elidillonart

Sooooooo. What's up? How are you? I'm tired. And often emotional. And always hungry. But other than that things are ticking along nicely. I have been working on re-doing the ol' Etsy shop and trying to figure out what pieces of artwork I'd like to sell. So far I have some postcards and puns and I'd really like a few prints to make people feel summery and warm. I just finished up 2 A3 size prints which I'm really excited about: Trees and Birds. I spent a long time researching the different elements and details of each and I'm really proud of the results. I think I wanted to make them as when I was a teacher I found that my children couldn't name most of the most common plants and animals found in the UK. It was startling to walk around and discover that no-one could spot an oak tree or tell the difference between a blackbird and a crow. My third print in the series will be 'Flowers' to showcase some of our wildflowers here in the UK but ...

I finished a picture this weekend between feeds and naps and the pain of first immunisations for a child's bedroom. Colours were specifically requested to match the room and it is printed A3 size.  Media: watercolour, ink and digital. Hope you enjoy! This has inspired me to crack on with my children's book pitch and finish the artwork for the first few pages. Now stay focused Eli, staaaaay focused.

Hello! It's been a busy few weeks with birthdays and babies and houses and drawings and commissions and hot weather and lethargy BUT I did manage to finish the Hook and Ladder drawing that is now up on the website and part of the New York Project! Hurray for personal work!

Today I thought I would express my love/hate relationship with browsing the internet. On one hand, it's a great place to find inspiration and ideas. I often save modelling photos and fashion blog photos for inspiration or use google maps to screenshot buildings. I look at other illustrators and feel inspired by their work and it makes me want to improve and learn more and research and try new techniques. On the other hand however, I can be happily clicking around and reading and looking and all of a sudden, without even really realising it I'm feeling as if my work is super inferior to everything else that I'm seeing. This is the pitfall of the art world online. I think it's so great to be able to really quickly see what other artists are up to but if you happen to be looking at a time when you're not feeling so confident about your own output; maybe you've done a lot of not so great sketches that day or a commission just isn't coming along as you would lik...

Finished a picture of local attraction Merchant Adventurers Hall in York. This is the street entrance on Fossgate and the beautiful hall is hidden behind.

Happy Monday morning! This morning the baby has been sleeping for hours as we had a busy weekend so I've been able to begin work on updating my portfolio (www.elidillon.com). I have a personal project called The New York Project. As I've been drawing York architecture being a local York artist I thought it might be nice to pair those pictures with famous locations in New York City. I started with the set from Rear Window - an Alfred Hitchcock film starring James Stewart and Grace Kelly (and my all time favourite film). Though this isn't a real location, it was an epic set building on a multi floored stage, it was designed to be in the Greenwich Village area of Manhattan. I'm updating that project with 3 new pictures - Katz's Delicatessen - the famous location seen in When Harry Met Sally Hook and Ladder Company 8 - the fire station seen in Ghostbusters Holly's Apartment building - from Breakfast at Tiffanys There are others on the horizon, perha...

Now that the ol'baby is getting into a slightly predictable napping routine I can plan my day a little more and be a little more creatively productive. I have finished a portfolio piece for the Food Project and a couple of buildings in York - my usual go to sketchbook work. I have a couple of commissions of people's homes and families to draw in the upcoming weeks so all the nap gaps have pretty much been filled with drawing. This is good as I was a tad worried that a baby would change absolutely everything and though life is definitely different - baby is so chill that I can still retain bits of life pre 4 weeks ago!

Trying out the #mermay challenge on instagram this month. I've only done a couple so far so not following the one per day structure but I'm enjoying the hashtag and finding new illustrators to follow!

So it's still dark. It's no longer festive and you have to go back to facing the daily grind with a lot less money. However! January is also a great time to set intentions for the coming year, resolve to do something better (for me it's tidying up after myself) and focus on bringing into your life those things that will make you feel happy and purposeful. I have set 4 intentions for 2018. Last year I set a lot more and quite a few went on the back burner or I just didn't have the time or energy to focus on them enough. This year is the year of change in our household so it's a great time to focus on bringing positive change and actively seek new challenges and opportunities. I miss the city centre and our nightly walks so here is a doodle of St Michael Le Belfrey next to York Minster as seen at night. Happy January!

I have nearly finished 'Home' a Sketchbook Project that I started in January ready to send to the library in New York. I printed a little stamp for our recent wedding anniversary and thought to include it in the book. These are the colour tests and how it looks in the sketchbook. I especially like the cup of tea because if I'm home before him (which is rare) I always seem to be looking out with a mug of tea just as he pulls up. You can see more pictures over on my instagram or by looking at my online portfolio . Next week I'm finishing up a wedding invite and beginning a rather daunting sketch of York Minster. :)

I haven't posted for a while as it's been a hectic month at work but I've finally had some time to decompress and reflect and make some personal art. I love a sketchbook and have been working on an A5 and A4 sketchbook focusing on drawing the city of York and my connection to it. Here are some of the pages. I've been carving rubber stamps, using acrylic and playing with mixed media. It has been great to get back to the UK and use a range of materials that weren't available last year. I have also been updating my website and have just added these as a project. You can find my portfolio here