Private Commission: Joy In Small Places

Hello! This is a brand new piece, called ‘Joy In Small Places’. It was commissioned by someone who wanted something bright and happy for their new home. This was a hugely enjoyable piece to work on – it’s lovely when a client suggests something that triggers off a flood of ideas! In this case, my client wanted a piece inspired by Islamic art. No faces, no animals, just a sea of elaborate patterns.

This is the biggest commissioned piece I’ve ever worked on. It is loaded with sparkling rhinestones and luminous acrylic pearls, as well as lots of silver ink. I love the way it shimmers in dim light, and I like the way the stark black patterns keep it from being too ‘girly’.

I hope you like it, Miss T!

A Very Thefty Christmas!

Hello everyone!

Just a quick reminder that my online store is open for Christmas shopping, with the last UK orders going out on December 17th. There are Christmas cards galore, as well as colourful art prints and posters, photographic prints, and original paintings too!

You could get these for a dinosaur lover, or this poster for someone who’s an Apple junkie! There’s a print for a book lover here, and something for a sweet-tooth over here. Oh, and what about your lover? Wouldn’t they like this? (The answer is yes.)

Prices start from £1.50, and a large A2 print is less than £33. I try to price my prints and cards so that people like me can afford them!

Thanks to everyone whose already done their shopping in my store. If you fancy anything, please get your orders in quick! There’s only a week to go!

Christmas ‘Cootie Catcher’

Hello! As a Christmas present for all of you, I’ve made a printable Christmas ‘cootie catcher’! I think it would make a funny little stocking stuffer, or a cute decoration on the Christmas table! I hope you like it.

The fortunes are as eye-roll-inducing as you’d hope. (See below for the rest of them!)

The template below can be printed straight onto A4 paper (click here for full size version). All you need to do is print it, cut off the excess at the bottom, and fold it up! (Folding instructions here.)

Happy fortune telling! Let me know if you decide to print some – I’d love to know what you do with them!

p.s. Don’t forget – I’ve also got a bunch of Christmas cards in my shop, in case you haven’t bought yours yet!

John’s birthday: A sketch.

When my brother was little, he had an obsession with rockets (evidence here). My mum’s the kind of awesome mum who made spectacular birthday cakes, and one year, John got a rocket cake (see it over here). John is all grown up now, but I thought I’d make him a rocket cake anyway, in the best way I know.

Happy birthday, John.

Hope it’s OUT OF THIS WORLD! Love, your sister.

p.s. If I lived in the same country as my bro, I’d have printed this out as a HUGE poster and used it as a party backdrop. But, alas, he’s far away! Sigh. (On that note, kitsch party banner commissions are welcome!!! Ha! But, seriously.)

Burnt Sugar: Robots & Fudge.

Hello! Burnt Sugar is a company that makes really good fudge (I used to work near Borough Market and, trust me, I’ve sampled it more than once). Burnt Sugar are running a competition to design the packaging for their Borough Market Bag.

Here is my entry! I described it as ‘Mr. Fudge-Bot and the Lumpy Bumpy fudge are pictured in the fudgy hall of fame.’

The winner is decided by vote, so please click here to vote for me! Any votes for my fudge-bot would be greatly appreciated!

Thefty @ Sunday Upmarket

Guess what? I’m taking my wares and hitting Brick Lane! For the last four Sundays before Christmas (dates below) I’ll be selling Christmas cards, prints and posters at the Sunday Upmarket on London’s Brick Lane.

I’ll be sharing a stall with two creative ladies (see here and here). If you’ll be in East London doing your Christmas shopping, make sure to come and say hello!

Click here to view the Facebook event!

Market dates: Nov 27th / Dec 4th / Dec 11th / Dec 18th

Of course, if you’re not in London, then you can still shop online. Check out my shop over here!

London Skies: A Private Commission

Hello! This piece was commissioned by an Aussie living in London. She’s here for a limited time only, and she wanted this painting to serve as a non-corny souvenir! Here’s the finished product (I wish metallics weren’t so hard to photograph!):

The words are lyrics from a Jamie Cullum song, and they say, ‘The sunlight always shines behind the clouds of London Skies‘. I was asked to include these words in the painting, and they inspired a lot of the imagery.

If you look closely, you’ll see the Queen having a G&T with her corgi, a squirrel tea party, the London Eye on a bad hair day, a pigeon, Kate and Wills, a lot of rain, and quite a lot more. I hope you like it Miss A!

Feasibility Study (commissions and contraptions)

Hello! I’ve just finished a brand new private commission! After chatting with my client, we settled on an eccentric contraption, featuring the word ‘feasible’ (he’s an engineer, which is fitting). Teal and gold were his colours of choice.

I had so much fun working on this. Dinosaurs, robots, speech bubbles, metallics, ridiculous details … all my favourite things on one canvas. Here are some close-ups:

I emailed these pictures to my client last night, and the reply was:

‘I’m so excited,and I just can’t hide it, I’m about to lose control and I think I like it!’

