Preview and update

This post is a bit late as the preview was last Friday, but heres a few pics of the artwork up in Quilliams Brother's Tea House at the preview on the 6th November:

 It was a really nice evening with a good turn out and I was dead chuffed to sell my framed Admiral's Pie illustration to Lynn Huggins-cooper from Forest House Press.
I forgot to actually take any photos so all these pics are courtesy of Helen Temperley and Clare Armstrong.
Oh and heres one of a few of the artists sat down over a cuppa:

Yep another classic pic of me looking like a rabbit caught in the headlights as per norm. Oh well! From left to right - Amy Dover (Feb), Ben Holland (May), Lucy Farfort (me, Jan) and Sarah Ingledew (Nov).

Really pleased to say that the calendars are selling really well and we've now even got some stocked in the Baltic Art Gallery shop - ooo get you!!
There are only about 100 calendars left now so if you want one you best get in quick ;-)

Contributor interview #6 Lucy Sunshine

What is your name and what do you create?
Hello, I’m Lucy Dyke aka Lucy Sunshine.
I make mixed media artwork with a focus on colour and simplicity. 

Where do you take your inspiration?
All things that provoke happiness in childhood; things that someone somewhere loves the most. 

Whats your favourite piece of work or a favourite project you’ve worked on?
My favourite piece is a framed section of a rainbow. It has just enough colour to brighten the gloomiest of days! 

What is your ultimate artistic goal?I'd love to take the plunge into a full time career in the art world but I'm not quite brave enough yet.

Where can people find out more about you? People can find me on www.giftablesunshine.com

Contributor inteview #5 Clare Brown

What is your name and what do you create?
Hello, I’m Clare Brown and/or Ink Klub. I’m a Graphic Designer by day and an illustrator / screen printer / doodler the rest of the time. My style is full of ink, hand drawn type, rebellious lines & slapdash doodles. 

Where do you take your inspiration?
People, nature, architecture, other peoples creativity, my surroundings… Hanging out in Newcastle usually fills my head with interesting ideas for future projects.

 
 


















Whats your favourite piece of work or a favourite project you’ve worked on?
I really enjoyed creating illustrations for the Homoground project: ‘Feminist Playing Cards’. Illustrating a favourite band of mine (Electrelane) while being part of a canny deck of cards with a bunch of great feminist artists was pretty sweet!

 


















What is your ultimate artistic goal?
To spend more of my time skill sharing… Working with people and watching their creativity and confidence grow.

Where can people find out more about you?
You can follow my tumblr blog/site here: http://inkklub.tumblr.com or you can find me in the usual places…

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/inkklub
Twitter: https://twitter.com/inkklub
Flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/inkklub

Contributor Interview #4: Ben Holland

What is your name and what do you create?
I'm Ben Holland a pen & ink artist and illustrator living in Heaton, Newcastle. Everything I draw is done by hand. This is partly because I like working with my hands and partly because I'm rubbish with computers. But mainly the hands bit.

 
Where do you take your inspiration?

Everyday life. I like to draw the buildings we use day to day, whether they be newsagents, pubs, barber shops, back streets, cinemas... Ultimately these are the places we do most of our living so I like to reflect the underbelly of those buildings in my work.

 
Whats your favourite piece of work or a favourite project you’ve worked on?
The next project is usually my favourite one. I can only see the mistakes in the previous ones! I'm currently working on a project centred around the world of cinema and I'm pretty pleased with how that's shaping up, for now...

What is your ultimate artistic goal?
There's no grand master plan. I've enough work and ideas to keep me going for a couple of years and after that who knows in what direction things will develop... that's half the excitement really. 

Where can people find out more about you?
I have a website www.lowmoonoverhightown.com

and you can also find me on www.facebook.com/lowmoonoverhightown

and my Twitter handle is @LMOHT

Gone to print!

Woo hoo!
After months of graft that calendar files have gone to Potts for printing, so it won't be long now until the final product is ready.
Heres a preview of the front cover and a cheeky snippet of June's image by Bethan Laker

The calendars will be available from the here and from Quilliams - more to come on that soon.

