Illustrating a puzzle
Hello everyone,
Today I would like to share with you some process behind a lovely collaboration with Calie from Callisto puzzle.
Calie contacted me at the start of the year and I was really enthusiastic about her proposition. I had never made an illustration for a puzzle before and I was really fond of the theme which was “Myths and Legends” .
I had previously joined the Instagram drawing challenge “Folktale week” (see here) and was excited to work on something similar. It also gave me the freedom and opportunity to work on a different topic and aesthetic compare to my usual animals and plants.
After some research and thoughts my choice came down to two legends: an Irish tale called “The children of Lir (the story of four children who turned into swans after their jealous stepmother put them under a spell). The second one being the tale of the Selkie (a variation on the mermaid concept in Scottish, Irish, Icelandic and Faroese folklore), a mythological creature that can shapeshift between seal and human form by removing or putting on it’s seal skin.
My preference went to the Selkie, as it felt closer to home (since I live in Scotland) and I’ve always felt fascinated by this tale.
Kopakonan (The Seal Wife) in Mikladalur on Kalsoy, Faroe Islands
There are a few variations of the tale, the one I picked is probably the most famous: the Selkie wife. It tells the story of a fisherman who steals a female selkie's skin, finds her naked on the sea shore, and forces her to become his wife. But the wife will spend her time in captivity longing for the sea, her true home, and will often be seen gazing longingly at the ocean. One day she finds her skin that had been hidden, returns to the sea ans abandons her family behind (she had children with the fisherman).
In one version, the selkie was never seen again (at least in human form) by the family, but the children would witness a large seal approach them and "greet" them plaintively.
I find this tale really appealing, even though it starts with a cruel kidnapping. The Selkie wife loved her children but the call of her home was stronger. I like to imagine that she sometimes came back near the shore, as a human or a seal, and thinks of her children with love and melancholy. That’s the picture I had in mind when thinking of an illustration representing the tale. I was also excited at the idea of painting a large seascape with a moody sky!
Now that I had a vague idea about the aesthetic I wanted it was time to start sketching and oh boy! This part gave me a hard time!
Obviously the biggest challenge for me was to draw a human figure, which is something I’m really not use to. The fact that it would be a half naked woman wearing a seal skin really was making it even more difficult…
A Mermaid. Painting by John William Waterhouse
I started doing some research on Pinterest and quickly stumbled upon this beautiful painting by Waterhouse, which I was so obsessed with years ago (I had a passion for mermaid and sea related Art when I was younger). I love everything about this painting: the languorous pose, the texture of the hair, the shininess of the fish scales, the colour of the sea etc.
The Siren. Painting by John William Waterhouse
The first sketches
The main difficulty was to decide how to draw the Selkie. I realised there are many many ways to draw a human figure, it quickly felt a bit overwhelming as I’ve had very little experience when it comes to this. Should I try to draw her in a realistic way or a more cartoonish, stylish way?
I started by sketching a few human figures, trying to figure out the pose and attitude I wanted for the character. I imagined a melancholic scene by the sea, and I pictured the Selkie holding a lantern (I gave up on this idea afterwards). I was so unhappy with all the ideas and sketches I made that I quickly started to doubt the process. Nothing felt right, and after several days of failed attempts I was feeling discouraged and clueless!
After stepping away for a while I decided to let go of my desire to get the “prefect” Selkie. She was part of a bigger picture, did it matter that much how I drew her eyes or painted her hair?
I put the Selkie character on hold to focus on the seals (oh joy to be back to animals!), which felt more like home as I had previously sketched and painted some of these lovely creatures earlier this year (see my blog article).
A charming seal spotted during one of my coastal walks.
Afterwards it was time to focus on the larger picture and try different narratives and compositions.
I ended up with two ideas. The left one being an underwater scene, with a few seals gracefully swimming around the Selkie. My heart went for the one on the right, as I was feeling particularly inspired to paint a moody sky and a larger seascape.
Colour and movement
As soon as I started working on this project, I immediately visualised a tormented sky with plenty of lines and movement. I’ve always felt very inspired by the moody atmospheres of the seaside and wanted to capture the strong energy of the wind, waves and clouds.
The Starry Night. Painting by Vincent van Gogh
Van Gogh’s paintings immediately came to my mind. I went to the Van Gogh museum in Amsterdam 15 years ago but sill remember vividly the effect it had on me. Seeing his paintings in person, the intensity of the colours, the boldness of the lines and the incredible energy that emanates from his technique, was truly a unique experience!
Wheat Field with Cypresses
I decided it was enough planning ahead, after a quick digital colour test I was ready to dive in. I wanted to go with the flow and keep the process as intuitive as possible.
I wanted to depict a stormy sky, threatening clouds and heavy rain but a bit of light too, lots of energy and movement (similar to the type of skies we often have here in Scotland!)
And here is the finished piece! Despite the initial rough start I truly enjoyed the process and feel I’ve learnt a few things along the way. It was really refreshing to be working on something different and I would be happy to have more opportunities to work more on landscapes in the future!
I’m quite happy with the result (especially the sky!) and excited to bring a bit of Scottish folklore to a made in France puzzle company.
There’s always something quite satisfying about seeing an illustration being turned into a product!
Last note about the puzzles: they are made in France, composed of 1000 pieces and measure 690 x 490 mm. More information on the Callisto website.
This article is now coming to an end, thank you for reading me! I hope you enjoyed having a little peek at the process behind this lovely collaboration and you found it interesting! This was such an instructive and fun project to work on, a reminder how important it is to sometimes keep pushing through a rough process! Be creative and don’t be scared to make mistakes!
That’s it for today my dears, I wish you all the loveliest Autumn!
Cécile
Hello September
Hello everyone and happy September! I hope you all had a lovely summer holiday and are now ready to soak up the Autumn vibes (or Spring vibes if you are in the southern hemisphere).
