New work from Kayleigh

Hey guys. Just a little Sunday post to show you my latest piece of work. I painted this canvas yesterday - it took me all afternoon/part of the evening. It's an image from the latest issue of Company Magazine - I thought it was a gorgeous picture so wanted to see if I could do it justice. 

I'm quite pleased with it considering I haven't painted on canvas in a very long time. Part of me thought I couldn't do it anymore. Here are a few images of work in progress ::

I love the 50's vibe with the polka dot shirt and pastel colour palette. Now I want to freshen up my paint box and see what I can come up with next. I think the painting bug has bitten me again...

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Wishing you all the loveliest of new year's, hope yours started with some glasses of fizz & sparkly fireworks! Mine wasn't quite as glamourous as that, but nevertheless it made me happy to think of all the lovely new things 2012 will bring! We've started the year welcoming in our lovely Fritha's beautiful baby Wilfryd, which has put a smile on our faces! Super lovely pictures of new mama Fritha & her family on her sweet blog. Rachel L has her beautiful floral illustrations in Lionheart mag (ROAR!), Rachel P created some super cute owls for Yumi's window displays (twit twoo), Kay's blog has had a gorgeous makeover rapsberry, mint & orange & Abby has been illustrating beauties for Lionheart, there's one of Fritha! I've been illustrating for Audrey Grace Boutique (lots of super illustrators on there!) Also lots of wonderful projects to come from all of us crayonettes! Here's to 2012, eh! LOVE NATASHA ♥

The Sketchbook Finally Moves On...

Hey Crayonettes, Kayleigh here (you may not remember me as I haven't posted in so long!!). I just have a couple of cheeky snaps of the T&C collective sketchbook that will be on its merry way to Natasha tomorrow ::

I apologise for the poor quality. It's looking fab so far and I'm so excited for the next time it comes round as everyone will have contributed by then. We'll keep you posted on its progress.

Tea & Crayons featured in Issue 20 of Digital Artist!

 

This month, we were kindly asked to be interviewed by Digital Artist about collectives; how they work, what are the benefits and how to go about starting one. Above is a crop of the contents page where our lovely Kayleigh Buck had her work featured :)

 Closeup of Rachel Price's piece featured :)

Little extract from our interview.

To read the full article, buy issue 20 now - it's out for the next few weeks. Really privileged to be featured alongside other established collectives like Puck and Monster - exciting stuff!

Rachel L

Tea & Crayons Collaborative Sketchbook

I don't know if any of our lovely crayonettes know yet, but us T&C ladies have a humble little sketchbook travelling the UK between our homes. I (Kayleigh) am the third to receive the sketchbook, and as I have been drawing in it this evening I thought it was time that I showed you some pics.

Here's a sneek peek of a page I've been working on, and below are snippets of pages by Rachel L and Fritha (contributors 2 and 1)

I was just writing on my personal blog about how I keep browsing through the sketchbook :) It looks so good so far, and I absolutely love looking through others' sketchbooks. I find it so inspiring, and I often like sketchbook work better than a final piece. It somehow feels more real, true - almost raw...


Anyway, that's our sketchbook so far and I can not wait to see it as it gets progressively thicker with work. I hope you like the snippets I've shown you this evening.

A Tale To Tell :: Kayleigh Bluck

Hey guys! I was just posting over on my personal blog, when I thought that it might be something the lovely Crayonettes might like to hear about...


Yesterday my contribution to a fairly new collaborative project 'A Tale To Tell' went live. The project is hosted by Jamie Mills and Jane Richardson, and despite being in the early stages, it looks very promising so far.

"A Tale to Tell is an illustrated, collaborative storytelling project where each week a new illustrator/artist will be invited to submit the next part of the story, with a text entry and an illustration to accompany it.  Each artist responds to the story as it was left by the previous, taking the story wherever they wish and leaving it open for the next person to continue!  Creating an elaborate, imaginative tale from the minds of some of the most creative people around." *

*Taken from the 'about' section of the 'Tale To Tell' website

This is my illustration and contribution to the story:

Exhausted, Father Wolf fell to the floor. She Wolf however, could not give up so easily.

"We need help to get those secrets back - and fast" she proclaimed.

Sitting upright, she cried a high-pitched howl... "I beckon the birds!"

Be sure to check out the project live online as there are seven other fabulous contributions before mine. View 'A Tale To Tell' here. Thanks for reading guys, hope you like it.

Kayleigh

More From London Fashion Week - Carlotta Actis Barone

Hey guys! Just another quick Tea and Crayons post to show you the contribution that I have made to Amelia's Magazine for London Fashion Week so far (more to come)

This illustration is of one of the fabulous Carlotta Actis Barone's designs - gorgeous I'm sure you'll agree. As you can probably tell, us Tea and Crayons ladies love our fashion :D See the full article by Helen Martin over at Amelia's Magazine here.

Kayleigh's work in Cellardoor magazine

Hi there guys and gals. This is just a brief post to show you one of my illustrations that is featured in the latest issue of Cellardoor magazine - Issue 5, The Magic of Winter.

