New Painting + Stickers ♥

Hello dearhearts, I've been terribly neglectful lately, in fact it has been over a month since I last posted anything on here. I keep visiting the blog trying to conjure up post ideas but I always invariably end up clicking away without any new thoughts. So this afternoon (while I attempt to write this) i'm going to force myself to pull something together and actually publish a post! For once.

As i've mentioned time and time again, I really don't live a particularly interesting life; I spend almost all of my time alone in my room reading, drawing or trawling the internet on my macbook and if i'm not cooped up in my room you'll occasionally find me painting in my poky studio down the hall or wandering around the garden listening to music. The point is, I usually leave my home maybe twice a week at most for appointments or lunch with friends (if I can talk myself into actually going).

I've thought about other ways I could share content on here, I read a lot so book reviews seem like the obvious choice but i've never been particularly good at writing those, I tend to get carried away with gushing, syrupy comments and declarations of how much I adore whatever book it is I just happen to have read. The same goes for movie reviews.

So instead i'm going to do what I usually do, and recount a little about what i've been up to recently, regardless of whether or not it comes across as boring.

If you follow me on Instagram you might have noticed that I recently went across to Coventry to visit my family for a week (I might even write a blog post about that at some point), but right before I went away I rustled up a brand new Candy Doll painting. 

it's kind of difficult to snap a photo of since it's on a 24x24" board, so excusing the shoddy colour quality this is what the finished piece looks like. 

 as per usual I posted a stack of candy coloured progress shots to my Instagram as I worked on the painting. See, this is why you should really follow me on Instagram if you don't already! I always remember to post stuff on there, even when I forget to post stuff anywhere else!

early painting progress, colour blocking using liquitex and crafter's acrylic + posca pens.

paint shots! mucky brushes and my chosen messy method of mixing colours in plastic shot glasses.

my favourite part! starting to add in the lineart with Sharpie pens and permanent markers.

lineart complete, time for the background. The Lace very nearly killed me but I got there in the end!

after the lineart was done I taped up the painting and used a mixture of acrylic and spray paint for the background to give it a nice contrasting texture to the smoothness of the posca and acrylic I used for the girl. I always like to keep the colour flat on my work and the only blending I do is usually for whatever rainbow hued hair i've given the latest Candy Doll because blending is fiddly and because that's just how I like to paint!

also, as per usual, I completed the digital version of the design first before I began working on the painting. Here's the full digital version...

so yeah, there you have it, a new painting. Fun times! I'm not sure what to do with her yet, for the time being she's perched on my desk to keep me company while I work but i'll probably try and sell her if I can.

* * *

in other Candy Doll Club News, I recently designed a new sticker to sell in my Etsy Shop

Yes they're food themed! So Feast your eyes on these Girl Gang inspired beauties!
Fries Before Guys x 100% Fresh Boy Tears

the stickers measure 69mm across and are currently for sale in the shop at the bargain price of just £1 + postage for 3 tasty stickers! Get yours HERE

I've already sent a bunch of these babeful stickers off to the UK, America, Australia and Japan! So if you fancy a trio for yourself or to share with your best babes, then go grab some NOW.

* * *

and on that note i'll sign off for now, i'm currently on book number 27 of 2015 (an anthology of H. P. Lovecraft stories, if you're interested) and it's calling to me so i'd better go

cheerio chums! Hopefully it won't be a month before I bother to post again...

Candy Pop and the Candy Dolls

Hello darlings! It's been a while since my last post, but if you follow me via facebook or twitter you may have noticed that for the past few weeks i've been working furiously to sort everything for my end of year exhibition at college

if you've followed the blog for a while you also might have noticed a serious decline in the amount of personal work posts since last year. The truth is that i've had plenty of work to share with you all, I just haven't chosen to post it on here like i usually do.

for example, in regard to my most recent project, i wanted to keep everything TOP SECRET and hidden until my actual exhibition :)

anyway, the exhibition opened on Thursday night so now i see no reason to keep the stuff under wraps, so on that note, i'd like you all to meet... the Candy Dolls

