List of the most popular hashtags for theme #REPORTAGEILLUSTRATION

This weekend in Ferrara, Italy: Diari di Viaggio, a sketchbook festival with various exhibitions, meeting other sketchbook artists in the midst of delicious food in a beautiful town, and lots and lots of drawing everyday. On the right is the Castello Estense, the view looking towards the cathedral and municipal square. #sketchbook #drawing #observationaldrawing #linedrawing #watercolour #travelsketchbook #ferrara #italy #castle #worldheritage #reportageillustration #carnedevoyage #diariodiviaggio #artist

Giants, from my residency @dumfrieshouse #springillustration #reportageillustration #royaldrawingschool #artresidency #artistresidency #illustration #contemporaryillustration #illustrator #illustratorsoninstagram #drawing #painting #dumfrieshouse #scotland #treeillustration #forest #woods #spring #sunny #picnic #natureillustration #contemporarydrawing #watercolour #watercolourillustration #outdoors #sun

#walktosee #lindisfarne detail 2

When I got off the train and walked through Melbourne early on Sunday morning it felt like the city was empty. Then I turned into this famous much loved laneway and there were people everywhere - I found the urban ‘buzz’ I had been hoping to draw! . . . #sketch #sketchbook #urbansketch #urbansketchers #usk #urbansketchersmelbourne #reportageillustration #livesketching #adrawingaday #illustratorsofinstagram #illustration_best #best_of_illustration #peoplesketch #cafesketch #coffeesketch #travelsketch #sbsadrawingaday #penandink #watercolor #gouache #sketchbookskool #global_sketchers #walktosee #instaart #illustrationparade #thewomenwhodraw #melbourne #streetsketch

I enjoy the theatre of the staff at this cafe, a little piece of Austria in our tiny town - Das Kaffeehaus. So fancy in their attire and so busy serving the giant old room at our ancient woollen mills. It’s nice to have a place to go in our wee town where there is usually a crowd to draw. . . . #sketch #urbansketch #urbansketchers #livesketch #walktosee #usk #penandink #watercolor #gouache #goldpaint #illustrator #reportageillustration #cafesketch #peoplesketch #illustratorsofinstagram #instaart #sbsadrawingaday #dailydrawing #aloveofdrawing #annawilsonink #sketchbookskool #urbansketchersmelbourne #thewomenwhodraw #instaartist #castlemaine @coffeebasics

more london! spot niamh in every drawing i do #illustration#illustrator#womenillustrators#illustratorsoninstagram#illustratorsofinstagram#womanillustrator#london#reportage#reportageillustration#oxfordcircus#christmasinlondon#londonchristmas#london#oxfordcircusstation#oxfordstreet#oxfordstreetlondon#oxfordstreetlights

Colour can be really daunting cant it? I used to avoid it at all costs especially during uni, but when I was studying on the Children’s Book MA in Cambridge I was really inspired by other illustrators who were using colour subtly. I developed a method where I structured images around a primary colour pallet and you can see this in my first picture book, Lion Practice, which is mainly done in red, yellow and blue. I’ve become A LOT braver with colour recently, which hasn’t been easy but if you scroll back through my grid you can see a clear development within my sketchbooks. Interestingly I think there’s been a link for me between this new colour confidence and exploring new materials – especially gouache. Since I’ve started painting I now notice colour everywhere, the bright neon pops in flower beds, the subtle differences in varieties of trees and even whilst watching the new season of Game of Thrones, which is what I was thinking of whilst working on this drawing. I know what you’re thinking, “Emma this series of GOT isn’t colourful at all! Its SO dark” and although a lot of the scenes recently have been dark (hello full brightness on my laptop) its made me notice and appreciate the use of colour even more. Next time you watch an episode look at the way the firelight is used to highlight the edge of someone’s face in bright orange, or the mix of blues and brown to make up the darker tones. When I sat down to draw this jazz band on Friday evening in Berlin I purposefully avoided using black. Instead I used a mix of dark blue and purple layered up to get the darkness and then used orange and red as highlights. I loved doing this piece and JUST finished as they played the few notes of their set, which felt like fate. I feel like this drawing really pulled together all of the colour development and research which I’ve been doing recently, I’d love to work on more darker drawings. Do you struggle using colour or do you find it comes naturally to you?

I spent Thursday afternoon at @dartingtonhall with @samboughton , @bethanwelby and @wendy.l.howarth, we’ve set up a bit of a South West drawing club and it’s so lovely to meet up with some like-minded creatives. I mentioned yesterday on my Instagram stories that I chose to challenge myself during the day. The biggest thing I’d like to work on this year is to become looser with my drawing, but does anyone else find that as soon as you try and loosen up you do the complete opposite? To help with this I attempted to work on two pieces at once, I set a 20min timer and had to switch between two sketchbooks, practically it worked as it gave my paint time to dry but I think the time pressure made me feel a bit frantic and anxious, I’d like to try it again though! My other challenge was all about colour, I spoke to Sam briefly as we were walking back to the gardens after lunch and said I’d been trying to find my ‘summer’ pallet. I’ve spent so long painting with these blues and greys but coming back from Italy I’m loving the pops of oranges and pink I’ve been experimenting with. The sadder colours also don’t feel like me at the moment, I’m so much happier in myself and I want that to start coming through in my work, I’m not completely leaving the moody sea scapes behind but I hope you’ll stick with me whilst I experiment a little with some brighter colours. This was my final drawing of the day, I loved adding in those vibrant flowers at the front. I wished I’d had an extra hour to work on another piece but I was starting to get cold and I’d been bitten by ants ! I wasn’t planning on sharing all these drawings but I think it’s interesting to see the process I went through to get to this, swipe across to see. Do you set yourself challenges when you go out to draw? Or do you prefer to have no agenda? I think I much prefer going out and ‘just drawing’ but I felt like setting myself some goals meant I learnt a lot about where I currently am within my practice!

A little action. Hold upside down for better view. #memistudionyc #fashionillustration #penandink #reportageillustration