As mentioned in my previous blog post this has been a particular summer for me, with a few deadlines coming (including a baby in Autumn!), I was only able to take two weeks off. But I made the best out of it! I particularly enjoyed the few days we spent in a wonderful cabin in the woods, what a magical place! I had taken some books and embroidery with me to keep busy for a few days but I ended up sitting on the outdoor couch and not doing anything most of the time.
Hello everyone and happy September!
I hope you all had a lovely summer holiday and are now ready to soak up the Autumn vibes (or Spring vibes if you are in the southern hemisphere).
The Scottish summer wasn’t the best weather-wise, we had such a gloomy and rainy July! But so far September has been gorgeous and I’m enjoying the few days of sunshine we’ve had in a row! Hopefully it stays like this for a while, nothing is more beautiful than a warm autumn sun shining through the trees when the leaves start turning orange!
As mentioned in my previous blog post this has been a particular summer for me, with a few deadlines coming (including a baby in Autumn!), I was only able to take two weeks off. But I made the best out of it! I particularly enjoyed the few days we spent in a wonderful cabin in the woods, what a magical place! I had taken some books and embroidery with me to keep busy for a few days but I ended up sitting on the outdoor couch and not doing anything most of the time. I wanted to truly savor each second there and there was so much to look at in these busy woods! Many birds (with big feeder hanging on a branch nearby), a family of red squirrels and we even saw a Pine Marten one evening (definitely the highlight of the stay)!
There were quite a lot of siskins, I had never seen so many in one place! What a gorgeous little bird, it truly was wonderful to be able to watch them from so close! The contrast between their yellow feathers and the darkness of the woods reminded me of some Renaissance paintings and the famous Chiaroscuro (Italian for “light-dark”).
Above: watercolour Siskins.
Below: a drawing live session in a wonderful little cafe with a view on a bird feeder. Lots of chaffinches! It felt nice to be drawing and painting so loosely!
Embroideries
Last year I decided to finally get my head around embroidery. I had been wanting to learn for a long time but didn’t really find the time or the courage to do so. After many trials and errors I can say that I’m quite happy with my skills now.
It wasn’t so much about learning the technical skills, but finding a way/style to embroider animals. I wanted to be able to make something pleasing to the eye, a bit stylish and not too realistic. I tried needle painting with one strand but it wasn’t for me (I enjoy the result but it takes so much time!). Besides, it’s not really the aesthetic I was looking for.
I now embroider with three strands and it works well for me. I don’t get lost into details and I like the result (it’s not as polished as with one strand).
After painting many chaffinches I was really looking forward to embroider one!
Below are a few sketches and ideas for my bird embroideries. I really enjoy finding some simple compositions with flowers and plants.
These are, I hope, the first series of many others. Embroidering is a wonderful craft… I savor the slow pace of it, the simplicity of the task and how magical the process is. It somehow makes me feel connected to the past, to the many generations of women who were embroidering near a fireplace in the evening or by a window during the day. There’s something very therapeutic about it, an opportunity to slow down and accept that certain things take time, it makes me feel grounded.
For me it’s mostly a holiday activity, as I find there’s always something more urgent to do when I’m working (and when the day is over I need to be up, go outside and move my body). I end up not embroidering for a few months and then going back to it when I’m off work. Besides, the good thing about this craft is that it’s light and easy to carry everywhere! One of the moments I cherish the most is going to a cafe with my partner, stay there for a couple of hours and embroider (or draw) while he’s reading. These are priceless and sacred moments of a simple life!
That being said I’m aware that things are going to change soon with the arrival of the little person. If I struggled to find the time to embroider before, what is it going to be with a baby! This is probably going to be one of these things that will be on pause for a few years I guess (along with wildlife photography).
But I know I’ll be back to it one day, and I’ll appreciate these moments even more!
The mission for this summer was to learn how to finish the back of my embroideries. Mission completed.
I’m happy to say that my first series of birds is now finished and will be listed in my shop later on this month!
Wood slices
And finally here is a little peek ate the wooden slices, Autumn edition!
I enjoy the tradition of designing these very much, I really wanted to carve out some time to paint and have them ready for Autumn.
Below are some research sketches, the plan was to be painting more ( I’m currently doing five), we’ll see if I have enough time to be painting a bit more, maybe next month.
Lastly, one of my summer tasks was to design the wee 2024 calendar! I’m happy to say it’s now available in my shop.
That’s it for today my dears, I wish you all the most delightful Autumn!
See you next time,
Cécile
Birds and seals, an experiment
Hello lovelies,
I hope you’re having a delightful summer filled with fruit salad, slow walks in Nature and lazy mornings!
Summer weather hasn’t really kicked in here in Scotland, other than a few days of warmth and sun in June, it’s been quite cloudy and wet… I’m not going to lie, it’s a bit tough on the mood (although seeing the heatwave and bushfires happening in Europe and other parts of the world is really upsetting… That being said, we wouldn’t mind a bit more warmth here…).
This year I’m working on two picture books (part of the same collection), It’s a lovely and exciting project but it’s extremely time consuming! I don’t have much time to do anything else (while squeezing in all the little tasks related to my shop). I’m trying to carve out the time to go for walks and make art for myself… It seems there aren’t enough hours in the day, which is frustrating.
This is quite new for me, until now I always had plenty of time to dedicate to my own personal projects and create products for my shop. Client work was sporadic.
I keep thinking it’s important to sometimes slow down and sketch a few things for myself. The project I’m working on requires lots of little details and precise attention. You know how much I love working for hours on the same piece, but I also need to sometimes go back to my sketchbooks and draw freely, spontaneously.
I recently went to a local birdwatching spot (Letham pool) and stumbled upon these Reed buntings. I enjoyed watching them chirping and rummaging in the reed plants. To begin with I thought there were collecting fluff to make a nest but in fact they seemed to be looking for something underneath (seeds?).
A few days later I felt the need to scribble and loosen up with my crayons. Inspired by the sepia tones of the birds and the plants, I started to apply colours and textures to a few pieces of paper, with the idea of making a collage afterwards. Again, I was improvising as I went, just curious to see where it would lead me.
