Wonderful workspaces

Well, it's back to work we go this week, after the Christmas break. I'm on the lookout for ways to make my Love Lucy Illustration workspace more inspiring and lovely in 2013, and while browsing the web I came across these beauties...

I love the cheeriness of this studio

Every artist or crafter will know the importance of good lighting... so this workspace is just perfect, ahhhh, one can dream!

Beautiful colours in this studio:

I spy Ikea drawers!

Wow - a dedicated space for everything, now that I like...

Hugely practical - think Frenchie would appreciate this:

Practically perfect...

Such a clever idea to brighten up cupboards and add a creative touch...

I'm going to attempt to re-create some of these ideas. Nothing too fancy, just pretty and practical is all I'm after. 

The best workspace I've ever used was this cute and quirky caravan, in my mother-in-law's garden, which I used for several weeks last summer .

If you have any inspirational photos or ideas on creative workspaces, I'd love you to share them over on my Facebook page 

Love Lucy x

A few Facebook favourites...

Here are a few Facebook pages of fellow creatives whose work I adore and whose updates often brighten my day...

First off there's Cupcakes for Clara, an incredibly cool and quirky character created by the lovely Laura Clempson, who recently interviewed me on her blog. This little lady is going places...

Then there's Dastardly Daphne, a super dooper talented artist whose work reminds me a little of one of my favourite artists, Alphonse Mucha.  I've just ordered a brooch from Dastardly Daphne's Folksy shop, very excited...

Kirsty Elson Designs creates beautiful seaside-inspired decorations made from driftwood found in Cornwall. As a lover of dolls houses and miniatures, I've had my eye on this key-rack for quite some time now...isn't it wonderful?

Speaking of miniatures, Gretel Creations are super cute...I'm just waiting for someone close to me to have a baby girl so I can buy one of these absolutely delightful little fairies...

Dots and Spots designs are enough to brighten anyone's day, with their cheery colour palettes and fun patterns.

                                     

And last but definitely not least is the fantastic Chloe Remiat, whose work I'm constantly in awe of...Chloe creates magical boxed scenes with the cutest characters ever, like this little Princess and the Pea. I would've loved this in my bedroom as a little girl. In fact I still would (not too sure the Frenchie would, though...).

                                    

Why not pop on over to the Facebook pages of these talented creators? I promise you will not be disappointed! 

Cupcakes for Clara and Dots and Spots can both be found on  notonthehighstreet.com

Love Lucy x

A little catch-up...

Phew! 

What a busy few weeks for Love Lucy, both work- and play-wise... we've had my best friend's wedding... as you can see, the bride was a beauty. AND we saw a shooting star over the sea as we left the wedding party. Magical!

We've also had birthdays, both for me and the Frenchie. With the best lemon drizzle cake made by Mummy dearest, yumyum...

A super new Samsung Galaxy Ace smartphone for my birthday which enables me to take photos as if I were in the 1970s. Delighted!

Yesterday the Frenchie and I made the most of the September sunshine and picknicked on the river.

Workwise, it's been good too. The holidays are most certainly over and it seems people are already on the lookout for Christmas (eeeek!) gifts. These personalised mirrors were my best sellers last week...you can find them here in my shop...

Also last week I ran my first little Facebook competition, offering as a prize a personalised painting. It was a great success. Thanks to everyone who entered. 

And the winner was... drum roll please...

Congratulations to Liz's Cards, who will be receiving her personalised painting in the next few days.

Love Lucy x

Children's illustrators - a few of my favourites

Good children's illustrations stick in our minds way beyond childhood.

For me, as a young reader, the illustrations were often more important than the text. I spent hours just poring over the pictures and often took the same books out of the library week after week just to look at the pictures again.

Here are a few illustrators who made a big impression on Love Lucy Illustration:

I adore Shirley Hughes' rich detail and the scenes she sets...

Raymond Briggs is a firm favourite too. In my family it's a tradition to watch 'The Snowman' every Christmas Eve, without fail. Magical...

'New Blue Shoes' by Eve Rice was the book I took out of the library time and time again! Looking at it now the illustrations seem quite simple but it had a real charm to my 4 year old self...

I feel like a bit of a child all over again since moving to France and seeing everything with fresh eyes. I can very often be found in the children's departments of libraries and bookshops discovering great French illustrators who I missed out on as a child, like Alain Gree, for one...

And Agnes Rosenstiehl with her adorable character 'Mimi Cracra'

                               So these are my favourites...who are yours?

Happy holiday / bonnes vacances!

With the holiday season in full swing I thought I'd share with you some photos from a super dooper stay in Brittany last week. If you're reading this while on yours, hope you're having a good one!

This is what we woke up to each morning, aaaahhh...

                 
Every few days I picked fresh flowers from the garden...

And some herbs too...

 While I picked flowers and herbs, Frenchie went fishing and caught our dinner.            Yumyum or miam miam as the French say.

We ate rather a lot of crepes too, well it would be rude not too, when in Brittany...

We had some great days out; Dinan, Rennes, St.Malo - where we saw this lovely street display (particularly fitting for Frenchie and me - we met under an umbrella!)

     

I also did a little bit of work on Love Lucy Illustration while I was away. In here!! My summer studio...

And I'll show you what I painted in there soon...

In France 'la rentree'  is deeply fixed in the culture, meaning to go back to normal life after the holidays. For some this brings with it a sense of dread. Not for Love Lucy Illustration! 

Our little holiday in Brittany filled me with inspiration and now I'm ready to get BUSY!! 

Love Lucy x

A big hello from a first-time blogger!

Well, here goes...my first blog! I'm Lucy Smith and I'm a freelance illustrator, specialising in greeting card design and personalised children's paintings.

 

                                  

                               

Love Lucy Illustration began when people who liked my Phoenix Trading cards started asking me if I could paint personalised pictures for their children. Of course I jumped at the chance and now here I am! 

The Love Lucy Illustration blog is as an 'online diary' : there's lots of exciting things in the pipeline for Love Lucy Illustration, so if you like what you see please pop back regularly by bookmarking this site or sign up for free email updates at the top of the left hand column.

Love Lucy x