Two and a half years ago I moved from YorkshiretoDevonwith my partner John and two cats in tow. The move was prompted by a desire to live by the sea and the realisation that the North Sea off the Yorkshire Coast was just a little too cold for comfort.
I sold my eco-bag business in Sheffield,licensed my giftware brand to Judge Sampsonin Hastings and set out life as an illustrator for hire and map maker extraordinaire!
Last weekend I took an autumn city break to Malaga. It’s quicker for me to fly to Spain from my home in Devon then it is to get the train to London … and almost as cheap, so spending a long weekend in one of Europe’s iconic cities is not a difficult undertaking :-)
Last week I met up with my sister who was over from Canada and we took a trip to the lovely, little market town of Southwell, which is near to where we grew up.
It’s show time again, which means that I and or my illustrated giftware head off for different parts of the world and present ourselves to retail buyers from every corner of the globe.
Earlier this month I travelled to Chicago from Toronto for a business meeting with a potential licensee and found myself with 2 hours to spare after flesh had been pressed and deals done and won.
Last week I created my first Live Cityscape at the wonderfulBlack Creek Pioneering Village in Toronto. I had visited this open-air, historical museum a few years ago
For the past two years I have been creating my Cityscape artwork out of a tiny, back bedroom. It’s even more cramped when my cats Bibi and Bobby decide to come in and share the space with me,
France is getting ready to celebrate its national day of independence: Bastille Day on 14thJuly. Over the last year I’ve been celebrating Gallic culture and iconic French landmarks
t’s Royal Ascot week and whilst not being a fan of horse racing I certainly find horses beautiful and inspiring and as such they have featured in many of my Cityscapes over the years.
Celebrating a special day for Queen Elizabeth is what got me back drawing again after a 15 year dormancy. I was trained and worked as a designer for many years but running an eco-bag manufacturing company meant that my creative energies were channelled into being an entrepreneur and building a business: BIDBIaka Bag It Don’t Bin It.