I was asked to illustrate the promo image for the film 'Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist' for an interview with author Rachel Cohn. It's great seeing your hard work put into context, so please check out the latest issue of Cellardoor magazine to see for yourself!

Fritha Illustrates... Kayleigh

Oh my gosh I was so nervous about getting this right. I envisioned Kay really hating it or offending her..thank god she likes it (or is a good liar). Hope you like it too! XO

Kayleigh illustrates... Rachel L

Well hello! As you will already know from Abby's post, us Tea and Crayons ladies have been busy illustrating eachother. I was given the very lovely Rachel Lewis to illustrate - and here she is!

I included the 'r' for Rachel that is part of her own personal logo on her blog and twitter as seeing it just makes me think of her :)
I really enjoyed illustrating this piece and am so excited to see everyone else's contributions.

Kayleigh illustrates... music

Now this isn't an illustration of lyrics, but it is an illustration of my absolute favourite artist ever - Erykah Badu.

If you haven't listened to her music before then I urge you to. I can't put into words the love I have for Badu's music, from her experimental sounds to her poetic lyrics, I will never tire of her creations. 


I literally waited years for her latest album 'New Amerykah Part II - Return of the Ankh', checking the HMV website month after month for a release date. How could an album live up to such expectations? I don't know, but let me tell you - it most certainly did.

The artwork for both New Amerykah Part I and II is another hi-light for me, with the most fabulous illustrations by the very talented Emek. Be sure to check out both the music and the artwork!

Christmas Commission : Dog Portrait

Hello. I hope all the lovely Tea and Crayons followers are warm, well, and cosy at home! I just wanted to share with you all something I've been working on today: a doggy Christmas commission:

Isn't she a gorgeous girl? You can see more of my work and similar posts over at my blog love2illustrate so please do pop over and say hello!


Kayleigh x

Kayleigh illustrates... home

Hello! Sorry it's a little late, but here is my illustration based on Rachel P's theme 'home'

My take on the theme was a little abstract, as for me, home is where my family is. I drew this straight in ink and I'm not happy with the way I've drawn my mum - I think she looks like a pea-head haha. Never mind, that's the joy of not drafting beforehand.

Kayleigh illustrates... strangers

Hello all. Rachel L's 'We illustrate' for this week was certainly a challenge, but I love the varied results we've seen so far and enjoyed the thrill of the challenge! Hehe.


My initial idea was to draw strangers while dining in fast-food's finest McDonalds (ha!), however it was really difficult. I managed to draw one lady sheepishly eating her chips (see top illustration) but didn't dare draw anyone else. The other two quick sketches I made came from when I held a craft stall. As I sat there freezing my toes off, I thought what better time than to draw a few strangers?

Doing these speedy sketches reminded me of my old life-drawing lessons. Do you regularly draw people on the go? If not, I say give it a whirl! It certainly tests your observational skills and loosens you up somewhat. Thanks for a great challenge Rachel :)

Kayleigh illustrates... snacks

Hot on the heels of Rachel L, here are a few of the snacks I've been munching this evening...

Introducing Tea and Crayons - Kayleigh Bluck

Name/Location: 

My name is Kayleigh Bluck and I am from Northampton.

Describe your style and how you work: 
My style is hand drawn (if you can call that a 'style'). My favourite and trusty materials are watercolour and pencil, however 95% of the time my final illustrations come together on photoshop as it allows for flexibilty and slight alterations. I tend to start with a digital draft using image resources which I then work from. The final hand drawn piece is scanned and put into photoshop where I make any alterations/additions to the piece.


What/Who inspires you: 
This question is so hard! I'm inspired by the seasons, the things my cats do, films, music, visits to London, and of course the work of countless other designers, illustrators, and crafters alike. I simply find inspiration in the things I love.


Favourite type of illustration to work on: 
Editorial is most definitely the one for me. Give me an article/topic and I will find an illustrative solution to my best ability.

Proudest moment of my career so far: 
In all honesty my career is in its infancy, so I would have to say my proudest moment was achieving first class honours in my degree. What better way to start?


Ambitions for the next five years: 
For people to know my name. I want to be the name on people's lips when it comes to editorial illustration, with a fabulous portfolio of published work. I know this won't be easy, that's why I'm giving myself five years!


Favourite tea: 
Just normal tea - two sugars, not too weak, not too strong, made by my mum with a slice of marmite on toast :)

Favourite crayon colour: 
Purple

Guilty pleasure: 
Coca cola. So bad for your teeth, full of sugar and caffeine, but I love the stuff.


If you were an animal you would be: 
A cat because they are my absolute favourites. They lounge around all day, come and go as they please - now that's the life!

Cake or curtains: 
Curtains because I wouldn't want people looking through my windows at night and rooms would look pretty odd without them!


Dogs or dancing: 
Dancing. It never fails to make me happy.


Website/Twitter 
Well this list is quite a long one for me...


Web: www.kayleighbluck.co.uk
Blog: www.love2illustrate.blogspot.com
Twitter: www.twitter.com/illustratingkay
Flickr: www.flickr.com/photos/illustratingkay
Etsy: www.illustratingkay.etsy.com
Folksy: www.folksy.com/shops/illustratingkay