I deliberately made this quite rough and spontaneous, the goal here was to assemble these interesting textures and see how they worked together.
Then I scanned this happy mess and tried to give it a bit of a cohesive look digitally.
And here is the result! It’s certainly messy but I like the energy and playfulness that emerges from it. I find that the colours and different textures of brush strokes and crayons compliment each other. Anyway, I couldn’t go wrong with it as the purpose of this little workshop was to play and relax.
Coastal path walk
You might remember my previous blog post A solitary retreat by the sea where I told you about the days I spent by myself on the coast. I had stumbled upon a bunch of seals but didn’t have my camera with me. A few weeks later I went back to the same spot, with my camera this time, hoping to see them again. And here they were, chubby and adorable, chilling on the rocks.
I always get ridiculously excited when I spot sea animals, as a person who grew up in the center of France, far form the coast, this is always an unusual and marvellous sight! When I tell Scottish people about the seal encounters they’re always surprised by my excitement, yes, a seal, and so what? It’s totally normal for them :)
Chubby blob!
When I was a kid I was obsessed with these animals, my ultimate dream was to swim with them (and not with dolphins like most people). I thought they looked like weird cats with no ears, I found them utterly cute and funny. Until a few years ago I had never spotted a seal in real life, and even to this day the magic is still here. I love observing them chilling on rocks looking so fat and clumsy, and yet see how agile they are once in the water.
Don’t worry, be happy
Back from my stay by the sea I felt inspired to draw and paint some simple sea scenes. Between two client projects I went back to my experiments and painted a few pieces of paper with blue and brown ink. Already a therapeutic process!
The idea was to create a small series of seascape collages and add some seals to them.
Some watercolour seals
I finally decided to scan the seals page and add them digitally. A mix between traditional and digital collage (recipe that worked well for my Advent challenge back in December).
I ended up having so much fun doing these! It looks quite different from my usual “style”, although I’m trying to step away from this notion of style, which feels limiting to me.
I enjoyed working with simple shapes and moody tones, the playfulness and a certain childishness of the result make me happy!
Unfortunately I didn’t have time to finish them (they were 4 collages in total), maybe another time!
Interestingly last month I was working on a client project involving seals, what a funny coincidence! Well, not really a coincidence as this is an illustration that will be turned into a puzzle. The theme of the collection being “Tales and legends”, I was free to pick and illustrate one tale of my choice (I chose a famous Scottish one!). I’ll tell you more about it when the puzzle is released at the end of this year.
Pure joy to be working with this blue palette! For this project I’m back to my good old Acryla gouache (still a challenge though as there is an important part dedicated to the seascape and it even involves a human character!)
That’s it for today my dears, I hope you enjoyed reading this random blog post and having a look at my creative experiments!
I wish you a wonderful summer, see you soon!
Cécile
A solitary retreat by the sea
Hello everyone,
I’ve been back home for a few days and felt like sharing with you some of the bits and pieces from my stay on the seaside earlier this month.
Hello everyone,
I’ve been back home for a few days and felt like sharing with you some of the bits and pieces from my stay on the seaside earlier this month.
I proposed to my friend to pet sit her dog for a few days while she spends some time back in her homeland. She hadn’t been able to go home for a while as she didn’t know what to do with her old doggie.
She lives in a little costal town and I thought this could be a great opportunity to experience a solitary retreat and soak up the seaside atmosphere, while I could help my friend to go back home and spend some time with her people.
I can’t start this blog post without saying a few words about the 16 years old dog, Poto. He’s such a sweet little thing, we really got along very well even though carrying him down and up the stairs four times a day was hard work (his back legs are really weak, he has to wear a harness with a strap that I was lifting up to help him walk). Poto couldn’t hear or see very well and was constantly in great demand of cuddles. His bliss was to fall asleep on my lap.
There’s something so incredibly touching about old animals (and some old humans too). They’re fragile and vulnerable, seeing an old dog or an old cat always makes me want to look after them. They’re defenceless and are in need of warmth and physical contact.
I definitely fell in love with Poto and even though he was a bit of a pain sometimes, we shared lots of funny and tender moments. Saying goodbye wasn’t easy… But I’m happy to know he’s back with his mama now.
A love for the seaside
The location of the flat is fantastic, with the beach literally at the doorstep. And even though I don’t live far way, only thirty minutes driving, being that close to the North Sea was purely wonderful.
One of my favourite things about living in Scotland is that you’re never far from the coast. And this, for me, is very special. Growing up in the centre of France, going to the sea meant at least five hours driving. It meant escape and holiday time.
There’s something so extraordinary soothing about the sound and smell of the waves, the beautiful vastness and openness. It has a calming and truly therapeutic effect on me. That’s why I appreciate being there on my own: I love the long and solitary walks, the wind carrying that delicious scent of seaweed and rain, the songs of shore birds.
Being there makes me feel grounded and puts things into perspective.
As you might guess it’s not really the Mediterranean seascape I’m the most attracted to. I prefer the Ocean (or the North Sea) on a moody day, when you barely see the line between sky and water, creating this delicate gradient of grey and blue.
Lovely textures and colours
Making Art
I went a couple of times to the neighbor town, waiting for the the low tide to be able to walk on the beach. These few days were really quite cold and humid, I needed to find shelter in a cosy cafe. I enjoy going for coffees on my own, sipping my beverage slowly while watching people or drawing in my sketchbook.
Some simple seaside scenes
I intentionally left my heavy camera at home but sadly forgot my binoculars… Which was really frustrating when I stumbled upon this bunch of seals chilling on rocks. I tried to go as close as I could and stayed there for a while, observing with delight these well rounded and plum creatures being so relax.
Low quality picture taken with my phone
Feeling inspired to make an illustration with one of these plump seals.
A five minutes loose sketch to capture the moment
Lovely contrast between the dark sky and the colourful cliffs.
