Your particular surroundings

How do you use them for inspiration?

I recently did this commission for a family in Sydney.

Seeing the excitement when they opened it absolutely made my day!!!

It was so adorable seeing the kids recognise themselves in the image.

The family asked me to draw a portrait of them going for a swim. Like me, their second home is the beach. Where better to get inspiration then from my own ‘backyard’ - Bondi Beach. I wanted it to be recognisable for locals, but also to just be a beach that everyone can relate to.

I live in Sydney and really close to Bondi Beach, so it’s a beach I’m very familiar with and go to about three times a week. However, I’m not normally at Bondi at sunrise. For a reference I used my own photos of North Bondi and some from my favourite photographer @Aquabumps. I’m lucky enough to see the sunrise over Bondi Beach every morning, although it’s a completely different viewpoint from the one in my illustration. Below are my reference photos.

My particular surroundings are rich with inspiration. As a children's book illustrator, what could be better than being surrounded by the ocean, kids and pets?

Whatever your surroundings are, there are endless ways to use your immediate environment for inspiration… just get sketching and see where it leads…

News

• My book ‘Little Shark Lulu… is sleeping’ is available for pre-order. Click for details.

• I’m working on exciting new characters.

• I have one spot left for a commission in August - feel free email me or DM me with your project.