Merry Christmas!

I always intend to send Christmas cards, but never get around to it.

This year I did, although on behalf of someone else.

It is a Christmas card for my family's property maintenance company, a little homage to their history in painting and decorating. There is nothing lovelier than colourful swatches painted on a wall.

After graduating...

...things seem to slooow down. 

Some people are impressively conscientious, and hopefully great things happen quickly. Others are slow burners -  I think i'm one of those. However, some of the projects i've been working on for various people and budgets have kept me happy and productive.

This logo is my favourite rough from a set of four. Hopefully it will be chosen to represent the lovely Rosie Nash's business.

The above image is a cropped version of a double page illustration for an article about The Flaming Lips.  It will be published in Stutter magazine, a collective project by us graduates and brainchild of Dominic Mckenzie and Ben Mellows.

I procured a commission at New Designers Fair back in July, for Hallmark cards UK, a company with Christmas 2012 on their agenda. You can see the results above!

A last minute conquest!

For the last week i've been struggling with an editorial illustration for an article about the selection of rules for creative writing.
However, it seemed whatever I tried it looked terrible. So I accepted defeat. But looking through my portfolio this morning, I couldn't deny the gap where that Illustration SHOULD BE! It would have annoyed me for at least the next year. I poured a coffee, and sat down to show Photoshop who's boss - literally hours before the hand-in.

It's always good to know you can do something if you really try!

This Illustration will change your life(!)

It's the Easter holiday for us undergraduates, though I can't let that fool me into thinking I don't have any work to do. Because there is plenty of it.

In two weeks I will have handed in my work for the last time. Crikey. Anyway, this week I've been doing an editorial illustration for the Guardian's 'This column will change your life'. It's about how in order to learn a new behaviour, the desired action must be rewarded at random when it is performed. This illustration might not change your life - but it won't make it any worse!

The finished article.

The puffin competition entry gave me a few grey hairs this afternoon, when things took a Roald Dahl- esque turn.  Quite scary. 

Well, really all that happened is that the website crashed. But it's back up now and I've sent off my entry!

It being the last day of Uni, it's time to go to the pub.

James and the.... giant Puffin competition.

If you search for the paperback cover of Roald Dahl's James and The Giant Peach in google, you'll be seeing lots of competition entries from people who can't wait to put them onto their blogs! 

I'm not one of those - mostly just because it isn't finished.

Here is a link to the less than beautiful version of the cover I have in my possession (yes, it is too ugly to put on my blog.)

Not that i'm complaining about Mr Blake, because, come on he didn't put all of those elements together on the page did he? Here's hoping mine has something of a more selective palette, shall we say? 

YCN competition - Open University

I got my effort for the Open University YCN brief in on Friday, as you can see above. It was a most glorious day in Cambridge, so we illustrators went to the pub by the river. Days like that make up for all the grey days when your work isn't going so well....

Ottoman Tiles

I'm not one to turn down an offer of cash...  So, i've been painting tiles (a square metres worth) with patterns inspired by the ottoman empire. It's great because I can have the TV on too - I spent Tuesday evening painting and watching Fargo.

 These two patterns are slightly more subdued than some of the other patterns I have been doing, which are very bold! More to come soon.

The Encyclopaedia of Typefaces

A wonderful birthday present from Anna! Lucky me.

Phew, i'm pooped after a long day, but i've got just enough energy to post my Letter B Brooch, a bit later than promised, but here it is!

My Type of fun.

I have been drawing lots of typefaces recently, looking for the perfect one for a bit of laser treatment. And here it is, the letter 'A' in all it's glory, modelled by the beautiful Beth. 

I was reminded today just how lucky I am to be attending the Cambridge School of Art Illustration course, which is brilliant anyway, as my friends are all so talented and helpful. The lovely Beth and Anna (who you should know!) sported my brooches whilst my sexy Belgian friend Helene took photographs. Proper fun! 

My newest addition went on sale today at the usual spot, my Etsy shop and you can expect letter 'B' to follow tomorrow!

Slow progress

I've been having a somewhat pesky creativity blockage of late. The worst thing about that is there's nothing to post up. So instead i'll treat you to these lovely stamps. They would be great to use for numbering Etsy items or chapter headings. 

Oh, oh, oh. I was very grateful of an invite last night to go and see The King's Speech with Connie. I was hoping it hadn't been hyped up too much so that I might be disappointed. In fact I much enjoyed it, and it left me with a very regal feeling.

It was filmed at Hatfield House, and I shall like to go there.

When I was younger I said that I would like to be one of those people who gets crushed by a wall of their stuff falling down on them. Not because I was a very morbid child, you understand... but because I wanted to hoard on a GRAND scale.

I've since decided to hoard only the good stuff, and to try to keep it on a scale that fits my domestic situation. I found some good stuff t'other day, whilst on a charity shop binge. I have taken some pictures for you to share in my joy.

Ta.

New thing.

I have just put up a new wooden goose brooch for sale on my etsy shop. http://www.etsy.com/listing/65558296/wooden-goose-brooch

I also found a weird Jigsaw puzzle seller on etsy, who happens to have a very nice goose puzzle.

New Year, new blog.

After technologically updating myself thoroughly last year, I opened my Etsy shop in November - http://www.etsy.com/shop/NikkiGardham - and I started a blog, but knowing most of the blogs I follow are on Blogger I have inevitably made the move. So goodbye old blog, and hello blogger.

My Red Apple, White Donkey and Blue Goose brooches are now in my shop.