Drawing the wildflowers I spotted along the way.
Walking on the beach is already an experience in itself. There so many little things to look at on the sand: seashells, driftwood, seaweeds and every now and then a dead bird reminding us that we are also part of the endless cycle of life and death.
Temporary exhibition of beach treasures. I quickly sketched them and added some watercolour once I was home.
And of course I had to draw some sea birds and other feathery friends I spotted on my walks.
I’ve always said that sketching and character research is my favorite part of making an illustration. I truly enjoy the freedom and spontaneity that drawing loosely without focusing on the result offers. This solitary retreat filled me with joy and inspiration. I appreciated the slow pace, the solitude and sketching all the little things and animals I spotted during my walks.
I’m now thinking I should keep making art in the form on Nature journaling. It combines my love for drawing and walking, it captures simple and happy memories and makes me feel grounded, at home. It helps me focus on the natural beauties that are still around me, instead of feeling this unbearable sorrow for what is gone.
As John Keats wrote: “The Poetry of earth is never dead”.
That’s it for now my dears, thank you for stopping by and reading me!
See you soon,
C.
January newsletter
Hello there and happy January! This is a long over due blog article, it's been quiet here lately… I don't know how other people manage to be consistent enough to publish on their blog every single month!
Also, I sometimes find I don't have anything exciting or interesting to share. That being said, blogs can also be about simple little things, can't they? It's a different pace from social media. In this article I’ll reflect on these past few months while showing you what I have been up to.
I love January very much, despite the lack of light and the real struggle to get up in the morning. It feels like a blank page, a fresh start. And while I don't have new resolutions or particular plans for this year, I just truly savour this feeling of a new beginning. After the intense socializing time of December, I appreciate getting back to my dear solitude.
I have a particular love for Winter. I used to suffer from seasonal depression for a big part of my life but paradoxically it hasn’t been the case since I moved to Scotland. Not logical knowing how “dreich” (Scottish word) it can get here :) I’m so fond of the muted colours, the dark and low skies, the misty atmospheres and the long walks on my own.
Crow in the mist
2022 was a great year in term of personal and creative growth. I did a CBT (Cognitive behavioural therapy) to tackle my insomnia, overcame a huge challenge by filming an online course (not released yet, more information to come in the next few months, eeek!), illustrated a picture book, joined a race (a duathlon, oh boy it was tough!) and learnt new skills (wildlife photography and embroidery).
Some birdies practice from a few months ago
I don't know how 2023 can compete with this, but I'm curious to know what it will bring regardless. I don't have expectations, I'm content with whatever happens as long as I'm able to keep making a living from my art, which fills my heart with joy every day (well maybe not every day, it has it's own challenges and struggles).
A wonderful end of afternoon at the beach. Low winter sun and lots of Sanderlings
Last year I also started to feel slightly bored and frustrated with my art and wanted to take an extra step to explore new paths and shake things up a bit. I'm always interested by the following questions: how to grow as an artist when your income relies on your style? How to evolve and start proposing a type of art that might not be as popular? How to keep having fun, exploring, taking risks?
Don't get me wrong, I love painting my pretty little animals with gouache, it does make me happy. But I don’t want to feel limited to a certain type of art because it’s what I’m known for.
Illustrating a book for the first time this year also made me realise that as much as I love painting scenes with gouache, my current style might not be the way I would like to work on my next book. I have so many ideas and visions in my head, and still a lot to explore. Which is wonderful.
Illustrating children’s books has never been a big dream of mine. But it has changed recently. I'm now thinking that I would love to write and illustrate my own story one day. But working on a stationery product and on a picture book are two different things. While my current style works, I think, quite well for greeting cards and other paper goods, I don’t think it’s the best fit for a book.
I decided I wanted to learn more and took a course on Domestika by Adolfo Serra called "introduction to children's illustration". This was a great decision! This course is so rich, inspiring, liberating! I felt really motivated to play and mess around with new techniques. Like in the old days.
One of the things I admire about Adolfo Serra the most is his capacity to work with an incredible variety of material. His style constantly changes and evolves. He actually says himself that he doesn’t really have a recognizable style, as he adapts his technique regarding the project he’s working on. I found this so revolutionary, in a world where inspiring artists are often obsessed about this “quest”. And it’s a question often asked: how did you find your style?
The students in this course are invited to illustrate three different scenes of a tale, with the techniques of their choice. I picked the “The Wolf and the Seven Young Goats”
One of my favorite pieces, unfinished (there should be seven little goats in the wolf’s stomach)
A few words about my journey
Before finding my voice and starting to make (progressively) a living with my art, I dedicated a long time experimenting with various techniques and topics. These were not easy times in term of lifestyle and money but I had SO MUCH fun! I was scribbling everything, everywhere, all the time. Animals, people, buildings, landscapes. Sometimes with the cheapest art supplies ever (we're talking about a £1 colour pencil box bought in a second hand store haha). These times were full of creative joy and excitement!
Fun collage explorations from 2018
Another 2018 sketchbook. Pretty sure these were made with acrylic and some sorts of pens. It was before discovering gouache!
Sketchbooks over the years.
These past few months have been filled, once again, with constant mess on the desk and stains of paint everywhere. Oh the pleasure to be making "ugly" art that nobody will see! We are so used to showing everything on social media, how delightful to paint something absurd with no structure or meaning for the sake of creating textures! The joy of grabbing the roughest brush or crayons and go crazy on the paper like a 5 years old!
Explosion of colours, Oct 2022
These visual studies made me feel connected to my inner child. It may not look good but it’s utterly therapeutic.
The Advent challenge
If you follow me on Instagram you know that I’ve been one of the hosts of the Advent challenge for a few years now. Doing it always gives me the festive mood, and I often use the illustrations I make to design Christmas cards for the following year.
This time I wanted to do things differently, since I had been working and experimenting with different techniques and mediums in the previous months. I took it as an opportunity to make something a bit different from my usual animal scenes with gouache.
