Frances McKay Illustration

The Pink Place

I have drawn two designs for a card which I'm doing for The Pink Place in Basingstoke. This is a charity which offers free support,information and complementary therapies to people who have or have had breast cancer in this area & is supported by the breast unit at Basingstoke and North Hampshire hospital http://www.thepinkplace.org.uk/

Jack and Jill

 
Having completed my first book while pregnant, eight weeks after Alfie was born it was time to tackle book number two, 'Jack and Jill'. I'm not sure how I managed to do this. My candle was thoroughly burnt at both ends, but somehow a little waxy blob of sanity survived to pull everything together; nappies were changed and spreads were painted. I connect the imagery in this book with my late (and lovely) mother in law, Pat, who must have spent hundreds of hours walking her dog on Clapham Common; she had recently died and was often in my thoughts as I worked. It's dedicated to her memory; hope she'd have liked it.

 

Kate Willis-Crowley

 

Jack and Jill is published by Hodder Children's Books. 

Mary had a Little Lamb

 
 
I was working as a teaching assistant in a reception class when the idea struck me to make this book. The kids I worked with were a real racial mix, so when we started looking at nursery rhymes the traditional characters didn't feel particularly representative. I started sketching the kids while they ran around like loons at playtime, and eventually came up with my Mary character.

With a Knick-Knack Paddy-Whack…

 

I have sometimes been asked if having children changed the way I thought about illustrating children’s books. Beyond seeing the world from their level, (you spend a lot of time on your knees as a parent of young children), and realising that they can be visually very acute, I don’t think it has had a big impact on my work. I suppose we draw for the child within ourselves. But one of my favourite projects came directly from having young children.

 

Happy Easter!

 
This illustration by Jane Eccles recently featured on Illustration Rally's Easter Rally.

Happy Easter from all of us!

 

 

A Pritty World

 
'Greetings Big and Small' - The Art Group.

Christmas isn't over yet, so to continue on the theme here is just a few of the more than fifty cards, posters and ceramic designs Mandy Pritty has produced for The Art Group.  

The First Snowfall

 
Lilly was dressing up warm. It was the first day of the Christmas Holiday and Jack Frost had been about. He had left no footprints on the new carpet of snow that covered the ground. But each window pane had frosted to his touch, and the wind seemed keen to rush indoors; you can always tell when Jack Frost has been about.

Tickle the Moon

This is from a picture book idea I've been playing with, called Tickle the Moon. It's about a girl and her cat who are on a mission to cheer up the moon who is all lonely in the night sky. I'm still playing with the story and characters but I do feel that there's a decent picture book lurking in there somewhere. This illustration is largely pen and ink with water colour, but there's also a bit of gouache in there give the colour a bit more body. It's painted on heavy grade water colour paper and has managed not to buckle, however I'm regretting not having used my usual water colour board as I reckon the finer details would have benefited from a smoother surface; anyhow I'll remember that for next time!

Kate Willis-Crowley

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Featured in the beautiful Ballad Of blog. Many thanks Lindsey & Claire!