of the linework and movement sketches I've been working on for my new book with Aidan Moffat and Cargo Publishing.  The Lavender Blue Dress will be out later this year; I'm certainly having a lot of fun illustrating it! Sorry I can't show you more right now, but keep your eyes out for updates.

Horrocks at The Harris

Really lovely seeing some of the Horrocks collection and sketchbooks at The Harris Museum in Preston recently. The patterns are absolutely gorgeous!  Vintage inspiration is the best.

The Staves

A couple of weeks ago I was lucky enough to get tickets to the BBC 6 Music festival in Manchester (they sold out in five minutes, yikes!).  Some brilliant musicalians like The National and Lykke Li were playing, as well as my most recent musical crush The Staves.  

The main stage was gorgeously adorned with trees and fairylights, which really complimented The Staves folky, lady-harmonies and guitar strums. 

The show really inspired me, and I thought it would be a nice little project to illustrate a portrait of the sisters in my time away from book-illustration (sometimes, you just gotta take a break from it!).  Luckily, the ladies themselves had a look at the illustration and liked it, so phew! I'm always a little cautious with portraits! 

If you haven't already checked out The Staves, I'd recommend them if you like really pin-point gorgeous harmonies and relaxed, warm, folky sounds.

National Art Fund Pass experiences and review

Last year, I was contacted by the very lovely blogger Fritha Strickland to try out an National Art Fund Pass.

Founded by Art Fund, the pass gives you access to hundreds of cultural attractions across the UK - art galleries, museums and historic buildings (you can sometimes get money off food and drink too - yum!).

The pass arrives with a great little handbook and information pack about all the places you can use your pass, and it comes with a free subscription to Art Quarterly magazine - which is full of interesting news and reviews of the arty and cultural.

I have to say that although I travel a lot, I haven't been able to use the Art Pass on it's own yet as a lot of the featured attractions do overlap with other memberships; such as the National Trust, 2 for 1 London by train or places with standard free entry (though with these you usually get a discount on certain exhibitions etc). 

You do get some killer entry discounts at some great places, but I'd definitely recommend that if you're thinking about getting an Art Pass you should know someone else who has one as well.  For me it was just a case of when I stumbled across somewhere I could get in for free, my family or SO would have a hefty price tag for their entrance - so we often opted for other attractions. For example in Stratford-Upon-Avon you can save a huge £12 on entrance to Shakespeare's Birthplace with the pass; and although I'd considered having a nip round on my own, I wanted to spend time at places I could visit with my family.  You can get Double or Family Art Fund Pass cards, which I think would be brilliant (and completely solve this problem!), but as a non driver living a bit-too-far away from major attractions, I have to say I struggled.

I think it's also worth checking where you can visit on the map before purchase; as I said, there's some really brilliant places to check out, but I found that unfortunately the majority of them are in London or other cities which aren't as accessible for me (being out in the North Western sticks).

Snapped at the V&A last Summer after visiting The Tudors exhibition

Some of the places I visited with Art Pass (although many of these did overlap with National Trust, two for one deals or general free entry - many have 50% off exhibitions with the Art Pass):



So all in all, I really do love what the Art Fund are doing with this. I think it's brilliant that by purchasing an Art Pass you are supporting thousands of galleries and museums, protecting the country's cultural assets and helping to make art accessible for everyone.  The Art Quarterly magazines are great, although as an illustrator I'd have to say I'd like more contemporary illustration featured in there as well as classic art practices or modern art (although I must say there have been a couple of goooorgeous editorial illustrations like one in the pictures above by Matthew Cook).  It's a good feeling to be part of a community with update letters on art events in your area, and all the visit options with the art map.  However, as I said, if you don't live in a city and don't have particularly reliable transport links then do make sure that you have a buddy with an Art Fund pass, a Double or Family pass - after all, art is best shared.

Find out more about Art Fund or get yourself a National Art Pass here.

Note: I was invited by Art Fund to try out the Art Fund Pass for a year free of charge and write my honest opinion of it. I was not paid to write this review.

Bird lady

This was just a quick sketch to wind down the work day.  Sometimes, you just gotta get those doodles out.

Tesco Magazine Illustrations

Hi everyone! I'm totally excited to announce that Tesco Magazine's January issue is now out and features my illustrations throughout their Big Health Pick & Mix section! Check them out on pages 7-21.

I have to say I made more than one excuse to 'need' to go to Tesco to check if the issue had hit the shops (I just had to have that butternut squash, okay?).  With a readership of over 7 million, it's pretty damn exciting to be involved.



It was a brilliant brief to work on, illustrating various health and well-being tips for the new year - lots of exercises, yummy food and activities to draw.  There's a colour code for the different sections too, so it was great fun to work with a limited colour palette and keep things simple.

