Fiona Meakin Designs - Draw With Fi

Here is my entry for this year's Sketchbook Project , I completed this little story back in October after choosing the title 'I Remember You.' You should be able to see it very soon at Arthouse Co-op but I don't think it has been digitized yet. The sketchbooks are on the move throughout the USA and will be coming over to London later in the year! I approached this as a story board having had an idea a few years ago so the sketchbook has a definite narrative which is very different from the sketchbook I have just completed for Sketchbook Project,  Limited Edition . Enjoy!         Story and illustrations by Fiona Meakin, copyright 2012. All rights reserved

Latest Greetings Card Commissions I love creating bespoke designs for clients and jumped at the chance I got recently to illustrate cards for a friend's wedding and a colleagues leaving card. I will upload the wedding card when the special day has taken place...don't want to ruin the surprise! Paper greetings cards are so special; enabling us to keep in touch, express our gratitude, our best wishes or just let someone know we are thinking about them. E-cards can be just as touching but nothing beats opening an envelope to find a hand-crafted, scrumptious piece of art work and messages inside. Monday the 30th of April was a busy day for me! I had 4 deadlines for design projects (as well as actually having to physically be at my actual job as a teaching assistant!) I suppose it has given me a really good taste of how life as a self-employed artist could be and that there will be busy periods balanced out by quieter ones. I have also been worki...

Not that I need to give myself anything else to do BUT doesn't this look good? Along the same lines as Illustration Friday it gives budding and seasoned illustrators alike an artistic workout, as it were, with different weekly topics to exercise those creative minds. These challenges are really good in order to gain valuable experience of working within a time limit and drawing from topics that you may not normally choose. Will I be able to resist?... watercolorwednesdays.blogspot.co.uk/

Recently I got the chance to get one of my designs printed on a T -shirt and here is the result! I'm really pleased with how my 'love birds' design has turned out and the little Fi&Me logo at the bottom adds a cute touch too. I will be making this design into wedding stationery in a variety of colours very soon. I chose the lady-fit scoop neck T-Shirt in sky blue because I used to have a similar T-shirt back in the 90s, and this style reminded me of it. It's really comfortable, although I opted for medium and it's a little tight fitting so a large may have been better - however, with Easter having just gone by I can probably blame the chocolate for that! The site has lots of choice for both men and women in terms of style and colour and the service was really efficient with the finished T arriving a matter of days after I placed my order. I'd definitely use them again. Lu and I are thinking of getting matching...

I feel like things are finally starting to happen in my little world of art in terms of making more steps to becoming a full-time artist but it has been a long and busy road! For those of you who are aspiring to a career as a self-employed artist, juggling a real job (I'm also a teaching assistant and full-time mum) you will know that it is really hard going at times and you can spread yourself very thinly. Inevitably you have to burn the candle at both ends, you may struggle to get organised, put sketching your latest idea infront of cooking tea (!), perhaps you are devoting more time to your craft than to your family and friends?...Sound familiar? I will be writing more about these issues soon so do check back! Anyone have any thoughts or feelings on this topic? I would love to hear from you so please feel free to comment  Fi x Beware of the 'burnt out creative type' more like!! Ha! www.fiandme.co.uk www.cargocollective.com/fionameakinillustration...

This chunky monkey is made from a woolen pair of socks from 1965. Never worn, I might hasten to add!  I recently made this little fella for my other half in memory of his dad.

view my portfolio: coroflot.com/fionameakin