emma lewis drawings and illustrations

2012-02-28T16:32:00.000Z

Piece by piece, I fed my wardrobe to the night wind, and flutteringly, like a loved one's ashes, the grey scraps were ferried off, to settle here, there, exactly where I would never know, in the dark heart of New York.

Sylvia Plath

(lack of work here at the moment, more soon)

Pitt Rivers Pots

2012-01-27T12:40:00.002Z

Here are just some of my drawings of the huge pottery collection kept in the curious cases of the Pitt Rivers museum in Oxford, an anthropology and archaeology wonder.

Pot studies ongoing! Here's a nice old photo of the museum, it looks quite unchanged

Also feeling inspired by Rob Mason's delightful dartmoor studio shed (give his interesting blog a visit).

Maybe not for now in London, but one day...........

a concise review of hockney

2012-01-24T12:47:00.004Z

David Hockney's A Bigger Picture opened last Friday at the RA, and I thought i'd write a few words because I loved it. One of the best and most refreshing things about it I thought was that it made no attempts to be anything other than just really great art. Other great things included -

- the TREES !

- the Englishness of it; the wheat ears, the cow parsley, the leaves, the grass stalks, the puddles and their reflections

- his colour work, especially his breakdown of greys into reds, purples, greens and blues. Also the pairing of really vivid greens with red, especially great on a damp London afternoon in January

- the uncompleted watercolours and the consequent negative space (and the rain spattered paint)

- the effect of the landscapes 'gridded' together in some instances

- his mark making, especially in the charcoal drawings

- the grey blue washes of the sketchbook work

- the abundance and apparentness of Hockney's pure joy in making the work

I really admired his adaption to modern technology and media, and using the iPad as an alternative sketchbook, without disregarding the traditional.

I also couldn't walk away without this very excellent mug.

I wanted to include an image of Arranged Felled Trees 2008 here, which was one of my favourite paintings, but couldn't find one. Anyway.........go and see it if you can.

this year

2012-01-13T10:29:00.001Z

I'll be mainly working on two big projects this year, which I'm sure you'll get to hear about as time goes on........There's also the exciting possibility of doing some more adventuring early summer, and I'll be sure to start bulking my shop out more and more now.

The end of next week I have tickets to see Hockney's new stuff at the RA. Here's the amazingly huge piece he did for the Summer Show in 2007.

gifts

2011-12-31T12:20:00.001Z

book by John Burningham

book by Kveta Pacovska

screen print by Rob Hodgson

necklace by and from Buddug

book by Kaffe Fassett and new yarn

diary by Katy and June

Clipper sleep easy tea

illustrated recipes by and from Jessie Chorley

i am lucky lucky lucky.

happy new year everyone !

new books

2011-12-12T10:03:00.000Z

Wild Flowers of Britain by Roger Phillips, 1977

La Gigantesque Petite Chose by Beatrice Alemagna, 2011

winter cards

2011-12-01T21:08:00.001Z

one of my winter/christmas cards for this year. I am waiting for the designs to return from the printers and then they will be going into the shop. I was hugely influenced by Hanna Konola's design work, so nice.

All the illustrations I'm sharing recently seem to me to be very black and white, linear and....clean. In actual fact the thing I'm mainly working on at the moment is the complete opposite....lots of paint and collage and pastels and messy work space. Lovely.

In need of inspiration last week I took a walk around the Tate Britain, which I don't visit enough. This painting especially is so great, The Cholmondeley Ladies from the 1600s by an unknown artist.

Shop!

2011-11-15T15:25:00.002Z

I have opened a little shop! there are prints, paper and bags in there at the moment, with more printy things to come (if anyone buys anything)!

Everything is superduper good quality and comes packaged all nice. also for a limited time every order will come with a small illustrated leaf or two from my window display in May ;-)

You can now click the tea-kettle on the left to visit, or bookmark http://emmalewis.bigcartel.com

thank you !

ps. I realise christmas is undeniably upon us, so expect some christmas cards soon too.

oh november

2011-11-11T18:30:00.003Z

not quite as good a month as october, but still within my favourite season. the last 4 weeks since getting back to London, have been spent mainly taking heed and acting upon the nice proclamation (below)..............more on that soon I hope !

a nice proclamation

2011-10-25T20:29:00.003+01:00

love it!

