Representin'

Hello magical blog reader!

So, here we are, another year is already pinging it's months away like a frantic game of pong. And here I am, hanging my head in shame at my lack of updates to this blog. Naughty me.

But, but, but - I have been up to things y'know! Things which I intend to blab on about in some update posts over the next few days/weeks.

I have also made a decision to try and post more about everything on here. Work stuff, cool things I come across, home stuff, cat things (I have cats now). I think sometimes I get a bit worried about crossing over work/my art posts with things I find inspirational - like I should keep them separate. But I have realised that having 5 billion different online presences to update only serves to confuzzle my head and, ultimately, prevent me from posting in the first place.

Enough already!

The first and pretty much most exciting thing to happen in my creative world is - I am now a represented Illustrator. Woooop indeed!

 

I met with the wonderful people at New Division a couple of months back, and after some portfolio slap and tickles have just gone live on their website. You can see my online portfolio HERE. They have also done a feature on me as part of their own blog. Nice.

New Division is the sister agency of Meiklejohn, an agency formed in 1973 (a whole decade before I was born!) and represents some of the best contemporary illustrators around (cripes I have some talented agency friends)

Since joining the agency I have had some wonderfully helpful advice on getting my portfolio client-ready, and have both reworked some images and created some fresh drawings. It's been a really nice time to stop and take stock of the work I've produced so far and feel confident that I have a solid body of work to enter the world of commercial illustration. It's also nice to know that I've now got the knowledge and advice of a well established agent behind me, something that can only be helpful with the inevitably scary business side of a creative career.

Hoorah!

The days are short and the nights are cold but if we do some dancin' we will be ok

KKKketchup.
Okellydokelly here's a little overview of what has been going on in the tremendous days of me (Miss Sally Elizabeth Leach)

Bestival (god it's good isn't it?!)

Back yonder in early September, before the cold set in, I spent a fun week out in the garden preparing a rainbow of fantasy animals for the wonderful portacabin that becomes Bestival Radio HQ.

Painting my characters on a big scale is one of my most favourite things to do. It really feels like they come to life and I have to say it's pretty hard to say goodbye to them sometimes

 

So off to the sunny fields of the IOW we went and with my trusty helper Tie by my side we set about turning 20 rolls of sticky back plastic into a 20 foot Zebra. Believe it or not, the top of portacabins are not the cleanest of places, thank god for the sunken bath at our heavenly pre-festival digs The Mission

We also added a few zootime friends to the roof, which helped it stand out in the packed main field.

And so it was...with a few gloriously tacky leopard print bedsheets around the barriers we created our own little festival menagerie!

Inside I wanted the space to be as colourful and bright as possible (an essential element, especially if the rainy year had itself a repeat)

I used a mix of flat painted character and 3D taxidermy style heads, and lots of jungle bunting, on a background of bright pastel colours.

We even had a little visit from the dudiest dude himself...Mr Motivator! AWESOME

I have to say that Bestival just gets better ever year I've been, the rest of the site was looking incredible thanks to the design team headed my Josie Da Bank.

My favourite was the Wishing Tree which poignantly became the closing bonfire of the festival

Much thanks to Tie, Ayesha and James Bacon for the pictures!


LET Project 
The next phase of the wonderful LET project in Blackburn has taken over what used to be an old jewellery shop in the town centre and turned it into a hive of creative and interactive projects.

I hung some of the characters I built in the window to attract people to the activities within. Hopefully I'll be able to use some of the other ones I made at some point too.

John Soane Museum's 'Building Explorers'

Next was a postcard I designed for the incredulous John Soane Museum in London. The 'Building Explorers' program is an after school club for local children, encouraging not only participation with the museum but to get them excited about the wonders of architecture in London.
I designed a matt-finished postcard that is just begging to be coloured in by these new intrepid explorers!

New Website!

I have redesigned my website, and although it will be changing again in the very near future, I am happy to say it's mine. It has pictures and words and you can click some things too. If you haven't visited it you most probably should, it's webtastic address is www.sallyleach.co.uk HUZZAH!


New Shop (and things for you to buy with your pocket money)

I've been working for the past month on some designs for products to start selling in my very own tinternet shop. They'll be a reet good mix of thing you can look at, put on your wall, carry your stuff in, cheer you up when you're feeling blue, give to your new crush and even some to pop your zits in.
I wanna keep most of it under wraps till I launch but here's a little sneaky peek...

 There's even some Santabulous things coming along...

Woooooooooooo, ok that's me! So how the hell have you been?

xxx

new post soon.....

i've been pretty lame and haven't posted in ages, due to me running around like a maniac juggling lots of fun and not so fun things.......

new post soon, but in the mean time......

...how brilliant is this!

Wish it was this easy to pick a man!

Valentine's day party/market/update coming soon I promise!

x