Sketchbook – Natalie Eldred

Dahlias at the Allotment

Latest illustration based on an observed sketch drawn at Wivenhoe allotments. these will form part of an exhibition at Wivenhoe Bookshop in September, alongside a few quick observational sketches.

Trees

Made using a Gelli plate, acrylic paints, stencil & stamping techniques. Part of a breakthrough in the way I have recently been working on #Matti. Forgot to share them before now though!

I just came back from a short trip to visit a friend who lives high in the Swiss Alps. My children skied on snow for the first time (and I marvelled at how fearless they were) and I skied – terrified and slowly – and despite all this activity (clearing paths, trying to build igloos)Continue reading “Saas Fee”

Christmas Cacti

I did these for a small pop-up art fair in my home town. I got into the flow of it and PLAYED. Initially I had been drawing cool retro mugs (something else I like) but that just wasn’t going well. Clearly not organic enough. So I looked through some old sketchbooks and found these. TheyContinue reading “Christmas Cacti”

11 December 2017

It’s been a difficult day to know where to focus my energy. The weather was awful, the house was a mess… it was hard to focus. Much of what I was doing did not go well. I had previously been looking through some old sketchbooks, and an image from one of them inspired this littleContinue reading “11 December 2017”

Developments with Matti

Matti is slowly becoming a book I am really proud of. It’s a much, much stronger book than it was when I first conceived of it in the Summer of 2015. I’m now working hard on getting a dummy ready for after Xmas, but especially for Bologna Children’s Book Fair 2018. Here areContinue reading “Developments with Matti”

Gentleman on Train

I drew this on the crowded Braintree train, on my way home with my eldest son, on January 21. We’d spent the day mudlarking under the millennium bridge and lying on the floor under blankets at the Tate Modern. It was a good day.

Large ladies drawn with my left hand

Because, well – why not? I might try some reportage work using my left hand. I think this would be the first time I’ve drawn from my imagination using my left hand. I will definitely be doing it some more. Any suggestions for subject matter?