Contributor Interview #3: Faye Gollaglee

What is your name and what do you create? 
Hi I'm Faye Gollaglee and i've always had a passion for all aspects of art and design, in particular surface pattern design and illustration. I design for greetings cards, wedding stationary and produce personalised art prints.

Where do you take your inspiration?
The inspiration for my work comes from everyday experiences. I use day to day life to create to fun, quirky and contemporary images.
 

 














Whats your favourite piece of work or a favourite project you’ve worked on?

I've really enjoyed being part of this calendar collaboration as its given me loads of creative ideas.

What is your ultimate artistic goal?
I would love to design and make illustrations for children's books in the not too distant future and this is what I am working towards.

 




















Where can people find out more about you?
If you would like to see more of my design work you can visit my blog and if you would more info you can always contact me by email fayegolly@hotmail.co.uk

Contributor Interview #2: Josie Brookes

What is your name and what do you create?
My name is Josie Brookes. I use a combination of drawing, print and collage to create my illustrations. I focus on character based editorial work with a quirky twist.

Where do you take your inspiration?
I am inspired by everything really. I like 1950s aesthetic, patterns, interesting colour combinations, animals and people. I am also inspired by my own experiences and travels.

Whats your favourite piece of work or a favourite project you’ve worked on?
I like the ‘The Lurker’ piece I created for a recent exhibition titled ‘Babes in the Wood’ as I got chance to experiment with colouring it in using a collection of old pens and pencils dating back from my childhood days.  I’m also proud of the children’s book I illustrated, ‘The Making of U’.

What is your ultimate artistic goal?
To work on some more children’s book illustration projects.

Where can people find out more about you?

My website - www.josiebrookes.com 

I'm also on Facebook and Twitter - www.twitter.com/JosieBrookes

Contributor Interview #1: Helen Temperley

Now that the collaboration is well & truly underway, I thought it would be nice to interview the 12 contributors (myself incl) over the next couple of weeks.
So without further ado here is the first interviewee:


What is your name and what do you create?
Hi, my name is Helen Temperley. I create illustrations, prints, portraits, graphics, printed t-shirts, clothing and accessories, and upcycled, hand painted and embellished furniture. And anything else that takes my fancy! I mostly work in ink and watercolour pencil, in a variety of styles. 

Were do you take your inspiration?
From nature, the world around me, social history, cruelty and injustice, Celtic Art, Art Nouveau, and my dreams. Plus loads of other stuff that makes my head too full!

What is your favourite piece of work or project you've worked on?
I honestly don't think I could choose a favourite! I always get engrossed in and love whatever I'm on with at the time, then when it's finished, I say a teary mental goodbye and the next project becomes my new favourite. 

What is your ultimate artistic goal?
To be able to work on my art without having to have a second job for security, and have money left over to travel more. I know that doesn't sound very ambitious,
but I'm not greedy! :D 

Where can people find out more about you?
They can keep up with me on my website, www,winkinbitsy.com. I'm also on Facebook, Twitter and 
Pinterest.
Or people can peruse my goods for sale on Etsy - https://www.etsy.com/uk/shop/WinkinBitsy (Winkin Bitsy Arts)

Something tasty this way comes....

Around about two years ago I had an idea for a collaboration to help showcase North East illustrators and more importantly have some drawing fun. Now after a couple of false starts its finally all coming together.

What is Bait?
Its a collaboration of 12 North East based artists resulting in what is soon to be a beautifully illustrated limited edition, 2015 recipe calendar - with a North East twist, and a month long exhibition at Quilliam Brothers Tea House in November.
Oh and by the way the word 'Bait' is a Geordie term for food, commonly used for lunch. Thanks to  Katie Chappell who coined this great title last year when the calendar was originally going to be produced.

Who's involved?
The 12 illustrators are (in no particular order): Ben Holland,  Josie Brookes, Lucy Dyke, Bethan Laker, Clare Armstrong, Lara Robinson, Amy Dover, Helen Temperley, Clare Brown, Faye Gollaglee, Sarah Ingledew and me Lucy Farfort.

There will be 400 calendars printed and these will be available for purchase from an online shop, Quilliams and directly from each artist.
So keep your eyes peeled for more news over the next coming months and in the meantime heres a teeny snippet of the illustration i've just finished to tantilise your tastebuds -