Hooray! I hope you enjoy it Mister R! (To everyone else: don’t hesitate to email me if you’re considering commissioning something! theftyart@gmail.com)

Thefty does Christmas cards!

Hello! If you follow me on Facebook or Twitter, you’ll have noticed that I’ve been designing Christmas cards. I’m pleased to announce that they’re ready! If you’d like to buy them, click here to visit my shop.

I’m selling the cards in packs of six (with two designs per pack).They can also be bought individually (the individual cards are hand-decorated with acrylic rhinestones, which I think looks extra cool).

I realise that frogs, kiwi fruit and dinosaurs are not exactly traditional Christmas imagery. However, I think the cards look festive and joyful, which is what the Christmas season is about for many people. I hope they make you smile!Click here to buy cards from my art shop! (Oh, and keep in mind that art prints make great Christmas presents, wink wink.)

p.s. I baked the cupcakes and gingerbread robots featured on the cards – I can confirm that they were very tasty.

Rainbow Aztecs

Hello! For Halloween, I thought I’d show you my ‘Aztec Mask’ drawings.

I don’t know why I gave them this name, as they bear very little resemblance to Aztec masks. Maybe it’s the toothy grins and precious stones?  Either way, mine are more colourful and less…sinister.

I have made a blue version and a rainbow version, and you can find them both in my print shop. Click here!

Sketchbook Characters

Hello! I am one of those people who has about ten sketchbooks on the go at any given time. I don’t know how it happens, but it does. The result is that I draw things and then forget about them until I stumble upon them months (or years!) later. I decided to look through some of my sketchbooks yesterday, and some of the stuff really made me laugh:

There was a fair bit of material, so I posted the rest in a Facebook album, here. Check it out!

Yes I Can.

Hello. I’m going to get personal with you today.

I’ve been a full-time freelancer for less than a year. I’m still not used to spending so much time alone with my pens, pencils and thoughts. On some days, things seem a little bit difficult, and I just want someone to give me a high five and tell me to keep going! However, there’s no one here, so I have to find that encouragement on my own. Consider this drawing as a high five from me to myself.

If you need a bit of encouragement too, then I’ll pass the high five on to you as well.

p.s. I’m really not blonde.

Prints: Robots, Aztecs & gingham.

Hello! Just a heads up to whoever hasn’t checked out my shop yet! These are just a few of the prints that you’ll find there:

You’ve probably already picked up on my weakness for robots and rhinestones. There was no way I’d have a print store which didn’t include any! If you want to check out the shop, just click here.

Stylist Magazine Cover Competition

Stylist magazine is celebrating it’s 100th issue by allowing readers to design the entire magazine for one week! This is my entry to the 100th Issue Cover Competition. The theme is ‘celebration’, so it made sense to go for happy colours and oversized cakes!

I didn’t take this photo specifically for the cover – it’s one that I happened to take recently, and I thought it would make an excellent cover photo (I am lucky because I have friends who are model material). I layered several of my illustrations on top, and added a good dose of extra colours and patterns. It looks happy, and I like it.

The winner has not yet been announced, and so I’m keeping my fingers crossed!

Staypuft Creativity Corporation

Hello! I’ve been working on some Ghostbusters-inspired work  for Miss Cakehead‘s new venture, the Staypuft Creativity Corporation. I’ve made a double-sided A4 piece which is absolutely loaded with slimy hand-drawn text and cheeky film references.

You know what? I love my job.

Stay Hungry Stay Foolish

I’ve spent this morning watching and re-watching this speech , and one phrase really resonated with me: ‘Stay hungry, stay foolish.’ If I were to get a tattoo, I could probably do far worse than to choose those words.

I ought to print out my little doodle and stick it next to my desk. Thanks for the inspiration, Steve.

UPDATE: This has quickly become one of my favourite drawings. If you like it too, you can buy it as a print! Click here.

Create A Diversion: An exhibition

Hello! There’s a very cool exhibition on in East London this weekend, exploring the relationship between music and art. I’m contributing a piece to the show, and I’m very excited! If you’d like to check it out, Click here for more details.

Maybe I’ll see you there!

UPDATE: I’ve uploaded photos from the event here.

SUPER GOOD DAY

Hello! I’ve been playing with more hand drawn type, and these are three variations on a super happy theme. I plan to hang prints of these opposite my bed, to make sure I wake up feeling good.  If you would like to buy a print, click here! (My shop is now open and I’m very excited. Go and have a look!)

Have a super good day!

Thefty has a print store!

Hello! Do you see that button under the header, the one that says SHOP? Click it! I’ve just launched an online store, and I’d love it if you took a minute to look around.

The shop contains original paintings, as well as giclee art prints and photographic prints. I’m very excited! Let me know what you think!

Ziad Ghanem SS12

Hello! Here are some more illustrations I did for Amelia’s Magazine, this time for Ziad Ghanem SS12. I was so excited to draw these! The show was full of paint splattered models, dramatic make-up and – of course – seriously beautiful clothes.

I’m not entirely sure why I made my models limbless. The whole show had a ghoulish vibe to it, so it just felt right. To see the entire post over at Amelia’s Magazine, click here!