Mary Harris Illustration & Design

The Blue Bird and other pretty things...

2011-11-07T20:35:00.004Z

Lots of prettiness for this post. I went for a look round Ross-on-Wye today, and found an amazing second-hand bookshop and in the book shop there was a beautiful old copy of The Blue Bird by Maurice Maeterlinck. One of my favourite stories is Ballet Shoes by Noel Streatfield and one of the productions they do is The Blue Bird, was so thrilled to find such a beautiful copy.

I've been on a bit of a book spree recently, I have two new favourite children's books, Red Sings from Treetops: a year in colours by Joyce Sidman and illustrated by Pamela Zagarenski. It's simply beautiful, I could look at it all day, there is so much detail and lovely texture in the painting / collage effect of the illustrations.

My second favourite is Grandpa Green by Lane Smith, it's also beautiful, in a very different way, the illustrations are delightfully detailed in a limited range of colours lines and stippled green texture. The story is just so poignant and deals both sensitively and cleverly with the subject of age, memories and memory loss. I love it and have made everyone in the house read it! I even read it to the cat!The fourth and final prettiness for this post is, or rather, are, the new Penguin covers by Jillian Tamaki for The Secret Garden, Emma and Black Beauty (incidentally they are for three of my favourite stories). They're all embroidered by hand and are simply exquisite. I don't know how they've been printed, whether the stitches are in relief or not etc, I should be trying to save at the moment but I may have to splash out just so I can add these books to my book shelf and see how they've been produced, id I do I will post more about them!

Halloween Shapes

2011-09-21T16:28:00.011+01:00

Last month I painted a series of Halloween shapes for Berkeley Castle in Gloucestershire. They are to be used for the Halloween Treasure Hunt during the October Half Term activities.

For more info on their events please visit www.berkeley-castle.com

(Please excuse the poor quality photographs, it's very difficult to photograph wet gloss varnish!)

Snail Mail Goodies!

2011-09-21T15:29:00.006+01:00

Last month I received two rather lovely packages in the post which was very exciting.

The first package (see below) was two copies of a story I illustrated for SilverWood Books, Stories About Santa by Susannah Woodland. I produced three black and white illustrations and a number of thumbnail illustrations as well as the front cover.

I think they look rather smart and plan to have a few copies to sell next time I do a craft fair. If you would like a copy you can purchase one from the SilverWood Books website (whilst you're there you might want to look out for Helen Hart's new book The Black Banner which is a great swashbuckling tale, I'd thoroughly recommend it.)

The second package (see above) was even more of a surprise, it was a beautiful calendar.

Over a year ago now I donated an illustration to the charity Home-Start Arun for their 2012 calendar, initially it was going to be a regional calendar but due to the success I believe it has turned into a national charity calendar. There will be an auction of the artwork around Easter next year which is exciting and I'm hoping the calendar will be available to purchase from the Home-Start Shop as it really is lovely and useful too as it's set out as a family organiser / planner calendar.

I'm super proud of my contribution and I'm sure all the other artists are too. I'd like to send a virtual round of applause to Louise Mortley the Fundraising Organiser for Home-Start Arun for all her handwork organising the calendar and its production. I hope the calendar raise lots of money to help support the wonderful work that Home-Start do. Thank you Louise for asking me to contribute.

The Wonderful World of Peggy Edge

2011-09-03T13:22:00.003+01:00

I've recently discovered these beautiful greetings cards by Paper Rose, one of their Avacado Designs - The Wonderful World of Peggy Edge.

I defy anyone not to love them, they're truly beautiful, such a lovely idea.

I bought at least one of each design when I saw them! Might have to go back for more.

Design for English National Ballet

2011-09-01T21:33:00.005+01:00

I've been super busy this August moving house and all sorts. I'm afraid I've rather abandoned my poor blog. I hope you've all had a beautiful summer and enjoyed the sunshine as much as possible.

I thought you might like to see the entry I did for the TalentHouse.com competition to design the new visual identity for The English National Ballet - My First Sleeping Beauty.

If you have a spare minute to follow this link you can view my entry and vote for my design as well as viewing all the other entries.

All support is greatly appreciated,

Thanks again

Tigerprint - Hand Drawn Type Competition - My Entry!

2011-05-03T19:25:00.004+01:00

What a busy few weeks, I have been really terrible at blogging recently - sorry blog!

I hope everyone has been enjoying the bank holidays and the Royal Wedding - wasn't Kate's dress gorgous?

