Tuesday 15 November 2011

Autumnal Illustration


Finally got around to posting the illustration I made after our outing to The Meadows in Edinburgh, as detailed in my previous post Autumnal Inspiration.  I've really enjoyed getting back into ink and watercolour drawing, which I used lots in my book Behind the Scenes: Creating Theatre for the Very Young.  The drawing is for one of several designs for a small commission I'm working on: the client wanted an image that would communicate a sense of freedom, and was keen on the childlike urge to keep up fallen leaves .

Thursday 3 November 2011

Autumnal Inspiration

Sorry to the leaf-hooverers!  They'd tidied them all up!


Ola tries out a new leaf-kicking move...

Can't believe it's over a month since I posted on here!  Here are some photos of Giorgos and Ola who kindly agreed to help me get some inspiration for an illustration by running about kicking up leaves on a very autumnal Saturday in The Meadows, Edinburgh!  It was a chilly day, so we retreated to Peter's Yard afterwards to warm up with cakes, scones, coffee and peppermint tea!  Thanks very much Ola & Giorgos.  I'll post the resulting drawing next!

Wednesday 21 September 2011

More Scots Fiddle Festival drawings


I haven't blogged for ages where does the time go?  Been spending quite a lot of time going through location drawings to develop some prints/publications from them, and here are few more from my 'mini-drawing residency' at Scots Fiddle Festival last year.  I'm hoping to make a series of prints or a small book of prints developed from these.  More info about the drawings are did and the musicians are to be found at http://hannahryeillustration.blogspot.com/2011/03/fiddle-festival-drawings.html.

Sunday 17 July 2011

Illustration Friday: Gesture


My offering for this week's Illustration Friday theme, gesture, features a stage actress rehearsing a performance for very young children.  This week's theme made me think about the movement and immediacy of live theatre performers, and how best to capture that spontaneity in a single image.  I made the drawing in situ, sitting on the floor with my 'mobile' drawing kit spread out in front of me.  By the time I drew this, I was completely absorbed in the process that the performers were going through, and had watched the actress repeating this routine several times over.  I used ink, watercolour and a very small amount of Photoshop afterwards, just to clean up the image once I had scanned it.

Here are some photos of the actresses at work in their humble rehearsal room at Leith Community Centre, Edinburgh, Scotland:






Saturday 2 July 2011

Turquoise Bay


Marchmont Gallery are now stocking a screen-print of mine: Turquoise Bay.  The print is a section taken from this concertina book, which illustrates a traditional sea shanty & folk song Fiddler's Green.  Here's a wee excerpt:

As I went a walking one evening so rare
To view the still waters and taste the salt air
I heard an old fisherman singing this song
Sayin', "Take me away boys, my time is not long.

Chorus:
Wrap me up in me oil skins and blankets
No more on the docks I'll be seen
Just tell me old shipmates, I'm takin' a trip mates
And I'll see you someday on fiddler's green."

...I don't need a harp nor a halo not me
Just give me a breeze and a good rollin' sea
I'll play me old squeeze box as we sail along
And the wind in the riggin' will sing me this song.

Tuesday 24 May 2011

Print features in fundraising Art Sale for Borneo & Cambodia


This digital archival print, based on a drawing I made of Nigg Long Pier in Cromarty, will feature in a fundraising art sale this weekend (Sat 28/Sun 29 May).  I made the drawing during a brilliant residency last year in October.  See my Cromarty pages for more info on my residency.  The art sale takes place in the downstairs wing of The Stables in Cromarty, as part of Cromarty Arts Trust's arts & crafts weekend Wooden It Be Nice.  The art sale will help raise funds for a local Cromarty resident, Izzy Thomson, to volunteer in Borneo and Cambodia.  It features some leading Highland-based artists including Rosie Newman and Gillian Jones.


Sunday 20 March 2011

Mouth-watering inspiration


My old friend Dan has just sent me some links to his amazing baking blog & Flickr photostream.  The 'Fougasse' loaves (on the left) look particularly irresistable. Perhaps that's what I need to give me some inspiration to do some more work!

Wednesday 2 March 2011

Fiddle Festival Drawings





Just a few of my drawings of musicians playing live at the Scots Fiddle Festival in November.  The Festival's Artistic Director, Eilidh Steel (who is also a well-known fiddle-player) invited me to sit in on the recitals part of the Festival's programme.  Line up included Eilidh Steel and Mark Neal (guitar), Jamie Laval with Ross Martin (guitar) & Rod Weeks (Scottish small pipes) and  Ross Couper (fiddle) and Tom Oakes (guitar).  It was a brilliant opportunity, and quite challenging to draw so intensively, in such a public setting.  I'm planning to develop the drawings a wee bit and work towards an exhibition in the near future.  Thanks very much to Eilidh for inviting me, and making contact when she saw my prints and drawings of musicians during my Degree Show at Edinburgh College of Art last year.

Monday 24 January 2011

Collagraph goes to new home!


I'm finally back on-line, with some great news, after major disruption caused by frozen power lines in the recent bad weather! I'm delighted that Emma Nightingale, sister of the owner of Cromarty House, has purchased this nine-plate collagraph print, one of a current edition of only two. I created the collagraph plates during my residency at Cromarty Arts Trust, as a visual response to the observations and drawings I made there during the beautiful autumn in Cromarty last October. I printed the plates whilst I was up in the Black Isle, at Highland Print Studio, a fantastic resource in nearby Inverness.