Book cover design for a novelette: April Jane, Spring of 1881
Website: Alison Day Design
Showing posts with label illustration. Show all posts
Showing posts with label illustration. Show all posts
Monday 3 April 2023
Monday 31 December 2018
Smartie Pants
When I was a child, every Wednesday my maternal grandparents would come to visit. First to arrive was my Grandmother, Freda. She would arrive with a rustle of bags, on a celery scented wave, having just been to the local fruit and vegetable market in Oxford. Of course her bags had goodies for us too. Comics such as: Whizzer & Chips and Diane and there was always a big bag of cheesy shapes –savoury biscuits in mini diamonds, triangles, hearts and clover leaf shapes. They were very popular and disappeared by the handful into our hungry mouths.
This would keep us quiet for a while, but as we neared the end of the afternoon, our excitement would grow at the imminent arrival of our Grandfather, Joe. Ex-Merchant Navy and publican of a local watering hole in his home town, before he retired, he wore a brown checked sports coat with deep pockets. From these he would produce three tubes of smarties – one for each of us. Popping off the coloured plastic lids, first we would compare the alphabet letters on the underside of the lids. Then we’d upend the tube so that the multi-coloured smarties would slide down into our hands, like a conveyor belt. There was an art to eating them and favourite colours were always saved until last. Once the Smarties were gone, the tube was still fun. Replacing the lid, if you blew hard enough down the tube, you could get the lid to shoot across the room like a pop gun.
Then there came the week that Grandad turned up with the devastating news...
‘No Smarties this week, your Mum says I’m not allowed to give you sweets every week,’
he said. Of course we didn’t believe him and searched his deep pockets, but this time they were empty. But Grandad was the kind of soul who played by his own rules and couldn’t bear to look at our downcast little faces for long. As if by magic, he would produce three unopened tubes of smarties from an inside pocket. On future visits, if he said he hadn’t got any Smarties with him, we wouldn’t believe him. It turned into a game, to search his pockets for the forbidden tubes, until giggling we found them.
Although these were never as fun as the tubes, Smarties also came in small boxes too. I’m delighted to say that one of my illustrations, of a retro Smarty box has been included in the delightful Uppercase Magazine: Packaging Portraits, issue #38.
Friday 27 October 2017
Creative Jumpstart
The obligations of modern life are manifold and often leave us with little real time for ourselves, Five minutes here and twenty minutes there, snatched in between daily obligations and work. Any real 'me time', is as precious as gold dust and when it comes down to it, we’re often out of puff, uninspired, or blocked creatively…
Taking time for ourselves, and tapping into what we really want is an important way of giving ourselves space to breathe, re-boot and energize. This is not only important for our personal well being, but also affects our relationships and every other area of our lives.
Creative Jumpstart is a FREE, 5-day, creative boost, delivered daily to your inbox. Each message contains a mini assignment and each day builds on the one before.
Whatever your artistic experience—whether you’re in need of a creative boost, are just starting out, or a seasoned professional—Creative Jumpstart is for you!
Thursday 14 September 2017
Final Board
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| Mystic Circle by Alison Day |
Selecting one product from each week, here's my final collection. The styles of my products from the five weeks were quite eclectic, but I think I've managed to put a cohesive board together.
What do you think?
Now on to the next illustrative project, which is under wraps for now - more on that later.
Currently, I'm designing a creative E-Course. It's for anyone wishing to take time for themselves, develop their knowledge, both artistically and environmentally and meet others of a like mind. This course is for you, regardless of your artistic experience or creative level.
Saturday 9 September 2017
Tuesday 5 September 2017
Foxy Baroque
Foxy Baroque by Alison Day
Foxy Baroque and Home Decor week 4, is all about ceramics and incorporating text, along with various finishing techniques and decoration.
With a love of all things Gaudi, I found myself adding glass mosaic decoration to an already opulent, hand painted plate. A glass glaze on a fern coaster, which could also be used to create a mosaic wall pattern, shows how lucrative designing products for oneself could be for a broader audience.
Finally, porcelain potpourri holders, a personified vase with a foxglove skirt in relief and a unicorn tree decoration and we enter the realms of the mystical and magical world.
View September's newsletter here
Wednesday 23 August 2017
Decade Delivered
Today a box of: The Roaring 20s - Colouring Book was delivered. This is my third book, publishing under the name of Alison Day Designs. Having worked on it for several months, alongside numerous other projects and courses I've been taking, it's a pleasure to see it completed.
