Happy Christmas !

I had such fun designing our Christmas card this year. We live not far from the Rhein river in Germany - and it's a great place for day trips and to take visitors - the Rheingau region produces some really fantastic wine and the river is dotted with castles and picturesque villages and steep vineyards and forests on the banks. Anyway - every time we go we see huge barges travelling down the river weighed down with containers - I always wonder what they contain ! So this year I designed a Christmas barge which is carrying some of my favourite Christmas essentials.

Wishing everyone a Happy Christmas and Best wishes for 2015 !

For all my lovely American friends

Stamps from around the world

I have been working on some stamp designs from different countries - makes me want to start collecting real stamps !

Sketches

Here are a few sketches that I have been posting on instagram (apologies if you have already seen them) as part of the inktober project where you create and post an ink sketch / drawing every day for the month of October. I love the simplicity of ink drawings. It has been a lot of fun -  looking back I seem to have drawn a lot of houses and trees, though a donkey did make it in there too ! There is a link to my instagram page on the right hand side of this blog.

Card samples arrived !

I was thrilled today as my latest card samples arrived from Phoenix Trading. They licensed my Vintage Ink piece as a greetings card. The finished card looks wonderful - they have embossed it beautifully. Here are a few pictures:

Sketchbook

This week I am on holiday in Corsica, it's just beautiful. Steeply forested hills and mountains and gorgeous beaches and crystal clear water. I have had a lot of fun sketching with pens, watercolour pencils and pastels, and being away from the computer has been refreshing. Here are a few of the sketches - you may already have seen some of them on instagram if you follow me there...

Who inspires me? Bloghop

A few weeks ago, a very talented artist Ohn Mar Win asked me to be a part of the 'What inspires me' bloghop. I was very honoured and touched. You can read her post here. I got to know Ohn Mar's work originally on Lilla Rogers Make Art that Sells e-course about a year ago. Recently Ohn Mar has been working on a monthly doodle challenge where she posts a food doodle a day on instagram. Her drawings are so fluid and stylish - such a talent. The biscuits in particular got me...

Can you imagine what it did to me every morning at 10am when a different biscuit popped up in my instagram feed ?!? Seriously though - she has some beautiful illustrated recipes on the They Draw and Cook website - have a look here !

Also some beautiful illustrated maps - this one is my favourite:

So now on to the bloghop, first a bit about me ...

QUESTION #1 WHAT ARE YOU WORKING ON RIGHT NOW?

The end of September had a lot of deadlines for me, 2 for card companies and 1 for wallart - so after finishing those off like crazy I am now looking forward to working on some new collections, and having a little holiday next week.

QUESTION #2 WHY DO YOU CREATE WHAT YOU DO ?

I love drawing what I draw - if it doesn't feel good while I am doing it then I know it won't work. I love drawing on inspiration from nature, travel and family to create pieces that make me happy and also hopefully make others happy too. I want my art to appear on beautiful products.

QUESTION #3 HOW DOES YOUR CREATIVE PROCESS WORK ?

Daydream, sketch, research, sketch, put together, doubt self, get grumpy, feel happier, finish and not want to stop !

So now the fun part for me - moving on to 2 artists who I find very inspiring.

First off is Claire Picard. Among the many things I love about Claire's work is her use of colour. I learn so much by looking at her colour choices. Always original and fresh and innovative. Like this...Just lovely isn't it. And how about this Christmas one...

Olive and pinks - so gorgeously unexpectedly Christmassy without being clichéd !

Claire lives in Paris and also illustrated this beautiful map:

Gorgeous work - all of it. You can see more on her website here

The next artist who I would like to mention is Katie Beery Doucette of Polka Dot Mitten. She is based in Michigan, and is not only a talented artist but a formidable businesswoman too. She runs her own shop It is What it is, in Douglas, MI. She designs and makes all the signs and art by hand which are also distributed and sold all over Michigan. I don't know how she does it all but she does and is a real inspiration !

One of the things I love about Katie's work is her lettering - it just looks effortless, and really stylish. In the past I have feared putting lettering in my pieces as I am paranoid of sounding cheesy or just plain annoying. Like those office posters that have people rowing with the word 'teamwork' above them. Makes me cringe personally. Anyway - Katie manages to be stylish and inspirational without a hint of cheese or annoyingness. The words just flow on her pieces and are so believable and unique.

This is one of my favourites - I love the colours and the composition - it's just perfect:

You can see more of Katie's work here.

So that's all for now, I have loved featuring someone else's work for a change! Now it's back to creating lots of new designs - the most fun thing to do !

Labels and hearts

After all the excitement of the GTS semi-final, I didn't make the final this time, but best of luck to all the amazing artists who did ! I am thrilled to have taken part. So I have been working hard on lots of designs the last few weeks. Mainly for paper products - greetings cards especially. I hope some will make it to the shops ! I will keep you posted. Anyway - inspiration has come from vintage labels, packets, hearts and folk art and books, here are a few snippets:

Semi Final of GTS - I need your vote !

So, I was really thrilled that my piece 'Forever summer' got me through to the semifinal of Lilla Roger's Global Talent Search. Now there are just 50 artists in this next round, and there will be just 6 going through to the next. Nerve-wracking stuff ! The judges will choose 5 finalists and one place will go to the 'people's choice' , which is determined by a public vote on the online gallery. So... I am asking that if you like my piece, then please please vote for me! I would be so thrilled to make it through to the next round. Here is a link to the gallery:

This is my piece:

The brief was to create a t-shirt with an animal character for a young child. I swung back and forth for a few days between dogs, elephants, birds etc, before deciding on the rabbit. My thinking behind it is the idea that magic is everywhere - hence the butterflies and flora bursting out of the hat along with the rabbit. And the stars add a bit of magic too.