I finally entered one of the amazing TigerPrint competitions - Hand Drawn Type. I was quite pleased with my entries which you can see here (and above). I drew the flower and lettering by hand and then scanned them into Photoshop and did a bit of copying, pasting and manipulating to make it look pretty!

Looking at them now I think I'd have liked to use the text as the stem for the flower and maybe tried it on a darker background colour with graduating paler flowers. Might do a bit more experimenting with it one day!

There were so many amazing entries so I'm really looking forward to seeing who wins - two of my favourite entries were Time for Tea by Suzie Foster and this one by Becky. Have a look here at all the other entries and let me know which is your favourite.

Note to self: I must enter more competitions as it's a great way to motivate myself to produce new work! :)

New Website

2011-03-10T17:00:00.004Z

I've just finished updating my website which I hadn't done in a long time. My aim was to create a new page on my website to promote my graphic design work as it's a bit of a new venture for me and I'm teaching myself how to use more design software in the process.
I managed to fit the graphic design page in and do a general update and re-design learning some html along the way!

It's taken about 3 1/2 days but I'm very pleased with it and thought I'd share it with you.
I'd love to know what you think, I've had a look at it in Explorer and Sarafi, does it look ok in the web browser you use?

Christmas Stocking

2010-11-01T18:16:00.005Z

Over the last few months I've been indulging my love of cross-stitch sewing and Christmas by stitching this Victorian Christmas stocking design. I am thrilled with the finished stocking and hope that it will become a Harris Family Heirloom! Can't wait to hang it up on Christmas Eve and see what Father Christmas thinks of it!

Eleri's Faery

2010-10-14T09:47:00.007+01:00

Last month I visited Looe in Cornwall on a family holiday. Whilst there I took lots of photographs of the beautiful surroundings. One of these was a close up shot of a wall with some little flowers and the sea behind it. It captured my imagination and I knew I had to use it for something.

So when I got home I started drawing. I've always loved the idea that there are little faery people living around us and so the illustration began to evolve. Inspired by my friend Eleri as her birthday present.

I painted the faery, collaged it onto the photograph in Photoshop and then collaged flowers on top made from cut out stamps, which is my new obsession, in fact I've made a whole series of Christmas cards made from collaged stamps which I shall post on here soon.

I think I might start a series of faery pictures inspired by the English countryside. What do you think?

My new shop...

2010-07-25T12:22:00.007+01:00

I' ve just set myself up with an Etsy Shop Mary Harris Illustrations and Crafts I'm still uploading items. Next week it's greeting cards and handpainted decorations.

I'd love to know what you think and if you have any valuable advice on making it all a success. I'm also doing some research into getting my illustrations printed proffessionally onto bags and t-shirts. I'd like to know which designs are your favourites. Has anyone got any expert knowledge on printing, good companies to use etc.

Thanks for all your help and advice. Make sure you enjoy the sunshine!

The Christmas of Angels by Ivan De Battista

2010-05-26T15:46:00.004+01:00

These are the final illustrations I've been working on for The Christmas of Angels by Ivan De Battista which is to be published by Midsea Books later this year. It took a lot of research and hard work but I am so pleased with the final illustrations. I hope they are too.

My favourite illustration is the giant Christmas tree, I'd love to know which is your favourite?

Todays the day the teddy bears have their picnic...

2010-05-20T20:33:00.003+01:00

My favourite green bear

I've not posted anything for a while and although this isn't strictly Mary Harris Illustration work it is still creative work designed and painted by me!

Last week I was busy in my shed painting teddy bears for Berkeley Castle's Teddy Bear' Picnic Events on 1st - 3rd June. There will be a teddy bear hunt (hence the teddy bear shapes I painted), craft activities and story telling to amuse the whole family. A great day out and definitely worth a visit if you're in sunny Gloucestershire over the 1st-3rd June.

If you do pay a visit to the Castle please say hello from me and pop back here to leave me a comment and tell me how much fun you had.

The Christmas of Angels by Ivan De Battista

2010-04-30T21:28:00.004+01:00

My desk and my lovely watercolours

In the background you can see my frame of nettle-paper all handmade by me!

The two cheeky angels, the main characters of the story

Recently I've been working on another project with Midsea Books called The Christmas of Angels written by Ivan De Battista. It's involved lots of research into Maltese Christmas traditions which was fascinating. I'm currently painting the finished illustrations before collaging them all together in photoshop.

In the photographs you can see my little studio (the garden shed). It's been great to spend so much time there this week, especially as it has been raining so much. I've been watching Larkrise to Candleford whislt I paint.

