Buttons

Part of the children's book that I am illustrating...

Esther Griffiths, Buttons, 2009

Drypoint print and watercolour on paper (digitally enhanced)

13.5 x 27.0 cm

(Please note that the coloured version of this image is digitally enhanced, and is therefore not for sale as it appears on screen! Original prints (both coloured and uncoloured) will be for sale once the book has been published.)

Colour experiments

Here are a couple of experiments with colour. The going is so slow. I'm working on the book illustrations in very short and irregular bursts... in-between assignments!

As always, feedback is greatly appreciated. Feel free to send me an email (under my profile). I'd love to hear from you!

More prints for the book

The following images are unfinished illustrations for the children's book I've been working on over the past few months. (I'm finally getting back into the swing of drypoint printing! New inks, new paper, new mull cloth - ahhhhh.... pure bliss!)

The next step is to add some colour... Experiments coming soon.

Work in Progress: Book Illustrations

Over the past several months I have been (slowly!) illustrating a children's book for a friend. The final illustrations will be hand-coloured drypoint prints - a favourite medium of mine. The story is written in rhyme, and is about two young girls and their button collection... A lot of fun to illustrate! We will be self-publishing the book before the end of this year.

This is my first full-length book illustration project, and I'm absolutely loving it. I must admit that I've had to learn a lot on the job... And I still have a lot to learn yet! Below I describe the process so far, and include some images of works in progress.


The very first thing that I did was draw up little thumbnails of each page. This helped me to decide how the verses and illustrations would fit together and flow from one page to the next. This is a very important step and I'm grateful that I put the time into it right at the beginning.

For each illustration...

1. I start of by developing each thumbnail further, experimenting with different compositions until I come up with something that looks good.

2. In return for chocolate (okay, only sometimes do they get chocolate!), I then get my younger sisters to pose for me and take reference photographs. My sisters have been very useful, and always so cheerful and willing to help. Thanks girls!

3. Using the photographs as a reference, I then sketch out how the illustration will look (using a page template to make sure it is the correct size). These "sketches" started off as beautifully rendered drawings for the first several illustrations, but as time marches on I've been spending less and less time on this stage of the process...!


4. Then I scan the drawing, email it to the author for feedback, and print it in reverse to the correct size.

5. Having cut a piece of clear drypoint plastic to the correct size (either to fit the border within the page or leaving enough room to bleed it out), I then tape it over the top of the reversed drawing and start scratching the image into the plastic. This is the step that takes the most time. A lot of fun but rather tiresome...

6. Once I have a few drypoint plates ready, I take them down to the press at polytech and print them. At the moment I'm experimenting with different papers and inks, so have had to deal with quite a number of bad prints... But there's always at least one good one in each batch.


7. After sorting through my prints and choosing the best, I then colour them with watercolour washes. This step is the most exciting! The images come alive, and feel ready to be part of a book.



Once I have finished all of the illustrations, I will scan them into the computer and arrange them with the text before (finally!) taking the whole thing to the printers.

ANY FEEDBACK on my illustrations thus far would be greatly appreciated! Please leave your comments.

More to come... Keep an eye out!

'Once' exhibition photos

Esther Griffiths, wall drawings from Once exhibition, 2009.

My recent exhibition, 'Once', was required to take place at an alternative space. 'Once' was examining the transient nature of childhood, and took place at night at our place. Guests were given torches, and crawled through sheet tents to search for hidden pencil sketches on the walls and inside a cupboard. At the end of the evening, I scrubbed off three sketches, but left the ones in the cupboard for my family to cherish (after my tutor had left the premises!).

To view more images, see my Picasa web album.

Esther Griffiths, wall drawings from Once exhibition, 2009.

Esther Griffiths, wall drawings from Once exhibition, 2009.

Esther Griffiths, Snail, 2009, pencil on painted wall.

Esther Griffiths, Goose, 2009, pencil on painted wall.

Esther Griffiths, showing hut from Once exhibition, 2009.

I would love to hear comments anyone has on this work... You don't need an account to comment! Good or bad, I'd like to hear it all.

ONCE: alternative space exhibition

This exhibition - which will take place on the 21st of June 2009 and will be up for only two hours - will include my most recent work: a series of sketches based on childhood memories and photographs.

As I observe today's children, I am bewildered at how often they are simply ignored or taken for granted, and how swiftly their beautiful innocence is snatched from them. My new body of work seeks not only to celebrate childhood, but also to act as a beseeching reminder that it does not, and cannot, last. By drawing with pencil directly onto the walls of my house, I want to emphasize the idea that some good things are only visible for a short time before they disappear forever.

Although the message may be a bit sombre, I hope that it will be a lot of fun for everyone.

This exhibition is by invite only... if you are keen, leave a comment and I might add you to my list. :)

Images to come after the exhibition.

Random images from 2007

Here are a few random images of work that I produced during my first year of studying for my Bachelor of Applied Arts at NorthTec.

These two small test paintings were my responses to the work of artists Colin McCahon and Michael Smither. See if you can guess which is which…






The following is a (make-believe!) set of billboards designed to advertise my proposed evolution of the St John logo… I had a great time doing this!






And the following images are digital photographs, as supporting images for an imaginary magazine article titled “Flower Power”.