I literally drew and redrew the rabbit about 50 times. I wanted to get that expression just right: friendly, sweet, not sickly-sweet, slightly old fashioned and engaging. I hope I succeeded ! The ears make him look almost hare-like but I really do like them like that . I also swung back and forth on the colour palette, literally driving myself crazy. But I got there eventually !

Here is a closeup of the rabbit in the hat and some sketches:

I have bought a lot of children's clothes over the last few years, as I have a 7 year old daughter and 5 year old boy. So what I tried to create was something I would buy. I love Boden and Joules and it would be such a dream to produce a design that might one day end up on one of their pieces ! I created some patterns for the sleeves, and also a nice satchel. There is also a  rectangle of stickers or badges that could be used to decorate accessories. All in all I had a great time making this piece. As to what happens next it is out of my hands. I am so happy to have made it this far and it all depends what the judges are looking for. The best of luck to everyone taking part !

Indian summer - free download !

It is starting to feel like Autumn already here in The Taunus - lots of rain and chilly evenings. So I am thinking that September is the perfect month for an 'Indian summer' - what do you think the chances are ? That we get that wonderful second spell of warmth and sunshine when we are least expecting it ! I am busy working hard on my submission for the semi-final of Lilla Rogers Global Talent Search (more on that next week) , and it is pouring with rain outside !

So as a little thank you for all the support and nice comments, here is a free digital wallpaper download for your smartphone and desktop to hopefully brighten up your day a little bit !

Just click on the links below and then right click on the image, then select 'save as desktop background' or save and download to your phone. Please feel free to share it, and link back to my page for people to download it. I hope you enjoy it and let's hope for that 'Indian summer'...

(All images are property of Harriet Mellor Art and Design and may not be recreated, sold or reproduced in any way.)

Forever summer

This is my entry for the Lilla Rogers Global Talent Search, a competition run by a great agency. Over the past year I have taken several courses run by Lilla Rogers and I have learned so much about developing my work and how to make it sell. I have some great projects in the works now.

The brief for this competiton was very interesting - mini terrariums for the wall art market. There are so many different types of terrarium - with plants, succulents, flowers and even little models of people and houses. So there was a lot of room for interpretation,  it should make for a very varied gallery. The top 50 will go through to the next round. So I have my fingers crossed !  I sketched a lot of ideas to get to my final piece. The idea of 'Forever summer' is that the terrarium can be a little piece of summer even if it is cold and wintry outside. So I had a lot of fun with summer and winter foliage and contrasting colour palettes. The lettering was inspired by vintage seed packets. I have a whole pinterest board full of them !

So - wishing everyone who entered the best of luck. Can't wait to see all the entries !

Flying things and summer projects

The last couple of weeks have been really busy completing my entry for the 2014 Global Talent Search, run by Lilla Rogers. I can't post my final submission here until all the entries are in but here is a little sketch of some of the elements which either did not make it or are too small to see ! However hard I try not to sometimes, I always end up including so much detail - but in the end I was really happy with my piece. Keep your fingers crossed for me ! The gallery will go live next week and I will post the link and my piece then. But for now here is the little sketch - hope we get some more summer weather soon !

Infused Waters

I decided to do another drinks illustration in a similar colour scheme which is now on the 'THEY DRAW AND COOK' website. It's such a great site full of illustrated recipes from artists all over the world, and I am thrilled to have  an illustration on there. Infused waters sound so fancy but really anything added to water like lemon or mint just makes me more likely to drink it !  

Drinks

My final assignment for MATS Bootcamp was a piece based on beverage/s of your own choice that you would choose to have in your own house or give to a friend. I decided to make a piece based on my own personal tastes which was lots of fun to make (and research!) Here is 'How I like my drinks',and one of the initial sketches:

Drinks

My final assignment for MATS Bootcamp was a piece based on beverage/s of your own choice that you would choose to have in your own house or give to a friend. I decided to make a piece based on my own personal tastes which was lots of fun to make (and research!) Here is 'How I like my drinks',and one of the initial sketches:

Summer stripes

Our week in Spain is coming to an end and we are preparing for the long road trip back to Germany. Here is a last little photo montage - some summer stripes from around the villa. Looking forward to getting back into the studio next week with lots of fresh inspiration !

More circles

Circles

Some circles from flowers and pebbles on the beach - just for fun !

Flowers from Spain

This week I am on holiday in Spain - so a chance for a bit of fun and some different sketches / work. Here are some beautiful flowers from the garden here - all just a little bit different - just glorious colours !

Something for the boys

So much of what I do is quite feminine with flowers and things, this piece was created with boys in mind ! Especially mine who is 5 years old. The MATS bootcamp assignment this month was wall art with a nautical theme. I knew straight away that I wanted to do a cross section of a ferry. A couple of times a year we make a road trip back to England - on 'The England Ferry Boat' which travels overnight from Rotterdam in Holland to Hull in England. It's great fun and the children absolutely love it. This ferry is more of a Nordic ferry, I am thinking of people setting off on great adventures with camping, canoeing, lakes and mountains and of course ice creams. One day I would love to travel on a ferry like this. Now we are starting the summer holidays here and so wishing everyone a wonderful summer full of adventures, fun and of course lots of ice creams !