Laura Mallaghan Illustration

  What excites me the most in October, is this art challenge! I came across this context post from Instagram, usually the most popular art challenge is inktober, but for the first time ever there’s a bird art challenge. I was so happy seeing that, I remember looking through this particular list in bird art and never be able to find one. Here it is! I’m really, really looking forward to it, which starts tomorrow! If you fancy to do the art challenge and you like birds, here’s a list right here. Have fun! 🖌❤️

I find the mute swan the most majestic bird in the lake, pure white feather, vibrant orange-yellow beak and absolute black to detail the face.   Navy and white combination looks very elegantly modern like you actually see them in the lake, with navy as water. I was inspired to paint white onto the navy when my sister painted her bedroom wall, with some paint left in the pot I used it for my painting. I painted on a few papers filled whole, stared the blank navy, visualising on what to paint on, came up with an idea of having white, as any white birds and white flowers. The mute swan was the first in my mind to paint. Even though I used acrylic paint, it takes layers to solidified, especially the white paint, as the navy showed through. For instance, you can see from the picture I started to paint that navy show through white. I thought the outcome of acrylic paint will look rough because of how thin the paint is, as layering over it does leave some texture marks. But turned out it ...

Yesterday we had Mother's Day, here in the U.K. Anyone spoilt their mum with some sweet gifts, a bouquet of blossoming flowers, or a delicious box of chocolate? Or a simple, witty card. I know my mum loves chocolates, so I got her Hotel Chocolat. She enjoyed it very much as she ate the whole of it in one day. For Sunday Roast dessert, my sister and I made some Lemon Drizzle cupcakes. In the cakes filled with lemon zest and lemon drizzle, and the buttercream with lemon juice. Really, it was a very lemony taste! Also, we used some butterflies and daisy flowers for cake decoration which makes it more Mother's Day as well as the Spring season! Onto illustration topic, I have remembered that I have a quick drawing of a mother bird with her chicks I did 3 years ago, I thought that I can do a recreation! Just exactly what I did with the Birthday Bird illustration! Here's the original drawing from 3 years ago. Scroll down to see the recreation. ...

Hellooo. It's the 16th of March, sunny day here. So yesterday, I turned 27! I had a nice lie-in in the morning even though the weather was rainy, and in the evening my family and I went out for a meal. We went to the restaurant called Wildwood that recently opened and not been there, so I thought we could try it out. I had 'Beyond Meat' Vegan Burger and it was DELICIOUS! I had a marvellous birthday. Anyway, today I'm spending my day-off, from work, to do recreate new version from my old drawing that I drew 3 years ago. This is the original illustration from 3 years ago, a quick drawing with a fine-line pen. Now scroll down for the reveal... With colours! For this, you now know what kind of bird and be mesmerising by the chaffinch's colours. Have a good day.  🎂🐦

Hello all. Yesterday, the weather in the U.K was blissful, the temperature had reached to 23°c with just sunshine all day. Looking at the weather I thought, I could go outside and do some bird drawing, so I did also with lot of suncream slap on me. I illustrated female Cirl Bunting with her wings as she fly, here's the speed drawing animation. And here's the outcome of my Cirl Bunting illustration. I have really enjoyed drawing in this weather yesterday, yet, today is even warmer and I'll be having a veggie BBQ later. Have a lovely Sunday in this splendid weather! 😀

I finally started the first A2 drawing, so 3 more to go.

This project i was getting some ideas for Covert, which then i have to display in exhibition at the end. As my illustration style are nature, am working out to illustrate of covert in nature.  I did some research on illustrations, drawings, designs and materials. I looked at Japanese art, Textile Now book by Drusilla Cole, Landscape Drawing book, Emma Lofstrom, Diana Cooper and Paul Morrison. Then quickly i came up with a idea for my work, show how wild animals lives in a tree, only some British animals. The first concept of what my work could look like. With the tree, these are the materials i am using, a black ink and colour soft pastels onto fabric. Then i added some from my concept, having some genuine  branches onto my work, thought that to makes it out of it as 3D would be. So i experiment it with a branch, however my lecturer wasn't sure if that work well. Then i had another concept, this time without branches and less or no frame. ...

An test GIF of small bird for Moving Image project. Got the wings movement quite right, bit of trouble with table even though it had been squashed in between. Going to do on long strip of paper for more spacious and comfortable to draw.

Here are some more development drawings of British Barn owl for the Covert project. Same drawing medias, biro pen, HB sketch pencil and fine line pen, and I added another drawing media to experiment was marker pen, it was a bit worn out but work well. I think birds are quite easy to draw, so i will draw them more.