(penned by Mac Barnett, drawn up by Carson Ellis)

pots at the BM

2011-10-10T18:45:00.001+01:00

I did some sketches of nice pots at the British Museum, predominantly from the Minoan and Geometric/Oriental Greek section (that's all I got round to). Here are a few of them

i'd like to start thinking about making pots and plates and putting to use some of the ideas i have on paper and in my head. I'm especially interested in hand molded techniques (like raku), rather than throwing onto a wheel, so working with paper should be a nice starting point.

(I also went to see Grayson Perry's great exhibition he curated of his own work and other objects from around the museum of inspiration and relation to him, which explore the ancient themes and ideas that surround the crafts, then and now. The Tomb of the Unknown Craftsman)

travels part.2

2011-10-08T15:39:00.007+01:00

I got back a couple of days ago. We saw wonderful places and things and met even more wonderful people. Excited and inspired to get back to work, and happy to be back in London for glorious autumn !

travels part.1

2011-08-20T14:27:00.003+01:00

I'm going away to do a bit of travelling in Europe with a van, a sketchbook, some pencils, some classic literature, a camera and a swimming costume. I'll be back in the Autumn with sketches, pictures and news to share and the opening of my shop ! I hope everyone has a happy and sunny couple of months.

(this monoprinted crown happens to be unrelated)

trees + Kertész

2011-08-02T22:12:00.002+01:00

some photocopy, pastel and ink experiments from my sketchbook.

couldn't help but be inspired by the black and white beauty of the work by Kertész from the amazing Eyewitness: Hungarian Photography at the RA, which I popped over to see this morning. Lovely lines and shadows.

Beautiful ! And this sounds good today.

Fieldview

2011-07-26T10:06:00.001+01:00

I did a little range of t-shirt designs for the folks who organise the super Fieldview Festival in Wiltshire which is happening in a couple of weeks. I'm not sure which illustration they've gone with but here's the one of them. In case you didn't get it, it's a view of a field - flowers, clouds, earth, tree/twig thing.

july

2011-07-09T20:29:00.005+01:00

Recently I've found myself always ending up working into things digitally, which leaves me feeling pretty unsatisfied (and bored) and never achieving the right look to my work that I like. So I'm trying to use Photoshop less and spend more time with my paintbrush and scissors and a pile of paper and a pot of pencils, because I really do prefer + love doing things by hand.

I've also spent lots of time of late on nice train journeys and also at nice summer shows. I went to the RCA's on it's opening and one of my absolute favourite things were Jo Blaker's super beautiful paper pots.

happy weekend and happy july !

clouds

2011-06-20T21:11:00.005+01:00

it won't stop raining here. it is quite nice to work to though and not feel like you're missing out on the sunshine. sometimes.

some Saul Steinberg for your eyes -

(click for bigger)

J+B window

2011-05-28T22:30:00.003+01:00

Jessie Chorley and Buddug invited me to install a summer window in their beauteous shop on Columbia Road this month. It's up until the end of June so head down any weekend (catch the flower market on Sundays) to take a peek and also to buy some of their many amazing handmade things !

J+B the shop

158A Columbia Road

Shoreditch

London

E2 7RG

tubes + overground: old street, liverpool street, bethnal green, shoreditch high street, hoxton

buses: 8, 26, 48, 55, 388, D3

le sacre coeur

2011-05-24T18:11:00.010+01:00

the Sacre Coeur seems to be the ultimate Paris illustration cliche but I do love it so, and in lieu of my time there I have drawn it. I will be screen printing it next week (some onto bags maybe) for the opening of my little shop.

also really digging Olaf Hajek's crazy but wonderful work.