The Boy and the Wind

2010-04-16T16:29:00.004+01:00

Over a year ago I did some initial designs for The Terrible Storm by Hecabe DuFraisse. This week I actually got round to doing the finished artwork. Even though I didn't get the original commission I really liked my illustration for the double page spread and was kindly granted permission to illustrate it anyway to fill my portfolio and post on my blog.
What do you think? I really like the background which is a mixture of watercolour textures and a photograph of the night sky. I think the main reason I liked the original sketch was because of the oriental feel that the wind character has, I hope this came across in the full colour version too.

I'm busy working on my fourth book with Midsea Books and I'm hoping I will be allowed to post my workings on here as it's been a mammoth task of research and re-drawing, all great fun.

London Book Fair Illustration Competition

2010-03-13T11:30:00.003Z

I was a little ambitious this month deciding that three weeks was plenty of time to create a completely new illustration for the London Book Fair Illustration Competition!
It was rather, I only just made the deadline and the illustration isn't quite as smoothly polished as it could be but still I like it.
I’m really please with the colours I managed to achieve in the trees and the fabric balloon is a little too small here for you to examine too closely but it's actually quite pretty.
I'd love to hear any thoughts and suggestions. It's a page taken from a story I've been working on for many months. About a rabbit, he originally lived on the moon now I think it might be another planet, he gets his balloon out and flies around the earth to find himself a new home and a new friend. He's still called Albert until I think of something more creative - any ideas?

Berkeley Castle Dressed in Snow

2010-01-14T12:14:00.004Z

It's been snowing everywhere across the UK, Berkeley Castle, where I work, looks even more magical dressed in snow. We've added a Berkeley Castle in the snow album to our facebook page for everyone to enjoy.

My illustration work and writing has slowed a little, I'm still waiting to see the books I illustrated for Midsea Books in print, I'm very excited and cannot wait!

I hope everyone is enjoying the snow and not finding things too difficult. Most of the snow has melted here now so things will soon be back to normal.

Take care x

Christmas Decorations...

2009-10-26T19:09:00.003Z

I've been busy making things for Berkeley Castle Craft & Gifts Fair these are some of my hand painted Christmas decorations. I can't decide what to charge for them. Does anyone have any ideas?

Stories About Santa - SilverWood Books ...

2009-09-22T22:06:00.002+01:00

Over the last month I've been working with SilverWood Books in Bristol to illustrate one of their latest books Stories About Santa by Susannah Woodland. These are four main illustrations from Stories About Santa that will be published later this year. We're hoping they'll be ready for November 14th to be sold at the annual Berkeley Castle Charity Fair.

What do you think of them? I tried to capture some of the nostalgic magic that Christmas brings, the warmth and the comfort and the joy.

The fun starts ...

2009-08-24T19:35:00.003+01:00

In between working 6 days a week and deciding to make a stab at running a craft stall in November, buying wooden shapes to paint (I haven't done any painting of shapes yet) and learning to drive, I have managed to fit in some illustration work. I have started the fun part, adding colour and producing nearly finished artwork (I will probably need to make final tweaks later). It's very exciting, I'm quite pleased with what I have achieved thus far. What do you think?

Maria ...

2009-08-03T21:51:00.001+01:00

I’ve now posted the final set of roughs for the books I'm illustrating for Midsea Books. This story follows the activities of Maria as she goes through her day, she walks, she runs, she dances ... I tried to keep the illustrations clear and simple yet capturing the constant energy and movement before the final exhaustion of Maria on the final page. I’m not sure if I achieved this completely? Any comments would be much appreciated. I will be starting some colour work soon which I’m very excited about; I will have to start experimenting with colour schemes which is often one of the most challenging phases.

Albert's Diary ...

2009-08-03T21:29:00.004+01:00

These are the roughs for another of the books I'm illustrating for Midsea Books. This story follows a week of Albert’s Diary through the weather and different things that he gets up to.
I’m not completely happy with these illustrations as I am with the others although they have all been agreed upon. I think I will add some trees into the windy scene and accentuate the force of the blustery day. I will have to do some thinking about the others; any other thoughts would be great?
Thank you all for the help and encouragement.

Matthew Goes Fishing ...

2009-07-26T18:39:00.005+01:00

I've spent this week working on rough compositions for one of the stories for Midsea Books. Matthew goes fishing and catches a fish, the book follows the sequence of events that unfold. I wanted to illustrate it rather like a comic book, so you could follow it clearly. I'm not sure if this works?