I also wanted to see if I could use the texture research done previously and apply them to an illustration.
The plan was to create a little world slightly mysterious and dark, inspired by the beautifully melancholic winter walks. I decided to work on a limited and moody colour palette. Improvise with different mediums, without any concrete plan and see where it leads me.
Working on the colour palette and contrasts of textures
Various ideas for the announcement illustration
Bullfinches in Winter are an incredible sight, their little red chest seems so vibrant! I decided to add a couple for the announcement post. The idea was to make a simple scene, with a few branches, two birds and their little home.
This year we had only five prompts compare to the usual seven (which was a bit too much!). I didn’t feel particularly inspired by the prompts “Grandparents” and “Elf” but this, in my opinion, is one of the best things about drawing challenges. The point is not only to make an illustration for each prompt but also to step out of your comfort zone.
Here is the first bunch of sketches (what went through my mind when I first read the prompts). Some ideas made it to the end, some didn’t.
Christmas dinner in the making. After a few sketches featuring an indoor scene with several guests around the table (see above), I finally decided to go for something more subtle and a minimalist composition (although this little bat is so cute, shame it didn’t make it).
Working with mixed media and collage. I thought seeing the scene from the outside would create an interesting contrast of colours and an even cosier feel!
Research for the “Grandparents” prompts. I went for an old goat couple. Trying to figure out the type of scenery that would suit best. I like the energy of these messy sketches!
There’s something about creating textures that is immensely satisfaying
The most challenging prompt for me was definitely “Elf”. I struggled on this one and spent a lot of time thinking, sketching, painting, failing, starting over. I could not find something I was happy with. I started with the idea of one or two beavers as elves, since they are the best skilled for wood working :)
I was stuck then, being undecided about the type of scene and composition I wanted. Nothing felt natural and pleasant. I went for something simple with a beaver carrying a wooden horse. I even painted two versions of this illustration (lost since then, they probably disappeared under another layer of paint that I used for collage!).
I could have posted this illustration, but I didn’t like it. It was too predictable, expected, too similar to my usual art. It didn’t go with the rest of the Advent illustrations. It lacked of mystery and ambiance.
Again, I felt stuck. I quickly realised that the reason why I felt so limited was because I was supposed to paint an animal version of an elf. Then I started to question this: why? Because that’s what I draw, animals. But who says that I can’t draw a human like character? Nobody, I’m limiting myself for no reason here.
It actually felt really liberating to open the horizons and start sketching a little human like elf. Now I still had to figure out the whole scene, which again was a succession of trials and errors.
Above on the left: one of the many attempts that didn’t work. On the right: going for a different decor, a big forest collage.
I still have no idea what’s going to happen at this stage. Not even sure this will make it either but I decide to scan it and see what happens when I keep working on it digitally.
This is the prompt that took me the longest to figure out but it was also the one where I learnt the most. I tried to build the scene digitally from zero but quickly realised that wasn’t something that works for me. I need a traditional (painted) base to structure and give me direction for the digital part.
I’m not going to lie, it’s also frustrating and draining to keep starting over and over the same illustration. this process left me exhausted but I’m glad I didn’t give up.
Above: trees research for the prompt “Snow globe”.
Below: Colour and texture exploration. I always like to make as many tests as possible. I ended up keeping the one with the trees, it was supposed to be a rough test but I really liked it so decided to keep it as a base to then work digitally.
I was planning on working the sphere first and then add some sort of wooden base for the snow globe. But while working on it I realised I really liked the result of the sphere on it’s own!
I haven’t shown all the pieces in this blog article, have a look on my portfolio here if you would like to see them all.
I worked with a mix of traditional mediums (ink, pastel, watercolour, gouache) and digital techniques (with both Photoshop and Procreate).
This was the last edition of the Advent Challenge, I’m really glad I took the time (and it did take a lot of time, despite the five prompts) to explore unknown territories . I haven’t felt so much joy and excitement in creating for a long time! That was a lovely closure.
That’s all for today my friends, that was quite a long article for someone who didn’t have anything interesting to share :)
Thank you for being here, I wish you all a wonderful year and see you next time 🧡
Love,
C.
Happy Beeing Me
Hello cutie pies! How are you? Enjoying the golden colours and wrapping up in your favorite blanket I hope! Here in Scotland we’re enjoying the Autumn vibes, between cold wind, moody days and some welcoming sun rays popping out here and there.
Today in this blog post I would like to share with you some of my thoughts and process for the picture book “Happy Beeing Me” . It’s a lovely story written by Glyncora Murphy, illustrated by myself and published by Baby Blanket Press.
It tells the journey of Benny, a little honey bee, and the adventures that are going to lead her to self love and a sweeter life.
Now I have to start this article by telling you that this was my first picture book project and it was both exciting and scary at the same time! There were quite a lot of illustrations to make, all of them being painted traditionally. So I was slightly anxious about it. But who wouldn’t? Illustrating a book is a big deal, I’ve always heard illustrators saying that it’s a big challenge and a rewarding but exhausting adventure.
Another major challenge for me was working in a style that I was not particularly used to. If you’ve followed my work for a while you’ll know that my characters are not utterly expressive. I like them this way, but for this project I had to adjust things. Because this was a children’s book, and facial expressions are essential. After a few sketches and studies, I decided to draw some big eyes to our sweet Benny (she also wears glasses, which I wanted quite big too!).
Above: the first sketches!
Some more studies, getting acquittanced with the character. One of my biggest concerns was being consistent with the character, despite the different postures and expressions. Making sure we really recognise Benny, from a page to another. At this point I was also experimenting to see how I could depict different emotions, it was quite a fun exploration! I decided to play with the contrast between the big eyes and the discreet little mouth.
Seeing all these sketches is really touching, everything was still so clumsy and experimental at that stage! It’s literally Benny becoming herself and being born for the second time (the first time being in the imagination of her author, Glyncora).
