Stampede By the Sea

Delighted to share our elephant we painted for Stampede by the Sea Dorset trail!

A whole stampede of elephants have arrived in Bridport, West Bay, and Lyme Regis! See them until 27th May. So if in the area why not pop down and take a look. Stampede by the Sea is a public art trail organised by Wild in Art and raising funds for Weldmar Hospicecare. Over thirty large elephants and a host of baby elephants, make up this wonderful trail.

Our design called “Herbie” celebrates all things Dorset and exploring the outdoors. The design features some of Dorset’s much loved places including Lyme Regis Beach, Bridport market and harbour and West Bay. Paw-some pooches also feature on this fun design. Kindly sponsored by the lovely people at Dorwest.

To find out more about the trail visit: Stampede by the Sea

Go Go Safari

Last week we welcomed an Elephant and Rhino into or studio! We were delighted to be painting these fantastic sculptures for https://www.break-charity.org/gogosafari/ supporting the wonderful work of https://www.break-charity.org/charity/. This trail will begin in the summer, can’t wait for our rhino and elephant to join the parade. Sharing a few sneak peeks so you can see what we have been up to.

With thanks to the fantastic https://castlequarternorwich.co.uk/ for choosing our Rhino design- this fun design celebrates the diverse city of Norwich and has aunique I Spy theme! Be sure to take a photo of it when you spy it and tell us your favourite part.

Our elephant design evokes a sense of nature and relaxation, featuring the wobdeful railways across Norfolk and the abundance of wildlife, flowers and plants. The wonderful https://whitwellstation.com/ choose this design- be sure to visit when pass by.

A bit about the trail: This summer will see the big 5 out on the streets of Norwich and Norfolk. Take a trek to discover the wonderful artwork on display, from roarsome lions to amazing elephants, giraffes and rhinos! The sculptures will appear along the streets, parks and open spaces, and shopping centres across Norwich and Norfolk. Each animal sculpture represents the strength, resilience and hope of the young people from care that Break supports.







Paint, Sketchbooks and Sketches

Hi there,

This week we thought we would take a dive into some of our sketchbook work, sharing with you some of our process when creating illustrations. From the initial first ideas to sketches and drafts to experimenting with colour and light, our illustration process takes many forms.

When we first start an illustration we usually start sketching ideas up in a sketch book, these sketches are often quite rough at this stage. We find this process invaluable in getting our initial ideas out and exploring how a character our scene should look. Often we would also use our sketchbook as a place to try out different textures and colours, which helps us get an overall feel for the look of the illustration. Also sketchbooks are a great place to play and have fun with mark making and it doesn’t matter if it's a bit messy, it’s a great place to explore and produce vibrant and interesting illustrations.

Here’s an initial sketch of an Autumn scene we worked on recently. We find it helpful to keep the line work quite loose as it helps us create a sense of movement and light.

We often start with colouring the characters first as this helps us get a sense of what the scene will be like and we can think about how the characters can stand out from their background.

Here’s a fun sketch of some foodie Christmas characters, we love playing around with their expressions and posture.

Here’s some colour experiments in our sketchbook. We use a variety of mediums to create our illustrations, gouache is one of our favourites.

These colourful plants are created in a variety of different mediums, creating bold textures and colour.

As you can see we have used some of the lovely plants and foliage from the above textures to build up this illustration.

Public Art Trails

We have had the great pleasure to have been involved in a wide range of public art trails over the years. This year we have been involved in a few too. From painting a lovely owl for The Big Hoot in Chichester and Arundel and a very tall lighthouse for Southampton and the Isle of White to painting two barrels for The Burton Barrel Roll and a Snook sculpture for York.

One of our favourite aspects of working on public sculpture trails is creating artwork for something that is fun and accessible and enjoyed by local communities, from a flock of penguin sculptures in Worcester to Snook sculptures in York. Working on a 3D from is both challenging and exciting and provides a great base to paint on. We love coming up with designs that reflects the landscape and places to visit in different locations across the Uk.

Here are a few sculptures we have painted this year. In order of images: “Hop to Luton” “Up Up Up and Away” “Owl be in Chichester”

E.L.M.E.R Bot proudly standing outside Sandcastle Waterpark in Blackpool last summer.

We had the great pleasure of painting three wonderful Shaun the Sheep for The Shaun in the Heart of Kent Trail.

It was great to get involved in the Waddle of Worcester trail last summer. These two penguins called “I Spy Penguin” and “Penguins at Play” stood proudly in Worcester for the trail, then they were auctioned off to raise money for St Richards Hospice.

Penguins at Play for Waddle of Worcester Trail

I Spy Penguin Waddle of Worcester

Ey UP its a Snook! standing outside Middletons Hotel in York last Spring

Light The South

Our lighthouse “Light of Green” will be making its way from the Isle of Wight, Cowes to the Southampton Boat show from the 13th of September and then to the auction on the 20th of September.

Our Lighthouse is all about the natural word and highlights the amazing the fresh produce to be found across the south, from the vines, honey and tomatoes of the Isle of Wight to the apple and pear orchards of the New Forest.

To find out more visit: https://lightthesouth.co.uk/

Painting two hares for the Short Tail Trail Luton

Earlier in the year we were busy painting two gorgeous hare sculptures for Luton’s Shot Tail Trail.

