I love any opportunity to get my pens out and create a drawing that someone will love. So I was thrilled to be asked to draw a lovely pair of cats called Fern & Keith, what great names for cats, how could I refuse!

I recorded each step of how I built the drawing so you can follow the progress.

I hope you enjoy seeing the process and how the drawing comes to life.

That is how I made a picture of Fern & Keith!

If you would like an original illustration making just for you please do just get in touch.

All I would need is a selection of good photographs to work from and I will see what I can do for you.

Thanks for reading!

x

See more of my work online at www.joclarkdesign.co.uk

Do you like tea? Do you like owls? Well if the answer to those questions is yes then you need to take a peek at my new ‘Tea Owls’ tea towels!

This is my new range of tea towels which I am so excited about and I really hope you will like them.

They make the perfect gift for anniversary’s weddings and of course all of those birthdays that keep cropping up around this time of year.

These are available individually or as a lovely gift set of two, one of each design!

Order from my online shop. If you are a shop and would like to stock these tea towels or any other of my products, please do get in touch.

Thanks for reading!

Recently I was thrilled to be asked if my bulldog illustration could be used for promotion for the fantastic ‘Ginger & White’ coffee shop. The design was used on the postcards and on the window coverings as the shop was being refurbished. Most recently it has been made into a fab projection sign for their new Soho Coffee shop. I added the hand rendered font to the design and here is the finished article!

Now the Bulldog is available on a tote bag too from Ginger & White Coffee shops, perfect to take your your sandwiches away in!

Whenever I do craft fairs in London my little bulldog card always gets recognised as the doggy from the coffee shop, which always makes me smile and I’m glad people remember this little guy. To see more of my doggy designs take a peek at my shop where I am always adding new breeds or I will happily do any pet commissions, which make a fantastic personal gift.

Time for a coffee I think!

After such a long cold winter, and seemingly skipping spring, I felt the need for some sunshine in my life, like everyone else in the UK I’m sure! So I have tried to create a range of designs to remind us of the summer. I hope they bring a smile and make you feel a little bit summery!

These designs and more are available to order from my shop and will be officially launched at this years Pulse trade show at Earls Court London on 12-14th May 2013.

I will be exhibiting my new design ranges at stand E40. So if you are looking for some fresh new stock for your shop or just fancy a browse, I would love to hear from you. I am offering a 10% off all trade orders placed online before the show, so just get in touch contact@joclarkdesign.co.uk if you would like to place an order.  I’ve got lots of new products, including some gorgeous new Tea Towels coming very soon, you will just love!

I hope these new designs bring a little sunshine to your day.

Lots more designs available and don’t forget to check out lots of new products available including fabrics, wallpapers, cushions, laptop skins and lots more.

Enjoy!

Jo x

March see’s the start of perhaps a little (dare I say) sunshine, hurray! I think a lot of us are becoming a bit bored of the dull grey skies, but at last some brightness to lift everyones spirits. The start of March also see’s the launch of two exclusive card designs I created for Kew Royal Botanical Gardens, and I am so excited about it. The theme for the range is ‘seed heads’ and these two designs were chosen from a selection of illustrations.

This design was inspired by one of my best selling designs in the 2012 card range. I decided to use a similar composition and selected a bold colour palette of teal, cream, and mustard colours to create a contemporary design.

The second design is a simple single stem of ‘cowslip parsley’. I tied in the mustard colour on the buds of the flower head. This delicate seed head structure contrasts nicely next to the ‘mustard seeds’ design.

Of course these designs are only available from Kew Gardens and Wakehurst Place shops, but I have a wide range of botanical themed cards available from my shop perfect for Mothers day this weekend, make sure you take a peek!

So if you are visiting Kew Gardens be sure to have a look around the gift shop which is full of gorgeous flora and fauna themed gifts.

A big THAK YOU to Kew Gardens for asking me to design these cards for them, and for giving me the opportunity and an excuse to get my pencils out!

Hello! It’s been a while since I posted and I’m sorry about that, so much to do so little time etc.

I have been working on many things over the past couple of months and I really need your help please, it turns out Daisy my cat is really just not very helpful. Scroll through the pictures and find out how you can be of assistance and be in with a chance of winning an original illustration to brighten your day.

Competition time!

So this is where I need your help please!

As a thank you for your help I will be giving away one of these original drawings!

How to enter!

If you could please tell me  your favourite six designs from the collection above, along with which one single design you like the best (so if you won I know which one to send you). Use any one of the methods below to enter.

-Leave a comment here on my blog, or…

-Re-tweet this post on twitter with your answers, or…

-Share on Facebook and leave your comment on my Facebook page.