Big in Japan.

edit: cleaned it up a bit

this week

2011-05-21T14:16:00.004+01:00

Putting this all together on Monday.

paris encore

2011-05-15T21:26:00.006+01:00

I have been so lazy with my blog, I'm sorry. I've been in belle Paris

Paris has one of my favourite book shops, Chantelivre. French children's books are so much more experimental and different and exciting. Whilst there, I came across Beatrice Alemagna's beautiful Histoire courte d'une goutte (Short history of a drop), among many others.

printing more tree paper

2011-04-22T16:36:00.001+01:00

for my shop! also embroidering by the sea.

The Supremes sound good in the sunshine.

charity shop finds 13/04/2011

2011-04-13T12:15:00.004+01:00

Linen blouse, Philip Larkin's High Windows, The Reader's Digest Encyclopaedia of Garden Plants and Flowers from 1971 (I was mainly after the cover - the photos inside are pretty rad too), 2 enamel plates, and a mug. I was particularly pleased with the mug after I smashed my favourite Ikea mug this morning (it was quite awkward to hold but I loved the design). I might embroider into that blouse.

g&b

2011-03-31T10:55:00.003+01:00

More green (and black) things I have been doing. This is unfinished but the idea behind it is to do a variation of the cocoa leaf! and also to make G&B's packaging a little bit more exciting. This one is paper and ink and monoprint mainly.

I will be opening my little online shop soon!

Simon English's amazing project England Revisited (via the latest wonderful issue of Oh Comely).

why I love frida

2011-03-20T14:30:00.006Z

I'm working on a frida drawing.

Un badge au profit du Japan.

green

2011-03-08T16:05:00.000Z

here's what I'm working with on my desk at the moment. I think I go through phases of colour, at the moment it's green....maybe it's because spring is round the corner.

then + now

2011-01-19T17:07:00.007Z

friends in devon 1968 (my dad on the far left)

friends in cornwall 2010 (me second in on the far left)

I have been working on new and old illustration things, both nice to do. It's my birthday next month, if anyone wants to buy me this plate by Donna Wilson, I will accept.

Weird Fishes directed by Tobias Stretch.

acquisitions

2010-12-31T11:45:00.000Z

top photo: another M&S biscuit tin by the amazing sanna annukka (who designed all of the M&S christmas packaging and decorations this year), the iron man illustrated beautifully and poignantly by laura carlin from my boyfriend, and a lovely bunting necklace from my sister by lucie ellen.

happy new year to all! I will be swimming, knitting, saving and illustrating more in 2011.

stour space christmas

2010-12-10T21:40:00.004Z

Tomorrow I will be at the Stour Space christmas market from 11-6 in hackney wick! Come down for lovely handmade christmas shopping and a cup of mulled something :-)

7 Roach Road

E3 2PA

Hackney Wick overground or buses 26, 30, 236, 276, 488 and 388

wrapping paper

2010-11-19T16:32:00.004Z

I've printed lots of paper with trees to sell as part of my christmas stalls. Here's a red one! They will no doubt accompany more tree (and house and bear and leaf and fox) themed gifts. Hooray!

We Make

2010-11-12T20:46:00.006Z

I am the featured designer today at We Make London, there's a little interview with me there if you want to have a read. I will be selling some wintery things at their Christmas fair on the 4th of December at Chelsea town hall. I will post more about the other handmade markets I'm doing closer to the time!

Making paper bears

Also, I think I forgot to mention that I joined twitter! You can follow me by clicking here, or the little birdie on the left there.

autumn is my favourite

2010-11-04T13:42:00.005Z

I have been enjoying beautiful autumn London the last couple of weeks. My sketchbooks are full of Christmas, wintery things right now because I will be doing some handmade markets come December! I will share as things start to come together.

In the meantime, go look at the wonderful chewing gum artist. I'm going to start searching the pavements.

biscuit bus

2010-10-20T10:20:00.002+01:00

a magical routemaster biscuit tin from M&S. Best biscuit tin ever!!

made doubley delicious because of the shortbread inside, and also the fact that I sometimes take the number 30 home.

en france

2010-10-11T12:50:00.004+01:00

I went to France in August which was tres bon.

Whilst perusing the bookshop out there, my boyfriend picked out the wonderfully named 'Dans Mon Petit Coeur Il y a' by Elise Mansot.