Below: research for what was the most challenging spread of the book. My mission was to make a full page illustration with three characters: a beagle, an eagle and a dolphin… On a beach! This was was really tricky, I worked a lot on this one, trying to make all the characters. background and colours work together. Not a piece of cake!
The colour palette
Another sweet character, Benny’s mama: the Queen! Here you can see the first sketches, an attempt to draw a majestic and yet tender mama. Some of her words in the book are just so sweet and inspiring, it really is a beautiful character. As Benny says:
“My mommy’s full of wisdom,
She’s got grace and grit and style”
the pond scene! This is a key moment in the story, where Benny realises how happy she is to be (or bee) who she is. A very poetic and meaningful verse (also the book cover, even though at that point we hadn’t decided yet). I was thrilled at the idea of illustrating this page and add lots of flowers (back to my comfort zone for a bit!).
I tried my best to create a touching little character that you would like to hug and comfort. In the picture above Benny’s feeling sad and grumpy, she would like to be any animal but a bee. Who hasn’t felt this way one day? When we think we’re not good enough, not worthy enough. When we think the grass is greener on the other side. That’s why I liked the story so much, we can all relate to it!
Work in progress. Soaking up some Spring sun while painting the rainbow spread. Joy!
Tada! What a wave of emotions when I opened the package and held the book in my hands for the first time! It truly was an incredible adventure. Working on the same book for several months, having Benny on my desk almost every single day! Seeing the book coming to life, this was something! I’m not going to lie, it was also tough. I was going through a lot of back pain at that time (probably due to the pressure I was putting on myself, literally), but I managed to take it easy, fortunately I didn’t have to work with a tight deadline (honestly, I do not handle stress well…).
This project was both difficult and rewarding. I had to overcome lots of challenges and I have stepped out of my comfort zone quite a lot, constantly needing to adapt. Some spreads were easier than others to draw and paint. Sometimes creativity was flowing, sometimes I felt stuck and unhappy with my work. But overall I feel grateful for the whole experience! I was lucky to be collaborating with a lovely team, who trusted me on this! And the thought of all the sweet kids reading this book with their parent, the valuable lesson it teaches, fill my heart with happiness!
Also after a break of six months I’m finally back on my Patreon! I just posted a video where I show the sketches and preparation work, the different steps from the first scribble to final illustrations, the up and downs and a general feedback on the whole experience.
Maybe see you there, and if not see you soon here! Until then keep your little paws in thick socks and enjoy the change of season.
Warm hugs,
C.
Autumn/Winter collection
Hello lovelies!
I hope everyone is doing well and enjoying the subtle autumn vibes popping out here and there. I really appreciate this time of the year, when the air becomes fresher and the leaves start changing colour. I’m not a big fan of summer, especially near the end, when everything looks dry and miserable…
As you might already know I was working this summer, painting, designing, packing to get everything in order for when I get back from my stay in France. The new collection is now out! Nothing fancy or too extravagant, six new greeting cards and the well loved calendar.
As always, I like releasing the winter products quite early on, as I know some people prefer to shop early in order to avoid the end of the year madness. I didn’t have time to create some wrapping paper as I hoped though. Maybe next year!
In the meantime I wanted to show you some of the illustrations I made for the new cards and the calendar.
From painting to greeting card. This illustration is called “The travellers”, inspired by the many geese I saw during my summer walks. Nothing particularly wintery, other than a simple palette of brown and blue. A celebration of the end of Autumn maybe, when Nature puts on its beautiful muted colours.
I enjoyed working with more vibrant colours too. On the left: these two foxes have enough pumpkin to see them through the whole winter!
On the right: the dinner, made for the calendar (November spread). I really enjoyed painting this sweet scene, and I’m glad I left the plain background (instead of a dark chocolate one, which was my initial thought).
The greeting card collection is growing…
The big day has arrived, the postman brought me two heavy parcels :)
I’m really happy with the cute little calendar, I hope you’ll like it too!
Delicate little wrens and comforting cosy things that were turned into a greeting card
New: I’m now offering two Winter card sets (of four) in the shop!
One of my favorite thing about Autumn is painting the traditional wooden slices. I enjoy taking the time to sketch, slowly thinking about the colour palettes and painting the slices. It’s a very soothing process, I always put lots of care in it (also painting and selling these one-of-a-kind pieces is one of my greatest pleasures). I haven’t started thinking about the winter edition yet, see below the tiny collection I painted last Spring (I usually paint two editions a year, one for Spring and one for Winter).
That’s it my dears, thank you for passing by. I hope you like the new collection as much as I liked designing it. It’s been a great joy, from the first clumsy sketches to the final stage of opening the parcels. I hope you’ll find some inspiring illustrated goodies to send to your loved ones, and bring some colours and joy in their letter box 💛
I wish you a fantastic Autumn,
C.
And remember to treat yourself with some cakes and chocolate :)
Busy summer: work, wildlife and other experiments
Hello everyone!
How are you? I hope you’re having a lovely summer, going for walks and filling up your vitamin D level :)
Up Ben Chonzie
I’m back to work for a little bit, after taking a few days off and before going to France for a month. I spent this first half of summer painting and designing new greeting cards for the seasons coming. They’re now packaged and stored on the shelves, waiting for my return in September, when I’ll be launching the new collection.
“The travellers” slowly coming to life!
I also finished designing the 2023 calendar and received the printing proof some time ago, exciting! After two or three little adjustments I was finally ready to order a big bunch, still waiting for the heavy parcel. Hopefully I will receive it before I leave next Monday. It’s always a bit stressful to order such big quantities. I’m constantly scared to make mistakes or forget something and realise it when it’s too late.... It’s a big investment so fingers crossed everything turns out all right!
Another work in progress, for the November page. Remember my last blog post? I was asking for your opinion about the background, I finally chose the plain one as most of you preferred. I’m glad I did!