I worked with Tesco earlier this year illustrating kid's word games and activities on their website (have a look here - Dinosaurs, pirates and trains!) but it was fantastic to work in print with them.  I've been edging my way into more editorial work to go alongside my narrative illustration, and this has been my first major editorial brief to work on from scratch, so I'm chuffed.  Hopefully you'll be seeing more in the future!

Make sure you pick up a copy, they're free! There's some really great tips in the article, and some other ace features throughout (there's also a killer Tiger Beer advert illustration by Victo Ngai, goooorgeous!).  If you're super keen you can browse the magazine right now online.

Keep in touch, buddies! More news soon. x

Five Years, the New Year and New News.

Hi everyone, I hope you're all having a great New Year so far!

Earlier this week it was the anniversary of me and my Mister being together for five years.  I illustrated this little portrait of us as a gift for him!

It's definitely fun to mix up the commissioned work with personal pieces sometimes; and this was great for me to flex those wacom-tablet muscles again after a long digital-illustration-free Christmas break (everything's been pencil and paper!).  

Just to keep you updated; I've been working really hard on the new children's book 'The Lavender Blue Dress' and you'll most often find me buried under piles and piles of storyboards for it - it's absolutely brilliant to work on, I can't wait to show you all.

I've also recently finished a book cover for Egmont's Heritage collection, which will be coming out later in the year (more details on this when I can release them!).  You'll also find my work in an upcoming issue of Tesco Magazine (again, I'll post about this when I can!).  

I'm also looking forward to being involved in the upcoming FLIGHT exhibition at Soup Kitchen, Manchester starting 27th Feb! Lots of 3D paper niceties by some seriously talented folks. More info here. 

So thankfully the year's started out well for me, I hope it's been ace for you too! Keep in touch, buddies! Let me know how you're doing! :-)

Emmeline

Pick Wick Magazine - Issue #1 feature

Last week I was honoured to feature in the very first issue of the completely gorgeous Pick Wick magazine.

There's a great little interview with me about my childhood and how it's influenced the way I work in illustration today.  Aside from a bit of an editing-whoopsie with the surname typo (actually happens quite a lot..) it's a really lovely feature with insightful questions and a double page spread of my Wren and The Bear illustration.  

My favourite question was definitely 'Funniest childhood memory?', I was a bit of an imaginative (odd?) child:

'I remember every April Fool's day I would run in to my Mum and Dad's bedroom and shout "MUM! DAD! THERE'S A DRAGON IN THE GARDEN!" of course they played along checking outside, and I sure thought I was quite the trickster!'

There are a couple of other really fantastic illustrators featured as well - the super talented Genie Espinosa and fellow Enchanted Forest exhibitor Emma Block (yup, also very talented!).  The magazine is in fact edited by the lovely Sara Cullen too (I have some of her prints on my walls). Talent everywhere!

Liverpool based Pick Wick showcases all kinds of creative practice from artists to furniture designers and reports on music, fashion, art and events.  Definitely pick up a copy if you can, I for one can't wait to get my mits on their future issues! www.facebook.com/pickwickmagazine @PickWickMag

£10 off limited ed Wild Ride screenprints

You can now get a huge £10 off these limited edition Wild Ride screenprints with code WILDRIDE10 in my shop!  This offer is only on until Christmas, so get your orders in before they're all snapped up (well, hopefully!).  www.emmelineillustration.mysupadupa.com

News! The Lavender Blue Dress picture book

I'm pleased to announce I'll be illustrating a brand new picture book penned by Aidan Moffat and published by Cargo Publishing!

"The Lavender Blue Dress" will be out for Christmas 2014.  Take a look at this great article in The Scotsman today all about it!

http://www.scotsman.com/lifestyle/books/arab-strap-singer-aidan-moffat-pens-children-s-book-1-3191767 

There's some great quotes in there about the book (and a few from me!) 

“Aidan has crafted a sweet and heartwarming tale that shows why he’s one of the best lyricists working today, while Emmeline’s award-winning illustrations really bring the words to life. I really hope when parents read this to their children at bedtime that they are as excited by it as the kids."

I'll keep you updated as the producution rumbles along! Keep your eyes peeled for news.

Spotted at the V&A

Look what I spotted in the V&A giftshop this weekend...my 'I love getting lost with you' cards from Ohh Deer! If you want to bag one yourself (or a print) head over here, there's 20% off at the moment too as it's Ohh Deer's second birthday today!  http://ohhdeer.com/artists/emmeline-pidgen

Design Manchester 13 - conference review

Thursday 31st October saw the Design Manchester 13 festival come to a height with a half day conference full of talks, portfolios and interesting issues centering around the theme of longevity in design.

