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Interview with Stacie Swift

Stacie Swift and her work probably rates as one of my favourite discoveries this year. Since meeting Stacie in May I have enjoyed following her work and seeing wonderful new products in her shop. I’m pleased to say that Stacie has agreed to do an interview for the blog and as her work is featured in this week’s gift guide, and she’ll be at Crafty Fox Market with me on Sunday 9th Dec, this week seemed perfect timing. Enjoy…

A selection of Stacie’s colourful work
Image : Stacie Swift used with permission

One of the things that immediately grabs me when looking at your work is the colour. Can you tell us more about your approach to colour?

Bright and bold colours appeal to me. I don’t have a steadfast rule when it comes to applying colour to my work but I do tend to work from a palette of vivid and lively shades.

Colouring my images digitally allows me to play around with lots of different colour ways before settling on a final design.

“Foxes Dancing in the Rain”
Image: Stacie Swift used with permission

I know that you are very keen on foxes (and even considered getting one as a pet!) do you find certain animals feature more in your work than others? If so, why?

I like animals with character, if I can imagine them with humanlike characteristics or wearing a nice jumper all the better. Foxes also have the advantage of being orange – and very cute!

“Singalong” – Giclee Print
Image: Stacie Swift used with permission

What would your ultimate illustration project be – firstly for yourself and secondly for someone else?

For someone else, I would love to illustrate a children’s book. In fact, this would be my dream personal -project if I could also write it too.

What are the best and worst things about being an illustrator?

There are so many good things about being an illustrator! I love being able to create things that people treasure and want to take home. I love being able to translate random ideas onto a page. Plus it’s amazing being paid for a job you are passionate about and that you truly love!

The downsides are when you have your heart set on a job and it falls through, never having enough hours in the day and not being paid on time.

Hand Drawn Type Awesome
Image: Stacie Swift used with permission

Can you name three things which motivate or inspire you?

I am inspired by the success of others and seeing the great things other illustrators have achieved.

I’m motivated by the positive comments and feedback I receive from customers and clients and also by the unfailing support of my family who all are waiting for me to become super famous 😉

Stacie’s Studio
Image: Stacie Swift used with permission

Describe your workspace – what’s the view like?
My studio is a dedicated room in our house looking out onto the neighbour’s farm so I look out onto some chickens and a horse! At the minute the walls are completely white as we are in the process of decorating but I have lots of drawings and mood boards stuck up for various projects I am working on.

“Sausage Dogs” – Giclee Print

Are there stories behind your creations?

I tend to have a running internal narrative, the little animals I draw all appear from things I have seen, or hear, or things that happen to people I know.

logo commission I produced for @Theatre_Fox (http://theatre-fox.tumblr.com/)
Image: Stacie Swift used with permission

What is your favourite thing about commissions?

I love being able to translate someone’s ideas onto paper. It’s very rewarding being able to create something special that is a true one off.

Hand Drawn Type – “Dream Big”
Image: Stacie Swift used with permission

You often include motivational quotes in your blog posts. Do you have a quote that sums up Stacie Swift?

There are plenty of quotes out there that sum up the ups and downs of being an illustrator. Not afraid of hard work and making my own opportunities, this sums up my thinking quite well:

‘I’m a great believer in luck – and I find the harder I work, the more I have of it’

(Thomas Jefferson)

Stacie Swift stationery range
Image: Stacie Swift used with permission

What can we look forward to seeing from you this year?

This year I will be extending my stationery range – lots more card designs will be coming in the next few months. Plus some new art prints, too.

If you’d like to find out more about Stacie you can visit her website: stacieswift.com

Visit her blog: Swift Somethings

Follow Stacie on Twitter: @stacie_swift

Email Stacie: mail@stacieswift.com

or buy her lovely work from her Etsy shop

Geometric Wall Mural Tutorial

It has been a long time coming but here is the how to for creating a geometric feature wall. Just in time for a Tuesday Treat

When I was decorating my office I really wanted to be bold with colour and take advantage of the fact that this was MY space. I was inspired by this beautiful wallpaper by Cole and Son but was keen to create something of my own.

Inspirational “Circus” Wallpaper from Cole and Son

So here’s how…..

Step 1: Do lots of research into colours. I found pinterest a great way to gather images and see what I kept choosing time and again. You can see some of my picks here

Step 2: Measure your wall. This can be surprisingly tricky to do by yourself so grab someone to help you. Check your measurements several times. Accuracy is really important. My wall measured 2.2m tall x 2.04m wide.

Step 3: Draw a grid on a piece of paper to work out how many squares you want in your design. I decided on squares measuring 22cm as this would mean I had a complete column going down the wall and only one incomplete square on each row.

Step 4: Test out your design using a computer graphics program (I used Paint) or good old fashioned pens and paper. Geometric Wall Mural Plan

: My mural plan

Step 5: Buy your paint! I had a number of tester pots left over from previous projects that I wanted to use but also needed to buy more. Tester pots come in a wide variety of sizes and I did run out of some colours which meant altering my colour choices during painting. For reference the Crown Vintage 125ml tester pots pictured were enough to do two coats in their colours.

Some of my colour choices

Step 6: Get your tools together.

Tools you will need

Step 7: Draw your grid onto the wall using a pencil. This is where I discovered that my walls were not straight and it would have been handy to have some help! Use a plumbline to give you straight vertical lines and make at least 5 measurement marks for each line you draw. That way you are more likely to end up with straight lines. you can use a spirit level to help with the horizontal lines.

Straight lines – with the help of a plumb line and spirit level

It is tempting to rush this part but it is really worth taking the time to get it right.

Step 8: Mask off the diagonal lines.

masking tape diagonal strips on white wall

Masked off diagonals (with the cheap masking tape)

Two things to note when choosing your masking tape. Firstly I used over 80m of tape! Secondly you are better off using low tack tape designed to be used with fresh paint than trying to get away with cheaper types. I found I could resuse the masking tape two or three times if I was careful and the results were significantly better than my first coat using cheap tape.

An example of me reusing the masking tape!

Step 9: Paint! I painted one coat of each colour at a time (remove low tack masking tape straight away to get a nice clean edge). You could paint stripes of one colour and then draw your grid but I would be nervous that the pencil might show up.

First coat of “Green Cross Code”

Even using low tack masking tape you have to leave 24 hours before applying masking tape over fresh paint. Do two coats of one colour before removing the tape.

The first coat of Chartreuse Mix

Spot the mistakes!

Don’t worry if you make mistakes like those I’ve highlighted. You can easily correct them on the second coat, or when you add the next colour.

I worked down the wall painting one colour at a time.

: Low tack masking tape removed quickly can you give beautiful crisp lines

Rosie’s Office Makeover: A Sneak Peek!

While things have been a little quiet on the blog, one of the other things that Rosie has ben up to is a total restyle of her office. We thought you might like a little sneak peek of how it looks, especially this AMAZING geometric mural that Rosie designed and painted (I have no idea how she does it, the woman is incredible!). Rosie will be sharing more about how she did it soon, but in the meantime here are some pictures to whet your appetites. Enjoy!

Dragon Fruit Sculpture Tutorial

In honour of St George’s Day we had a knights and dragons themed party for our son and his friends 1st birthday on Sunday. As promised here is an in depth tutorial. I wanted to make something a little bit different so thought I’d give water melon carving a go. Here’s how to do it if you fancy giving it a try.