Calendar sample/printing proof
Working in summer isn’t an easy thing! I tried to be serious and well organised with my tasks, while allowing myself not to work as much as I would during other seasons. It’s important to take advantage of the summer months to be outside, get as much light as possible and be grateful for every little thing before Autumn comes along. I sometimes was getting up around 5 or 6, going for walks up the hills or in the woods, before getting back home and sitting at my desk around 9.
I recently bought a new camera and lens and it’s brought me so much joy! I’ve always wanted to do wildlife photography since I was a child, and these past two months have been wonderful. I would consider myself as an “opportunist photographer”: I go for walks and take pictures of the wildlife I see, instead of setting up a tripod at some strategic places. I’ve always enjoyed going for long walks on my own, so now I just bring my camera with me :) If you follow me on Instagram you might have seen that I’ve been really inspired by birds lately, taking lots of pictures and experimenting with different mediums .
A sweet pair of Yellowhammers (male on the left and female on the right).
Above: Yellowhammer studies with colour pencils.
Below: Experiment with ink (on the left) and watercolour (right)
I’ve decided to open a new Instagram page for my photographs. A bit controversial at a time when everyone is complaining about the algorithm and wanting to quit the platform :) But I’ m a newbie and have no ambition other than keeping it as a Nature/visual journal (I also don’t want to spam my illustration page too much).
It’ been feeling quite liberating doing all these experiments with various mediums. If I’m being honest I sometimes feel a bit “trapped” in my style, or rather with the type of illustrations that I know are popular (my main source of income being my shop), such as cute anthropomorphised woodland creatures. Don’t get me wrong, I love painting these scenes, but sometimes I just want to be drawing animals that just look like animals, not doing anything but being themselves!
The topic of style is a recurring question, you find plenty of “how to find your style” videos on YouTube. It seems everyone is a bit obsessed about this and yes, I understand why. But at the same time style is also tricky. Let’s say you finally find your own voice, your art is recognizable, more and more popular. People buy your stuff, and one day you can make a full time living from it! It’s a privilege and I’m grateful for it every single day.
But what will happen the day you want to do something else? Now that your income is intertwined with your style? It’s always a question that’s haunting me….
I try to balance things out. This summer I spent quite a lot of time making illustrations that will be a good fit for greeting cards and the calendar, while carving out some time to paint other things for myself. Last year I did a 30 day challenge where I painted landscapes everyday (I only showed some pieces on my Patreon).
I wonder if other artists get bored of what they do? Because the truth is: I do! At times.
After a few years making art full time, I think I now know what to do when I go through these phases: I just do other things, I keep playing, I experiment, I tell myself I’m not just what I show on Instagram. I have other stories to tell, other art to make. I don’t force things and usually what happens is that naturally, after a while, I come back to my little woodland friends with pleasure!
Look at this juvenile Robin looking gorgeous, such a star :)
Not surprisingly Robins are one of my favorite birds, not only they’re always quite tame and easy to take pictures of, but their colour and roundness makes them wonderful little creatures.
I bought some watercolour a few months ago, with the idea of painting quick little landscapes when traveling, but it didn’t happen. The palette stayed in a drawer for a while until I picked it up again to paint birdies. Turns out I really enjoy watercolour, even though I don’t know how to use it! Maybe that’s why I like it so much after all. I feel watercolour is very forgiving in some ways (and not at all in other ways). Playing with pigments and water is extremely satisfying, they always work together in an unexpected way! I feel I can make art in a more spontaneous and playful way.
I love drawing my wildlife encounters, the big lens allows me to take close up pictures and see the details I woudn’t see with my eyes.
Another summer task: to paint some illustrations and turn them into new “Thank you” cards for my shop. I made four designs and treated myself by painting a little Bullfinch. No photography to show you, I’ve been trying to take picture of these little guys but haven’t succeeded so far (they’re all blurry or the light is bad….)
And last but not least (I told you, I’ve been a busy bee this summer!), this year gain I’ve been invited by the Nucleus gallery to join the exhibition “Power in Numbers” (see the paintings I did for last year’s edition). This time I’m only going to paint two pieces, with some froggies!
It begins with some weird sketches…
I wanted to paint a third scene with a frog riding a snail but it won’t be happening due to lack of time.
The two final sketches, now ready to be traced and painted!
And that’s it my dear little creatures, I hope you enjoyed reading this post and seeing what I’ve been up to these past few weeks! Please let me know in the comments if you enjoy this form of “slow” content over the speediness of social media (why is everyone saying that blogs are dead? I don’t think so!!) . Personally I really appreciate sharing things here with you.
I wish you all a wonderful summer 💛
Cécile
June bits and pieces
Hello my dears! I hope you are well and enjoying some lovely time outside.
May and June are my favorite months of the year, it always fills my heart with so much joy! One of my favorite thing about Scotland is that it’s much closer to the Artic circle than France (where I’m from), therefore it gets an amazing amount of light during the Spring and Summer months. It never gets completely dark at night.
Hello my dears! I hope you are well and enjoying some lovely time outside.
May and June are my favorite months of the year, it always fills my heart with so much joy! One of my favorite things about Scotland is that it’s much closer to the Artic circle than France (where I’m from), therefore it gets an amazing amount of light during the Spring and Summer months. It never gets completely dark at night.
There’s always a black bird singing right above my bedroom window and waking me up way too early :)
A little sparrow viewed from my studio window
I feel so lucky to have a flat with south facing windows and trees nearby. It’s like a proper bird watch! So many sparrows, magpies, tits and my favorite… wood pigeons! The first babies/teenagers are now flying out of the nest and it’s a pure delight to watch their little faces! Parent pigeons are so good, both male and female look after the young ones and it’s so nice to see them feeding and grooming the babies 🥰 (see below the whole family together, how sweet!!).
We also have a nest in a small Japanese Maple tree in the garden. This is the male guarding it. Its been almost ten days since the couple started to sit on the nest so there should be some new babies coming soon (the eggs incubate for 17 days). I haven’t taken any pictures of the nest as I don’t want to stress them out!