It's so beautiful! I can't find much on Elise Mansot, but I have already ordered another book of hers, 'Voyage Sur Un Nuage' (another lovely title).

hello hello

2010-10-08T15:10:00.011+01:00

I finally have a nice new shiny scanner so I feel like I can start blogging again properly! I have cleaned the blog up a bit, and deleted a few old posts in preparation for exciting new things.

I am juggling a number of nice projects at the moment, that involve an orange tiger, bears and clouds (again) and lots of other things. I was asked by Advice To Sink In Slowly to come up with a poster. Here is the image from it. Be House Proud!

When I'm not drawing, you can find me some weekends working for the lovely Jessie Chorley and Buddug at Broadway Market and at their shop on Columbia Road amongst the flowers.

Come and buy their magical handmade things if you're in London. I am also re-doing my website at the moment but it it should be up again soon :-)

falphabet PV

2010-07-31T18:23:00.005+01:00

A few photos from the private view of the Falphabet exhibition in Nottingham this week

here's my work up alongside the wonderful Miff Weaver.

swissshhh!

karl maier and craig redman

2010-07-06T17:21:00.005+01:00

Collaborative exhibition in New South Wales. Totally wish I could go to this. Via CR blog.

I moved back to lovely London town last weekend, and new and exciting drawing will start soon...and hopefully a few handmade markets!

finito

2010-06-29T18:06:00.000+01:00

Somehow, my degree is finished. I've been enjoying the sunshine and visiting New York. The Summer Shows are on until the 2nd of July back here in Falmouth. I will also be exhibiting at New Designers on July 8th to the 11th at the Business Design Centre in Islington, London. Come!

macmillan PV

2010-05-23T10:03:00.008+01:00

Here's a not so great photo of my work from the private view of the Macmillan Children's Book Prize 2010 (and with fellow winner, the excellent Ellie Jenkins). I think it comes down this weekend, so hurry to Foyles Gallery and Bookshop in London to see it and the other lovely lovely books on display.

In other news, the sun is shining in Cornwall!

orangeyoranges

2010-05-10T17:31:00.004+01:00

my website is online....though I haven't uploaded much yet.

www.emma-lewis.co.uk

GO!

macmillan

2010-05-04T16:20:00.004+01:00

I've been designing some business cards, here's one idea

I also got some happy news on Friday from the nice people at the Macmillan Children's Book Prize who told me my book the SadCloud was highly commended this year. The work will be up along with other winners from the 17th of May at the Foyles Gallery on the Charing Cross Road in London. I'm going to be in New York that week, but if you're in town go have a look!

hello spring

2010-04-10T15:03:00.003+01:00

i have been painting suns in the sun.

Quilts 1700-2010

2010-03-30T18:08:00.001+01:00

beeeautiful exhibition at the V&A....if you're in London see it if you can! further reading here on how the exhibition was pieced together.

the weekend also consisted of many hackney markets including broadway, colombia road and stour space, plus lots of tea and the occasional spot of sunshine. lovely lovely.

the general

2010-03-13T19:51:00.006Z

'the general' by michael foreman (who happens to be the father of my tutor), from 1961. hmmmm they don't make them like they used to.

if only i could get my hands on 'the giant golden book of biology' from the same year. so beautiful.

on a seperate subject, cat cafes in japan......i may open one in england one day. would you come?

some silly wolves

2009-11-25T21:11:00.002Z

from my sketchbook.

guerilla knitters

2009-11-23T12:59:00.004Z

knit graffiti of knitta please! "I like to feel like we are wrapping things with love. It's humanising. We're adding a human element so you are not so disconnected with your everyday environment. Industrialisation is everywhere in urban areas, and pinks and reds are a lot prettier than greys."

when i graduate and have some more time, the knitting needles are coming out.

tove jansson

2009-11-13T15:53:00.004Z

lovely lovely. right now i am drawing wolves and boys who are not afraid of wolves.

tyger tyger

2009-11-07T17:29:00.002Z

ideas from my sketchbook.