Monday 21 August 2017
Languid Florals
Languid Florals by Alison Day
Well, week two of the Home Decor course is complete and uploaded. Substrate: fabric, with a theme of florals. I've always wanted a chaise longue and covered with my own fabric design would be fabulous... Oh and that Ottoman will go nicely with it too.
Sunday 13 August 2017
Magic Wings
Magic Wings by Alison Day
Yesterday, ahead of deadline, I uploaded my completed Home Decor assignment for week one of a five week course. Designed for the substrate: metal, with a theme of birds.
A serial student I am, but this means yet another piece for the portfolio and I'm in creative heaven!
You can also sign up for monthly updates, digital inspiration and info on a creative, E-Course I'm writing: here
Thursday 3 August 2017
Colouring Clarissa
At last it's finished! —My 1920s bootcamp, cover assignment has become a colouring book, filled with 34 original illustrations. Purchase HERE
Wednesday 26 July 2017
Bootcamp Five
The round up of five months of creative, bootcamp assignments. What do think?
Currently, I'm writing an E-Course. It's for anyone wishing to take time for themselves creatively, develop their knowledge, as well as meet others of a like mind. Regardless your artistic experience or creative level—so that includes you!
If you'd like to be kept up to date on my E-Course as it progresses, or have always wanted to take part in a creative class, with an environmental flavour—subscribe to my monthly newsletter. Plus you'll also receive my 10 top creative tips: here
Monday 24 July 2017
Global Goodies
'Holly, can you do that later? I need some help with the deliveries!' said Botticelli.
Holly wasn't listening, she wanted to fly too—if only...
Currently, I'm writing an E-Course. It's for anyone wishing to take time for themselves creatively, develop their knowledge, as well as meet others of a like mind. Regardless your artistic experience or creative level—so that includes you!
If you'd like to be kept up to date on my E-Course as it progresses, or have always wanted to take part in a creative class, with an environmental flavour—subscribe to my monthly newsletter. Plus you'll also receive my 10 top creative tips: here
Wednesday 19 July 2017
Summer Giveaway
UPDATE: prize draw closed - a winner has been drawn !
SUMMER GIVEAWAY!
My Gertrude Jekyll quote notebooks arrived today from my Society6 shop. I think they've turned out beautifully. So, in honour of that and because it's Summer, I thought it would be fun to do a giveaway.
Want to win ONE? - Hop over to my Instagram and find the giveaway post and follow what it says to be added to the draw.
You have until - Friday 21 July then I will draw ONE lucky winner (at random) and send ONE notebook off to that lucky person anywhere in the world!
Saturday 24 June 2017
Dreaming Spires
I've been wanting to create an illustrative map of my hometown, Oxford, for quite a while now. After a little research I came across plenty of interesting things to draw. With a total of 38 colleges on offer (13 appear on my selected slice of Oxford's city centre), Oxford is filled with an varied richness of: restaurants, shops and enough pubs for a jolly good pub crawl.
That was a few months ago and then other projects took precedence and I lost my momentum. Fast forward to two weeks ago and what should come across my path, but a map making course given by Nate Padavick (They Draw and Travel) on Sketchbook Skool. Perfect, it was a no brainer. A week long course, with the potential of a completed map (for me, of Oxford) at the end of it. So, I dove in (add to a the other three courses I'm was already doing—I'll never learn!)
The course was inspiring and the instruction from concept to finished map, clear and easy to follow. I've uploaded my map to TDAT's website, with a feeling of achievement. If you'd like to see the whole map, you can here
You may also be interested to hear, as an artist, and in the light of environmental challenges, I'm currently writing a creative E-Course. Due to appear later in the year or early 2018.
In it, the problem is addressed through hands on creativity, along with sources, resources and an informed environmental awareness.
It's an E-Course for adults wishing to take time for themselves creatively as well as meet others of a like mind. Regardless of artistic experience or creative level—so that includes you!
If you'd like to be kept up to date on my E-Course as it progresses, or have always wanted to take part in a creative class, with an environmental flavour, please, sign up for my newsletter to be kept up to date on my progress: here
The newsletter is a digital feast that will arrive in your inbox monthly, it also includes my most current illustrative work.
Thank you for reading.
Thursday 25 May 2017
Jardin d'Amour
Sunday 7 May 2017
People we meet - Tabitha
Wednesday 26 April 2017
Thursday 23 March 2017
Monday 20 March 2017
Tuesday 14 March 2017
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