Of course I’ve been feeling quite inspired to draw wood pigeons lately! They’re so goofy, funny and adorable characters!
Designing the winter collection
Spring is usually the time I start thinking about Winter products. I’ve been wanting to offer some wrapping paper in my shop for a long time so after doing some research about manufacturers, I started sketching ideas.
The first pattern I wanted to focus on was the woodland friends (just above). I was really excited about choosing the colour combination but it didn’t go as expected. It felt quite overwhelming… Probably because of the wide range of possibilities, there’s just too much choice! I couldn’t find something I was happy with… Nothing felt right.
I finally went for something simple and modest, forest inspired. I’m happy with this simple palette, currently in the process of making a pattern with these!
Ideally I would like to be able to offer two or three different designs. One of the ideas was to replicate my illustration of the ice skating birds. For the third design: no idea yet. I tried different things but again, nothing felt right. I spent many days working on these and it just left me frustrated and unhappy with all the attempts… It happens!
Now I’ve just stopped working on these, no point on forcing it as I have no motivation anymore. I feel stuck, I just don’t want to be designing products at the moment. I’m sure I’ll be feeling happy to start working on this again in a few weeks! Or not, we’ll see 😀
That’s the reason why I start working on the winter collection in Spring. I can take my time and step away for a few weeks if I feel stuck or unmotivated!
Calendar 2023
If there’s one product I’m really excited about it’s the calendar! Last year was the first time I offered one in my shop and it was quite successful! I love the idea of bringing a bit of joy in people’s home, turning the page to a new illustration every month is such a lovely thing!
For the 2023 calendar I’ll use some existing illustrations and will also paint a little bunch of new ones for the following months: March, May, October and November.
See below some sketches for October
Here are the drawings for May and September. I’m so glad I was finally able to paint the breakfast scene, it’s be sitting in my “Project” folder for years!
Finished!
And finally, the big ambitious one, the dinner scene! I really worked quite hard on this sketch, I’ve been wanting to paint a meal scene with lots of different characters for a long time. This is a potential cover for the calendar (I’m still hesitating with the cleaning owl above).
I finished the sketch ages ago but I can’t make a decision about the background. Do I leave it white or do I paint it with a warm chocolate brown? What do you think?
(Do I really think it would look good with white background or am I just choosing the easiest option?)
That’s it for today my lovelies, I hope you enjoyed taking a little peek at what I’ve been working on lately! I wish you all a wonderful day 🌞
See you soon,
Cécile
Spring collection
Hello everyone!
I hope you are all doing well and enjoying some rays of sunshine!
One of my goals this year is to be writing more blog posts (I've only written one article, back in 2020...). I would like to have a nice little place that feels like home, away from Instagram, where every post is so quickly forgotten. Since the platform has officially announced that videos would get the most exposure, it feels more and more difficult to connect with people and keep a good level of engagement. Instagram has changed, that's fine. I see it as a gentle reminder of how important it is to have a website/blog to be able to interact with people who support and appreciate my art!
Hello everyone!
I hope you are all doing well and enjoying some rays of sunshine!
One of my goals this year is to be writing more blog posts (I've only written one article, back in 2020...). I would like to have a nice little place that feels like home, away from Instagram, where every post is so quickly forgotten. Since the platform has officially announced that videos would get the most exposure, it feels more and more difficult to connect with people and keep a good level of engagement. Instagram has changed, that's fine. I see it as a gentle reminder of how important it is to have a website/blog to be able to interact with people who support and appreciate my art!
So here I am, in this article I would like to show you more about the process behind my Spring collection (that will be launched on the 8th of April). It's really the first time I offer such a wide range of products at this time of the year, I usually focus more on Christmas. This year I felt like designing a proper Spring/Summer inspired collection. Drawing so many colourful flowers in the middle of gloomy January and February months felt so nice!
Lots of Spring flowers in my sketchbook
Sketching ideas.
I like the research phase when I draw loosely in my sketchbook. I don't know yet where I'm going, I'm just drawing little animals that inspire me in the moment. I knew I wanted to paint something with rain (I live in Scotland and love rainy days!). A piglet in a raincoat seemed appropriate :)
Spring is also the season where I go for cycles again. This feeling of freedom, riding the country side roads with fresh wind on my face, after a long winter, is always wonderful! Unfortunately, as a french person living in the UK, I have to say I miss baguettes very much. If you can't eat it, draw it!
Opening the box that contains new greeting cards is always such a joy! Lots of packing work ahead :)
My most ambitious painting, the garden scene! It had been on my mind for so long, I really took the time to research the composition, colours, characters etc.
If you would like to learn more about the process and see the painting come to life, you can check out my last YouTube video
Now, let me tell you a bit more about the products I'm the happiest about, the notepads! I really wanted to design something that could be used either for notes, to do lists or as a writing paper! I'm so glad I finally took the time to design them. And the new exciting thing (for me) is that they've entirely been drawn with Procreate!
At the beginning of this year I finally jumped and bought an iPad! And I haven't regretted it, it is such a wonderful tool! I didn't plan on making full digital illustrations (I love traditional art too much) but I thought it could be handy to sketch, and design some simple things!
I'm loving it, it's been particularly nice while I was working on this Spring collection. I was painting a lot and really saw the time experimenting with Procreate as a refreshing break! It's really useful when it comes to sketching and redrawing, but also the feeling of colouring is very pleasant!
I really love that I was able to draw something a bit more "graphic" than my usual work.
So happy with how they turned out! I wanted the notepads to be as eco friendly as possible so they're printed on recycled paper, which gives such a nice textured look to it!
I wanted to make more stickers too, these aren't particularly Spring inspired but I've been drawing so many flowers lately, it's nice to come back to the basics!
That's it for today, I hope you liked seeing the process behind the new collection! Thank you for reading this article! I wish you all a wonderful Spring.
See you soon,
Cécile