As you may have noticed, I am obsessed with the sea and am endlessly taking photos of it. This mini collection of occasion cards features photos of waves and beaches on our Atlantic Coast. Fanore Beach, the beach just outside Ballyconneelly in Connemara, a wave in Doolin and the view of the Blasket Islands from the Dingle Peninsula are where these photos were taken.
I hope you like them. If you have other mini ranges you’d like to see, I’d love to hear from you.
Catherine
With summertime here at last, this is what’s going on behind the scenes here in the studio. I’ve just added a section for original artwork to my website so if you’re looking for some original art for yourself or as a gift, check it out. I’ll be uploading more in the coming weeks.
The main thing that has been going on is I’m working on a brand new children’s book
How I write children’s books
In case you’re thinking of writing a children’s book yourself, the first stage of my process is I spend a lot of time thinking about the story, it’s like an incubation period and this could take weeks or months. Then it’s suddenly time to sit down with a notebook and jot down a really rough idea of the book … a beginning, a middle and an end. This is a very rough outline, then I develop it a bit more. I’ve reached this stage now so will pop in a little paragraph next month to keep you updated on my progress.
Catherine
The illustrations on these Irish Christmas cards come from my children’s book ‘The Christmas Reindeer who saved the World’. It’s a great, feel good story about children cleaning up the planet from plastic. The story is good fun and not heavy or preachy. Anyway, these cards feature some of the book’s illustrations, all hand drawn in pen and watercolour. They’re eco friendly, designed in Galway and printed in Dublin. They’ll bring some colour to any Christmas mantlepiece.
Also available ‘as Gaeilge’.
I hope you like them!
I’m so excited as this new, revised edition of the Elephant Tree has just gone to print. This book has had a total makeover with an improved story and it is now filled with my hand drawn watercolour drawings. It’s a lovely story about Miguel the Elephant who wants to fly and Ari, a little bird, who is afraid to fly.
I got the original idea from a sculpture by Miguel Barcelo that was in the gardens of the Irish Museum of Modern Art. I had the pleasure of meeting Miguel Barcelo at the time and was very taken with him and his explanation of why he created the sculpture of the elephant standing on its trunk. He told me that the trunk of the elephant became the trunk of the tree.
One thought led to another and the first, and very traumatic, version of the Elephant Tree was born! I am happy to say that I have totally revised the story and the illustrations and this version is perfect for young children. It touches on the circle of life and may help children with bereavement.
Now I just have to wait until it arrives from the printer! You can pre-order your own copy now.
I’m currently working on my new ‘Save the World’ Collection of images. So far, I have this lovely Panda as well as a whale and a penguin. The originals are hand drawn and painted in watercolour. I’m hoping to find a wildlife charity that I can donate part of the proceeds to – still waiting to hear back from the World Wildlife Foundation.
I hope you like them … more to follow.
Catherine
