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Lisa Congdon... artist, illustrator, author, speaker, cat AND dog lover... Many moons ago (well, about six years ago) when I was still working full time as a lawyer in Edinburgh, stuck in my little corporate pen, I randomly stumbled across Lisa’s blog and it kinda blew my mind. Here was an artist, successfully working full time as an illustrator who had spent the first 15 years of her career in a completely different field. In fact, Lisa did not meaningfully pick up a paintbrush until her early 30s (at the time I was 29). GASP I thought, maybe it isn’t too late for me after all as proceeded to read her entire blog and absorb every interview, podcast and article ever published about her (probably when I should have been revising contracts). Fast forward to today, I’m working freelance as an illustrator (complemented with a bit of lawyering on the side) and living looking over the ocean on the Pacific coast of Mexico. If this Nicola had told that Nicola where she’d be in 6 years, she’d have fallen off her chair... Anyway, this is a long winded thank you to @lisacongdon for sharing her story and making me realise that it was all still to play for... my favourite quote from Lisa is “when you’re not making stuff, there’s this part of you that aches, but you don’t know that’s why it aches” which is exactly where I was at the time. #lisacongdon #portraitchallenge_2019 . . . . . . . . #illustration #freelanceillustrator #ignitetheskillwithin #artisticmoods #workingartist #makeartthatsells #artshare #artistsharing #weloveillustration #matsdrawingfaces #illustratorslife #illustrationartists #best_of_illustrations #aoimember #womenwhodraw #theaoi #illustratedportrait #editorialillustration #illustrationhowl #womenwithpencils #moreillustration #drawingfaces #illustrateyourworld #illustratorsoninstagram #portraitchallenge #illustratorsofinstagram
Thinking about you NZ, and every Muslim community across the globe this weekend 💔🇳🇿 . . . . . . #lovenothate #globalcommunity #peaceandlove #weloveillustration #illustrationtoday #womenwhodraw #contemporaryillustration #illustrateyourworld #editorialillustration
Anyone else need a crystal ball to help them decide where to live? 🔮🌎 . . . . . . #makeartthatsells #matseditorial #editorialillustration #illustration #conceptualillustration #magazineillustration #editorialart #illustrationartists #madetocreate #illustrateyourday #artistsharing #showyourwork #weloveillustration #contemporaryillustration #illustrationtoday #womenwhodraw #illustratorsofinstagram
Mary Queen of Scots, a pretty fitting subject for International Women’s Day! She towered over her contemporaries, literally (at nearly 6ft) and figuratively... she became queen aged just 6 though was raised in France. At 16 she conveniently married the king-to-be and ascended to the French throne the following year. Over the channel, the new English queen, Elizabeth I was settling into her throne and keenly aware of her tenuous link to the crown (she was the daughter of the executed Anne Boleyn, her mother’s death rendering her illegitimate). As a Protestant, she faced threats from England’s Catholic faction, which favored a rival claim to the throne -that of Mary, the Catholic Queen of Scots - over hers. In the eyes of the Catholic Church, Elizabeth was the illegitimate product of an unlawful marriage, while Mary, the paternal granddaughter of Henry VIII’s older sister Margaret, was the rightful English heir. Cue a decades long power struggle with side of love, religion, unsuitable marriage and murder, which ultimately resulted in Mary’s beheading at the age of 44, under Elizabeth’s axe. Ironically she had the last laugh as when Elizabeth died childless in 1603, it was Mary’s son, James VI of Scotland and I of England, who ascended to the throne as the first to rule a united British kingdom.... 👸💪✨ #portraitchallenge_2019 . . . . . . #internationalwomensday #illustration #freelanceillustrator #ignitetheskillwithin #artisticmoods #workingartist #makeartthatsells #artshare #artistsharing #matsdrawingfaces #illustratorslife #illustrationartists #best_of_illustrations #aoimember #womenwhodraw #theaoi #illustratedportrait #editorialillustration #illustrationhowl #womenwithpencils #moreillustration #drawingfaces #illustratorsoninstagram #illustratorsofinstagram
Rachel Carson, marine biologist, writer and one of the 20th century’s most significant environmentalists - she had a tough journey to acceptance but her relentless work and constant campaigning eventually led to the ban of the toxic pesticide DDT and she is credited with developing the global environmental movement that we recognise today #awesomeladyofscience 🌎🌳🦋 #portraitchallenge_2019 . . . . . . . #illustration #freelanceillustrator #ignitetheskillwithin #artisticmoods #workingartist #makeartthatsells #artshare #artistsharing #matsdrawingfaces #illustratorslife #illustrationartists #best_of_illustrations #aoimember #womenwhodraw #theaoi #illustratedportrait #editorialillustration #illustrationhowl #womenwithpencils #moreillustration #drawingfaces #illustratorsoninstagram #illustratorsofinstagram
Tove Jansson, artist and writer - I’m jumping on the portrait bandwagon for #portraitchallenge_2019 (see my stories for info!) with this amazing lady whose biography I’m currently reading. Although she created the wildly popular Moomins stories and illustrated countless cartoon strips featuring their lives, she first and foremost saw herself as a visual artist and painter despite struggling to deal with the mediocre reviews she received for her work. Although I was aware of the Moomins as a kid, I only really discovered how brilliant Tove was as an adult through her works of fiction. She really was an extraordinarily writer too - The Summer Book is one I’ll read over and over again. #tovejansson . . . . . . #illustration #freelanceillustrator #ignitetheskillwithin #artisticmoods #workingartist #makeartthatsells #artshare #artistsharing #matsdrawingfaces #illustratorslife #illustrationartists #best_of_illustrations #aoimember #womenwhodraw #theaoi #illustratedportrait #moomins #editorialillustration #illustrationhowl #womenwithpencils #moreillustration #drawingfaces #illustratorsoninstagram #illustratorsofinstagram
I get daily reminders of the tropical island I grew up on here in Mexico... the fauna is very different (no monkeys) but there are so many similar trees and plants here. Bare feet and jungles make me happy 🦎🌴🦶#borneo . . . . . #illustratedmap #mapart #travelillustration #illustration #artlicensing #artmap #makeartthatsells #editorialillustration #magazineillustration #editorialart #mapillustration #littlestoriesofmylife #creativehappylife #brunei #sarawak #sabah #kalimantan #panaga #handlettering #illustrationartists #madetocreate #illustrateyourday #artistsharing #showyourwork #illustratorsofinstagram
A little mock up of my journal... I feel there may be more butterflies in my future, I really enjoyed drawing them 🦋💕 . . . . . #inspiredbynature #jounalart #illustrationartists #illustration #dspattern #makeartthatsells #everydayillustration #matshomedecor #patterndesigner #showyourwork #artlicensing #freelanceillustrator #matsbootcamp2019 #matsbootcamp #patterndesign #createmakeshare #surfacepatterndesign #seekinspirecreate #artinspiredbynature #surfacepattern