Our first hare is called Hop to Luton and is sponsored by Ethos Farm. This hoppy hare is all set to explore the town, with her camera, snacks and back-pack. The design features an array of Luton landmarks, including the famous Luton airport, the beautiful near by Wrest Park, the iconic town hall and the picturesque Wardown park.

Red Panda hare has deep red fluffy fur, white painted ears and a ringed tail. Red Pandas are an endangered species and this design highlights the importance of the conservation of our natural habitats and the importance of nature in all our lives Kindly chosen by VolkerFitzpatrick.

Hop to Luton hare painting in progress

Painting progress of Red Panda hare. Lots of wonderful animals feature on this design, from Tortoises to Cockatoos and even a tiger.

Burton Barrel Roll

Our Barrels “Burton Through Time” and “Moonlight” are out on the trail in Burton Upon Trent this summer. We painted these gorgeous barrel sculptures for Making Trails. The trail features 14 barrels dotted around Burton, each one uniquely designed by a different artist. To find out more about the trail and where you can pick up a trail map visit Burton Barrel Roll.

Our designs feature some iconic Burton locations as well as local fauna and flora. Here is a little insight to our process of painting our two barrels:

Burton Through Time Barrel

Our process:

1 It all starts with a design- first we researched into the themes of our designs, in this instance for ‘Burton Through Time’ we looked at how Burton On Trent has evolved and some of the best loved places and things that really stood out, like Burtons Brewing past and historic buildings. We decided for this design we used a colour scheme of blues, turquoise and golds to really reflect the time and period of our design. For ‘Moonlight’ we wanted to celebrate the local wildlife, so we got stuck into designing an array of animal characters including swans, hedgehogs and water voles, we decided to evoke a sense of peace by using soothing moonlight colours of pinks, dark blues and purples. The silhouettes of Burton landmarks and the glowing starlight plants and foliage really add to the effect of calm and tranqulity.

2: Translating 2D to 3D- Its all about scaling up the design, so we decided to work with the most prominent shapes first- in this instance for ‘Burton Through Time’ we started with circle shapes. We divided the design into sections and used a circle template to draw out our design- 3 circles per side. Working on a 3D rounded sculpture can be a challenge, so it’s important to step back and see your work from a distance too. Drawing out your design in a watercolour pencil is good as it can be early wiped out if needed and won’t show up under your paint.

3: Working in layers: We start with the base colours first, making sure we apply 3-4 coats to get a good strong colour. We then build up the design layer by layer, drawing out the simple shapes with a watercolour pencil and then filling them in with acrylic paint. Dividing your design into quadrants is a good idea, approaching the sculpture from each side so you really get a feel on how your design flows around it. Once we have all the base shapes on its time to add the details- our most favourite part.

4: Details- Using small brushes and Posca pens we build up the details bit by bit, its good to keep in mind the shape of the sculpture, so if your drawing a certain object or character , step back and look at it so you can see how your character works on a curve- is it sitting well? Do you need to make allowances for the curve? Most of all it’s important to let your style shine though, have a play beforehand. Try different mark making or line work that you can achieve with the pens or brushes. For “Moonlight” we used a splatter technique to build up the stars before going in with the detailed constellations.

We will be sharing more of our top tips for sculpture painting soon, so stay tuned.

Shaun in the Heart of Kent Printable activity sheets

We have created this collection of fun and creative activity sheets which celebrate our 3 Shaun the Sheep designs in the Shaun in the Heart of Kent Trail this summer. This collection is filled with lots of inspiration on how to get creative and draw colourful motifs and illustrations, from farmyard animals to hot-air balloons and even a sheep on a scooter. With simple step by step instructions, you can create your very own collection of adorable characters inspired by our sculpture designs.

To print out these sheets, click on the image and then right click and save to downloads, then print out.

To find out more about the Shaun in the Heart of Kent trail visit: Shaun in the Heart of Kent

‘Best in Show’ printable activity sheet

‘Flock to Maidstone” Printable activity sheet

‘Raising the Baa” printable activity sheet

Shaun in the Heart of Kent

Delighted to share that we have painted 3 Shaun the Sheep sculptures for Shaun in the Heart of Kent! The sheep will be in Maidstone, Kent until the 30th of August.

Our first design Flock to Maidstone is inspired by Maidstone’s best-loved places to visit, such as Leeds Castle, Stoneacre and the River Medway. Apple orchards, hops and cherry blossoms also feature on this colourful sheep sculpture.

Our second design “Raising the Baa’ is all about getting active and enjoying being outdoors! It features lots of sheep playing different sports such as basketball, tennis and football.

The third design we painted is ‘Best in show” which is inspired by the rich and picturesque Kent countryside. It features some of Kents well known farmyard animals, foliage and countryside locations.

If you find our sheep in Maidstone be sure to tag us in @pipandrach

Find out more here: https://shaunheartofkent.co.uk/

Flock to Maidstone Shaun the Sheep Sculpture

Raising the Baa sculpture

Best in Show Shaun the sheep Sculpture

Artist Interview Elmer Trail artist

Just popping in to share this interview we did with Art Discount about painting and designing our Elmer sculpture for Elmer’s Big Parade Blackpool. You can check out our interview along with two other wonderful artists interviews by clicking on this link Art Discount or by visiting the Art Discount website.

Our Elmer standing proudly outside Sandcastle Water Park in Blackpool