Painted Lady Butterfly

This lovely chap was hiding in the garden getting wet. Check out his mane and face.

Monarch Wallpaper HUGE!

This is the mock up for my monarch butterfly wallpaper. Check out the picture below with the lovely Holly stepping in as a scale. It is very imposing wallaper. Need to adjust the positions slightly before the next print. Also the top burnt having such a large piece in the baker so have to be more conscious of that.

The birds, the birds

This handsome fellow is my new digitally printed crow- on cotton duck. Only problem with cotton duck is that it can't be washed or ironed- so it has to be treated with total care. Not something that I am that good at. He is about 5-6 foot high, quite imposing.

Hawk Moth

This loverly fellow is a Privet Hawk Moth, not uncommon to the British Isles. I love his face- what a huge moustach he has! The textures on this chap were just marvelous. I wonder what techniques I could use to replicate this?

Bugs Bugs Bugs

This article was in the You Magazine, the suppliment from the Daily Mail Magazine, Sunday 5th July. Great in someways as it can be an indicator that what you are doing is mainstream, yet is disappointing that what you are doing has been done- in some context at least. However, is there anything such as an original idea?

Crow Chair

This is a chair that I mocked up for the last assessment period. The chair is designed as a tribute to crows through their natural history. There are several elements within the design.
1-Some of the crows are blue to signify the way that crows treat mutant crows. Crows with different colourings can be exiled or given special attention.
2- There is a cache in the chair as crows hide food and treasures in caches.
3-There are two embroidered ants on the chair as crows bath in ants but there reason for this is not known.
4- On the back is a gravestone patterned design. Crows rarely gather together except where there is carrion or at graveyards.
5-There will be black and white piping on the chair. This is representative of a pedestrian crossing. Crows have been known to drop nuts at crossings and wait for the light to swoop down and collect the nuts in safety that the passing vehicles have crushed.

Screen print

These are some butterflies that I have been printing to experiment with size of the image. They are approximately 3 1/2 feet across.

Tortoiseshell Butterfly with Gold Detail


Tortoiseshell Buttefly with Black Details


Blue Tortoiseshell with Silver Detail

Wall Hanging

This was in Stella today. I noticed the wallhanging above the stairwell and liked it. I think it may be a Timorous Beasties image. The hanging is a piece of wallpaper held on by clips. The reason that I am including it my blog is that I think there is a place for larger image wallpapers- if not only in the traditional way but also as hangings. It also shows that there is a market for wallhangings. Though I personally think it would cheap to hang wallpaper like this, I think it would have been better in a textile.

Stella, The Sunday Telegraph, 10 May 2009. Page 39.

Interesting bed

Shawn Lovell Metalworks Tree Bed
This bed caught my attention. I like the way it brings nature into your sleeping quarters. It looks like a nest at the top. Love it!

Trends

Below are some examples of illustrations that are being featured in papers and magazines this year.


Butterfly Paperweight by John Derian- bottom left.
The Guardian Weekend 25 April 2009


Seagul plate located at the right of the mirror is John Derian.
Elle Decor- May 2009 USA


Plate in eaves and crab plate is John Derian.
Elle Decor May2009 USA

John Derian Paperweight. Stella 11 Jan 2009.

Wallhanging -Florida design, 18 No.4

Erin Wallpaper

I love crow images from this wallpaper from Madison and Grow.

http://www.nest-living.com/products/madison-grow-erin-in-silver-lining-on-pale-pink accessed 04/05/09

Examples of Images with Backgrounds

Bummer

Well I washed that wool Crow and a lot of the black dye came out. It is now kind of a washed purple colour. Bummed! I may dye the whole fabric and highlight the crow with foil. When I get a camera I will post the current fabric and hopefully a solution. Shame as digital is EXPENSIVE!! Also highlights to me that I need to have a plan and a product with my digital printing from now on- can no longer afford to experiment.
I also think that I will reprint the Crow on Cotton Duck as a pair of curtains. Still debating if a background is better or just single illustrated image.

Big Digital Crow

Here is the original crow blown up. I like how the details have remained in tact at such a large scale. I am thinking about using him as a curtain panel. The material the crow is printed on is wool.

Screen Printed Crows

Multi-layered crows on linen background. Looking at this for either wallpaper, curtains or duvets.

This is a print on a T-shirt -black detailed crow over solid dark royal blue. Still have to be more careful regarding messiness and areas in the screen that allow paint through (that should not be there).