The winner will be announced on February 28th at 12noon, and don’t forget to check out my full range of cards and gifts in time for Mother’s day 10th March!

Good luck and thanks for looking.

x

I was recently asked by one of my closest friends to create a special portrait of the lovely golden retrievers Lilly and Gus that she grew up with at home.  The portrait is to be a memorial to this lovely pair of golden retrievers and will be hung in the family home.  Here I show a step by step account of this latest commission which I hope you will enjoy.

For more information about having your very own pet portrait art print please visit joclarkdesign.co.uk

Ok so thats it, I hope you enjoyed seeing the process of my latest commission and like the final result. Please feel free to add your comment below.

If you are interested in having a lovely portrait of your pet created, I am offering 10% off all pet portraits ordered before September 30th just type in this code at the check out: PETILLUSTRATION

These make a fantastic gift for any animal lover and make the perfect gift for a special occasion. Don’t forget you will also get an exclusive set of six greetings cards featuring your pet portrait!

Any pet (not just dogs) can have their portrait made, just take some really great photographs and your half way there! Any queries please do just drop me a line: contact@joclarkdesign.co.uk or visit my website

Thanks for reading have a lovely day!

Jo

x

So what do you have planned for this bank holiday weekend? How about popping over to Colchester for a visit to the fabulous Made-it Market and discovering lots of talented makers! The event will take place on Saturday 25th August 10am – 4pm at Colchester Town Hall (Moot Hall second floor) West Stockwell Street, CO1 1JP

This will be my first craft market in Colchester, so I’m looking forward to meeting lots of lovely people and finding lots of fantastic handmade goodies myself. There will also be the fantastic ‘Make Do & Mend’ team to show you some fun crafting techniques and you can learn on the day, just turn up!

Hope you can come and say hello, I have lots of lovely new products which I can’t wait to show you.

For a sneaky peek at what I will be selling just check out my website joclarkdesign.co.uk or if there is something that you would like me to bring along for a closer look in real life, just get in touch!

Thanks for looking, hope to see you there!

Jo

x

I am always so thrilled to get asked to create a commission of a beloved pet, as its what I like to do best draw cute stuff! When I saw the photos of this adorable much loved little pooch called ‘Sawyer’ I was just so eager to get going!

So I thought I would document the process to show how I work on a drawing and how I build colours using marker pens and pencil.

The lovely adorable French Bulldog called ‘Sawyer’.

So this is the very first step once I have chosen the photographs that I want to work from and the position of the subject on the page I just put down a flat colour of the highlights from the dogs coat.

Then I start to build up some warmth by adding another peachy colour over the top of the base colour.

Now I add the darker shades and shadows.

I now cover the whole dog shape with a lovely tan colour and use a lighter colour to pick out highlights around the head and face.

Then I define the creases around the mouth and face with a dark grey colour

When I am happy with the colours and highlights and shadows I add the defining pencil lines and graphite to bring out the features and those big puppy eyes!

The final stage was to add some lovely decorative flowers and foliage as Sawyer loves to run around outside in her garden.

The final result!

Have your very own pet illustration, it makes a fantastic gift for all the family or a great surprise gift for the owner of a beloved pet. All I will need is a selection of good quality clear colour photographs to work from and at least four weeks to complete your picture. So place your orders soon to make sure you have a fantastic unique gift to give this Christmas!

I can’t wait to see your lovely pet pictures!

Thanks for reading!

jo x

I’m so honoured to have had my work selected to be hung on the walls of the stunning Duke House Bed & Breakfast in Cambridge. All of the works shown are for sale from the B&B or prints are available from my shop.

A warm welcome in a very special and stunningly beautiful victorian house is what you can expect when you arrive at this luxury accommodation set in the heart of Cambridge. If I didn’t live in Cambridge already I would want to book myself a room, as they are all so beautiful fresh bright and clean. Your hosts Liz and Rob will be sure to make your stay as pleasant as possible. Here are a few snaps that I took whilst visiting on the launch of the B&B at the start of the summer. A big thank you to Karen and Mandy of  the Cambridge Creative Network who helped with the selection process and hung all of the art work.

The ‘Seed Spheres’ art print is available for sale from the Duke House. All other works shown are the original illustrations also available for sale from the Duke House. If you are interested in making a purchase of any of these an original piece of art please contact  The Duke house, or visit my online shop jo clark design or alternatively contact Jo at contact@joclarkdesign.co.uk

I suggest that you get your weekend away booked up soon you will love to staying in this beautiful building! Enjoy!