It's been a while since my last blog post.. I used to love reading blog posts and forums, if you're reading this, hello! 👋 I wanted to share a lovely project I was lucky to work on last year. I created a black and white illustration titled 'Stargazing' for the Book of Hopes, a collection of stories and illustrations on the theme of hope, edited by Katherine Rundell and published by Bloomsbury in answer to the pandemic, with proceeds going to the NHS Charities Together. The book provides words and pictures to comfort, inspire and entertain children. The ebook is available to read for free on the Literacy Trust website. The Book of Hopes 'Stargazing' I loved working on this illustration, not only as a welcome distraction in a worrying time, but also to find a home for a little character which had been popping up in my sketchbook for a while. I've nicknamed him the 'Snoogaloo'. Here he is in my sketchbook: As you can see in the top picture I've al...

Last month we had a FAB-u-lous party to celebrate the publication of Fabio Flamingo 'The Case of the Missing Hippo' by Laura James (illustrated by myself) We held the party in the super chic Boston Tea Party in Bath and the dress code was 'think pink'... Needless to say, it was a pretty special night! Thank you to everyone who came and made it such a wonderful evening, and to Mr B's Emporium for providing us with all the books. Here they are in all their neon glory And here we are, busy signing away But of course, my biggest thank you goes to Laura and the Bloomsbury team for being so brilliant. Go team Fabio! A few weeks later I popped to Mr B's and painted a Fabio display in the shop window. It was so exciting to see the Fabio books on the shelves "out in the wild"! 😊

Recently I've been exploring new visual ideas and I loved drawing these birds. It's been great pushing how I create and think this busier style of illustration may be an exciting path to follow... We shall see!

I was saddened to hear the news that Michael Bond passed away a few days ago. Paddington Bear has always been a favourite of mine (along with many others!). It's a timeless classic and a really wonderful children's book. 🐻

For World Book Day this year I visited my old school (eek!) with the super talented Michelle Robinson  for a fun day of 'Monkey's Sandwich' activities. Incase you didn't know, 'Monkey's Sandwich' is our shiny new book published by Harper Collins. Here it is: And incase you've never seen our faces, here we are! We had a great day inventing, drawing and constructing some crazy sandwiches, reading stories and generally monkeying around. Here's our towering sandwich featuring squirty cream AND mustard... Looks tasty, right? For me, the best part of the day was live-drawing some absolutely  bonkers sandwiches, fuelled by the * interesting*  and * unique*   suggestions from the kids. Yes - there's an octopus, T-Rex and a car in this sandwich... (please excuse my bad case of Illustrator's 'claw hand') We also learned 'How to draw Monkey' step by step, following this handy sheet:  ...

Hello and a Happy New Year to you! 2016 was a busy year for me and I wanted to share a few highlights. For starters, my Dad returned home after a 18 month stint in hospital. My family adjusted to life with disability, undoubtedly the best bit being Dad's new mobility scooter - a thing of wonder, providing hours of entertainment. Over summer I decided to make the most of flexible Freelance holiday and managed to get away hiking in both Norway and the Swiss Alps. It was just the dose of nature I needed to recharge my creative batteries. A happy Emily on a Norwegian mountain top  👌 With the help of my Mum I rediscovered some of my earlier works (i.e. clearing out the attic). It was a real joy going over my old artwork, I recommend digging out your old stuff - if you can find it! I'm particularly proud of this peacock: (the Dino-foot picture isn't bad either) On the work side of things, 2016 proved to be a hectic year. I finished off illustrating my secon...

This year I decided to visit the Bologna Children's Book Fair. It's been three years since I last went as a final year student back in 2013. It was a hugely different experience this time round, I had more industry experience, more work in my portfolio and an excellent Agent to go with. I found walking around the halls a bit overwhelming. There are so many Publishers and different disciplines. It really made me consider where I fit in the picture. Where does my work fit now? Where could I take my work in the future? Where do I want my work to go in the future? It was great to chat to everyone and especially nice to meet so many new people. I really appreciated the feedback and guidance on my work, especially book ideas. I took a couple of new book ideas with me. I had a mad rush preparing promo material, but I'm glad I had something to leave behind. I thought the penguins looked quite funny on teenie-tiny postcards. Anyway, here's a snap of the 'I...

It's been a while since I last updated. Back in January my Dad was admitted to hospital for major brain surgery to remove a Cavernoma . Thankfully the operation went well and he has spent the last year recovering in hospital. I've kept my head down because there has been so much to deal with and so much to do. 12 months later Dad is still in hospital, but I'm very pleased to say he is well on the road to recovery. (a few Dad snaps) Maybe I've noticed it more this year because of family worries, but working as a Freelance Artist can be tough - even with a brilliant agent! There's a pressure to line up the next job, balance part time work, keep your finances in check and taxes paid. For a while I was questioning whether my work was good enough? I fell into the trap of comparing myself to other illustrators, artists, even my friends. But what I wanted to say in this blog post is just how much I appreciate my job. It's amazing how drawing can be a hobby, thera...

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So it's the Bologna time of year again. Unfortunately I'm not going to the Children's Book Fair this year, but no fear - my work is! I designed this promotional poster to go along to Bologna with my lovely agents.  I hope they find nice new homes, mine's already up in the studio. ;-)

Yesterday was an exciting day because copies of the 'Illustrated Book of Quotes and Sayings' finally arrived! Its nice to see my zoo  illustration in a book. I'll be toting copies around London next week, hopefully finding a few nice new homes. Its a super cool book, show casing Falmouth Illustration students. Everyone should buy a copy. :-)