Illustrations at Hampshire Open Studios August 22-24

If you’ve wondered how I do my chapter illustrations, you can find out at Hampshire Open Studios, August 22-24 at Chandlers Ford.

The Chandlers Ford Art Group is cleverly using the Methodist Church Hall as a members’ studio space. As I’m a member, I’m there!

My pop-up studio

I have a table to work on, or at, a display space behind me, and I’ll be showing illustrations from the Princelings series. I’ll also have some of the illustrations printed at A5 (roughly half letter-size), which will fit in an envelope if anybody wants to buy them. I’ll take a box of Princelings paperback books, which do after all, contain around 25 illustrations in each, plus a great story!

In the spirit of the ‘studio’ I’ll be working on an illustration in front of your very eyes! I have no idea what, at present, but as I draw them on my iPad now, I can always rework something I think needs improvement.

I’d quite like to do some illustrations for other books, though. I just don’t know what, yet!

How to find us

Here’s the link to the Chandler’s Ford Art Group.

The Methodist Church Hall is to the right of the church as you enter from the road (car park behind).

Nearest main road is the M3 (London-Southampton). Exit at junction 12, follow the signs to Chandler’s Ford, and pass the Nuffield Health Centre on your left. About a mile further is a mini-roundabout among a small shopping area, and straight on after about 200 yards is the Church on the left.

The Number 1 bus between Southampton and Winchester passes the door. Nearest train station is Eastleigh (or Southampton Parkway/Airport), but it might be easier to get the bus from Winchester or Southampton rail stations.

Illustrations on display in August

Seven H 2020

It’s funny how things go. I was thinking how little I was doing relating to the Princelings world these days. Then I realised that I’m featuring my work on the books as the chapter illustrator during the Hampshire Open Studios event in August.

The Open Studios events

I don’t know if these happen where you are. I don’t even know how they got started.

The first year in Norfolk I met them for the first time. A number of signposts at road junctions, indicating ‘Norfolk Open Studios’ or just ‘Open Studios’, and if it was the way I was going, later I’d pass a sign into someone’s house or barn or garage, or somewhere like that. I got online and discovered a map and guide to all the local artists who were opening their studios, or their homes, to show you what they got up to. Not just painting, but jewellery, ceramics, glasswork (I got a lovely lamp with a Tiffany-inspired design on it)… and all the usual range of painting styles and materials.

spiral of Princelings book covers

And despite Covid, I discovered it existed in Hampshire too. So as I joined an art group when I moved here, I discover that I can participate in the Open Studio event with them. We’re setting up our own mini-studios inside the hall we usually use for events, between 20th and 28th August. I’ll only be doing the Monday and Tuesday in that time (unless I do Wednesday as well), because I’m committed to book events either weekend.

My mini-studio

I’ll have a table, and a display board, and I’ll be trying to make it as much like an illustrator’s studio as possible. I’ll be preparing some prints of my best illustrations for the Princelings books (including the Messenger Misadventures), in the hope people might like to buy them.

The originals will be with me so people can see how I work, and as I now do them on my iPad, I’ll take that – possibly doing an illustration or four over the two days.

I think I’ll select a couple of pictures to hang on the display board, to show people how my painting looks – and probably pick out some that relate to the illustrations – Dylan’s adventures at Haunn in particular. And my Princelings banner has a load of my illustrations as the background. So I’ll probably take a box of books, in case people find it worthwhile buying a set of 25 prints plus story for less than the cost of three single prints!

I’m still in the planning stage, but hopefully that will work. Thank you Chandlers Ford Art Group for the chance to meet the public and talk about illustrations!

Questions

Do you have a favourite illustration?

Which one(s) should I feature most prominently?

You can check them all, book by book at my new portfolio site (which should be there until WordPress stops doing free blogs).