Some of the creative industry's top dogs came together in the gorgeous Manchester Town Hall to discuss these themes and give their takes on what makes design timeless both aesthetically and ergonomically.  There was a full crowd in attendance, students and professionals alike and it was great to see such enthusiasm for the creative arts and the issues surrounding it in this area.

I was lucky enough to win a ticket to these talks from Design Week who were sponsoring the event (thanks to them!); and it was fab to see the G F Smith paper team supporting another brilliant creative event after they also sponsored the Artcrank Manchester exhibition I was recently involved in.  

The schedule consisted of a number of talks from the likes of Andrew Shoben from Greyworld (great interactive public design), Kate Moross (super trendy "jack of all trades" illustrator, film-maker and music designer), Ant and Ed from Colophon (a great little type foundry who I really admire for not taking shortcuts), Nat Hunter and Mark Shayler from The Great Recovery (founders of a really interesting project promoting design change to save the world) and music graphic designer Mark Farrow in conversation with Angus Montgomery of Design Week.

I found Nat and Mark's talk particularly interesting; they really had strong ideas on the practical uses of design that lasts, as well as products specifically designed with a view to creating items with a life cycle (easier disassembly, reuse and recycling) rather than a standard linear model in today's consumer-orientated world ("Buy this new shiny thing now! Throw away your old one that still works! Because you can!").  I do feel passionately that we as designers really do have a responsibility and a part to play in designing with these issues in mind.  As a book illustrator it can often be hard, but I have jumped at the chance to work with publishers who have pledged to plant a tree for each book sold and I'm always keen to work with and support environmentally friendly companies and causes.  Find out more about their cause at greatrecovery.org.uk

I really enjoyed Kate Moross's talk, out of all the guest speaking designers I feel that her work is in the most similar vein to mine as her projects often cross into illustration.  It was upbeat and interesting, touching on the idea of the longevity of careers and adapting to survive in the industry.  It did seem though that at some points that Kate was advocating the idea of working for free, as she had done in her early career, and I have to say that I really do disagree with that. 

I know that there have been people who's success has been based on that one client who saw that piece they did for free, and that in some cases it works for them and might really be worth it, but in the bigger picture I feel it's a problem.  The issue is that a lot of clients who can actually afford to pay designers know that they can get illustration work for free, so why would they ever pay a fair wage? If there will always be a stream of illustrators willing to work for "exposure" then the pool of fair-paying clients will reach some seriously low levels, and aren't those the clients we're all aiming for in the first place?  How can we ensure the longevity of a fair creative industry and our own careers if there are so many clients that don't need to pay you for your work? 

The creative industries are so over-saturated as it is, we need to work together to make sure we can all actually make a living out of our businesses and keep the very, very important creative sectors alive.  It's all too easy to feel like work in return for "exposure" or crowd-sourced competitions are your only options as a graduate but it's not always the case, try to focus on building your portfolio and style yourself through mock-commissions and personal projects until the right commission comes along - there are clients out there who will pay you, and it's only fair.  

I feel that this is a really important issue that the design conference could have discussed more, especially with the longevity theme, but if you have any thoughts do comment and we'll have a chat ourselves!

There was a great little Q&A session at the end of the talks, with all the guest speakers as well as Peter Saville and professor David Crow. This, along with the slot just before it where Angus Montgomery interviewed Mark Farrow, gave the structure of the conference a nice shake up. It felt a lot more natural to have the speakers discuss together what longevity in design means, and to answer some of the questions from the audience (I did ask about the work for free issue!). 

I think sometimes in a big conference like this it's hard for the speakers to break away from being reliant on showing the portfolio, rather than getting really in depth about how each section might apply to the theme and the issues around it, I think this would be the case with most people - still, it was great to see a breadth of work from each speaker, especially from those in design fields slightly different from my own.

The Manchester Town Hall itself is an absolutely gorgeous building, with huge arches, lavishly painted ceilings and spiral staircases almost everywhere. It was pretty hard for me to resist the temptation to sneak around the corridors feeling like I was on some sort of quest. There was a great atmosphere at the conference, and we all gorged ourselves on brews and biscuits in the mid-conference break. Unfortunately I couldn't stay long at the after-conference social at Kosmonaut, but I think that would have been a nice opportunity to have a chat with both the speakers and attendee designers - let me know how it went!

Design Manchester 13 was a great opportunity to re-connect with the local design community and discuss some really important issues that affects all of us in the industry. Thanks so much to all the organisers, supporters, sponsors and attendees! I'm looking forward to the events next year!