I had great fun with the character of the fish and trying to animate him so that he would appear shocked and sad and happy. I hope it works. I can't wait to get out my watercolours and inks and wax crayons and start adding some colour.

Midsea Books - exciting news ...

2009-07-22T18:09:00.004+01:00

I have recently had some very exciting news. I've been asked to illustrate three Maltese reading scheme books for a leading publisher in Malta, Midsea Books.

The books are very simple and really lovely - aimed at teaching young children to read Maltese. I've started work on some roughs which you can see above. Trying to keep them simple but interesting. Any thoughts or advice would be greatly appreciated. I plan to update my blog as the work progresses. Off to do some character development.

Id also like to thank children's writer and story teller Rita Borg for all her help and encouragment, for telling me about Midsea Books and promoting my illustrations. I wouldn't have met Rita without the wonders of SCBWi and their Winchester Conference so I'm very grateful to them both.

Illustrations for The Parrot Prince by Caitlyn Paxson from New Fairy Tales - Issue Three

2009-06-30T18:54:00.006+01:00

Exciting news, Issue Tree of New Fairy Tales is out and ready to read.

I'm about to sit down and read it myself but wanted to post my illustrations and a link to the magazine so you can go and enjoy it too. Hopefully you can find a quiet corner, perhaps outside in the slightly cooler air of the evening and spend some time in a fantastical and exciting world.

The illustrations above were for The Parrot Prince written by Caitlyn Paxson which can be found on page 10 of the magazine. I had great fun with the illustrations, trying to capture the brooding sense of mystery and darkness of the story. I hope I managed this.

Another of my illustrations was requested by Editor Claire Massey to be used as her profile picture along side the letter from the editor. I was extremely chuffed to be given such an honour.

Claire deserves a huge round of applause for all her hardwork and so do the rest of the writers and illustrators.

I hope you enjoy New Fairy Tales

www.newfairytales.co.uk

Picture This ...

2009-05-20T20:08:00.005+01:00

I recently had some wonderful advice from a very kind lady called Laurie. As well as some really encouraging comments about my artwork she gave be some great tips about blogging, one of these was to post something on my blog at least once a week. You can visit Laurie's imaginative blog here at Creating Pictures in my Mind. Look out for her close up photos of gravestone surfaces, they are magical.

So this is my post for the week:

Last week I sent off an entry to the Waterstone's and Macmillan competition Picture This to
illustrate a new story by Julia Donaldson. It's a wonderful story, really tricky to illustrate as the action takes place in one space, I had to get my thinking cap on and do some really creative compositions but I loved every minute of it, I really hope I get through to the next round so I can illustrate some more.

I like the piece I submitted, especially my characters, I feel like it really shows how much my work has improved over the last few months.

I'd like to know what you all think of it, I'm not sure if it is a little busy with the textured background? My other worry is that the bats are too dark, but I wanted them to be both cute but alarming too!

(Text for illustration is the copyright of Julia Donaldson 2009)

Doodles and Character Designs ...

2008-05-26T19:50:00.009+01:00

Here are some images I was working on for card ideas, as well as character design, trying to make my characters more interesting and appealing.

Retelling of The Snow Queen by Hans Christian Andersen

2008-05-22T20:18:00.010+01:00

As a part of my uni work I retold the story of the Snow Queen, I used my new skills in photoshop to do the illustrations and I really like some of the pieces that I came up with. This and my Macmillan work are going up in the end of year exhibition at North Wales School of Art and Design which is open to the public from the 2nd to the 27th of June so all are welcome.

My entry for the Macmillan Prize for Children's Book Illustrations

2008-05-22T19:56:00.007+01:00

These are the five finished pieces I produced to enter into the Macmillan Children's Book Competition. I wrote and produced roughs for all 12 double page spreads and then choose four pieces and a front cover to do in colour. The story is about a little girl called Freya and her imaginary friends.

Entry for Randolph Caldecott Prize ...

2008-04-10T21:19:00.007+01:00

This is my final piece of artwork for the Randolph Caldecott Prize (UK) I'm not that pleased with it but it is so much better than my previous attempts, I am still improving day by day, week by week! Really busy with working on my entry for the Macmillan Prize For Children's Book Illustrations and preparing for my end of year show at uni and New Designers, all good fun though, no chance of being bored!

I actually just found out that this piece won the bronze award for the Randolph Caldecott Prize 2008, still in shock, but very pleased!