So I guess this is when I waffle on about me….. Well I am an illustrator / artist based in Bognor Regis and a married mum of two who are my constant source of inspiration. My creativeness appeared from an early age, I was always drawing my favourite cartoon characters when I was little and even writing and illustrating my own books. I should have twigged then that this is the path I would naturally be drawn down later on in life. I went to art college after school but didn’t really give it my all, going out partying was much more fun I am afraid, I know…. shame on me!
I then met my soul mate, and well, art just wasn’t a priority anymore. Next thing you knew I was walking down the aisle and had two beautiful children and the paintbrushes started to gather dust for a good six years. It was my father’s passing that really changed everything. It was like a switch had been flicked and I decided enough was enough it was time to do what I always knew I could do deep down. Since then I have been painting / sketching pretty much daily for the past five years. I originally tried the fine art route and sold a fair few pieces through this but it seems to be the illustrating that has flourished. I have been blessed to have worked with some wonderful and fascinating authors over the years and have six published books to date. I absolutely love the whole process of bringing a book to life, it is such a magical experience! To see the joy that something you create brings to someone is just priceless.
I am quite versatile with my work and although the focus is on children’s literature if you saw my portfolio you will see that I am a bit of a Jekyl and Hyde character when it comes to my work. I have had many comments saying that you would think that my portfolio is made up of a bunch of different artists. Not sure if that’s a good thing or not, as all you keep hearing is stick to one distinct style and perfect that. Oh well, naughty me!
So what can you expect from following my ramblings. Well you can laugh at me trying to crack the world of publishing. I am now at the point where I want to get my own book published and will be attempting this with an alphabet book I am working on. So there will be blogs about the whole publishing / illustrating process.
I have also recently become an administrator for the KLA website: http://www.kidliteratureauthors.com/ and will be reviewing picture books. I will read them to my children and then we will give you our thoughts at the end of the week. Plus like most artists I have a day job that I moan about a lot! So no doubt there will be a few rants here and there thrown in as well about the joys of being a struggling artist and working mum. So if you fancy following me on my journey towards the ultimate dream of being a full time illustrator then jump on board the groovy bus…..