Love Is The Drug

Pretty In Pink

You Should Be Dancing

Just Can't Get Enough

In The Summertime

Sweeter Than Candy

Go Chasing Rabbits

I Put A Spell On You

Where Is My Mind

there are nine of them altogether and in case you couldn't guess from the cryptic titles, they're all based on various song lyrics.

the new term at college required me to set a new project brief for myself. i knew that i wanted to do something bright and colourful but very girly and maybe a little edgier than my usual work.

i'd been toying with the idea of producing a set of kawaii inspired figurative illustrations for a while, then a few months ago Ballad Of magazine set their new issue theme which just happened to be 'Candy Pop'. i'd long since begun sketching out a few girls so the timing seemed perfect. working towards the submissions brief gave me the chance to create a set of work for my college portfolio as well as a possible opportunity to get the work published.

anyway, i submitted 5 very basic girls, the early stages of the 'dolls' i guess and kept my fingers crossed bit unfortunately none of my illustrations made the final cut due to being deemed too sweet. i only found that out about a week and a half ago so in the time since i sent the early versions the 'dolls' have changed and developed quite a bit.

for starters, most of them now sport a serious amount of ink! tattoo art has always fascinated me but i have a massive phobia of needles so since covering myself with tattoos was out of the question, i covered my illustrations with them instead.

and inspired by the candy pop culture, i ended up fusing a bit of Kawaii with a bit of Rockabilly to create a bunch of pastel haired, pin-up style lovelies :)

 there's a lot more to them than initially meets the eye but i'll save all that rambling for the next post.

tomorrow night i'll be posting pics of the actual exhibition + the little paintings i did to accompany the digital designs, but in the meantime you can check out prints, postcards and booklets featuring the Candy Dolls, currently on sale in my BigCartel Store and my Etsy Shop

so until tomorrow (hopefully!), that's all folks... xX

All images featured in this post belong to Jade Boylan © do not claim, use, distribute, reproduce or copy ANY of my work without my express written consent (or else i will find you!!!) . All Rights Reserved.

Creative Café #23 ★

hello folks! so today... my cough is still here, i've been tidying stuff up and been feeling a little bit glum i guess, so with that in mind, i thought what could be better than a crazy, funky, colourful Creative Café post to brighten up my day and to hopefully brighten yours up as well!!!

so stop reading this and run off to get some tea/coffee/juice and biscuits/sweets/cake!

or maybe some eggnog or mulled wine and a mince pie if you're feeling festive... which i'm not, so it's tea and party ring biscuits for me! 

anyway, today it's all about the super duper fabulous illustrator, artist and animator Tristyn Pease (sometimes aka Twiggy McBones)

Tristyn is a very groovy American artist, she likes to draw and she absolutely adores comic books + just about anything animated!

in fact, here's one of her cute mini animations...

she's not just a talented animator though, she creates the most amazing digital illustrations full of gorgeous details

i first spotted her art floating about on tumblr and just loved her loose style and fun character fan art pieces

she's a fabulous character designer and really captures some truly brilliant expressions and emotions in their faces and gestures

her work is almost always fun and fresh, with colours and themes that both children and adults can easily relate to, be amused by, admire and appreciate

i think what i love most about her work though is the way she can incorporate so many different styles into her pieces! in fact i'll shut up about it now and let you look through some more of her stuff in your own sweet time! enjoy...

pretty sweet stuff right! of course it is!!! ok it's time for some links now...

to see even more of Tristyn's gorgeous artwork, sketches + storyboards, head on over to her portfolio website here - Tristyn Pease

and you can click here to see more of her animations - Animations

you can also see more of her stuff, including lots of fun commissions and personal pieces, on her blog here - Thing Blog

there's also heaps of work in her deviantART gallery - Twiggy McBones

and she's on tumblr as well so be sure to follow her on there if you're a tumblr type - Fiddlesticks

Tristyn also illustrated a lovely children's picture book called 'Noah's Little Lamb', you can find out more info + get yourself a copy of it here - Publish America

so now, all that's left for me to say is a whopping great big THANKS again to Tristyn for saying yes about the feature, it was a real pleasure to share some of her work with you all, i hope you enjoyed it! thanks again Tristyn :) x

All images featured in this post belong to Tristyn Pease © do not claim, use, distribute, reproduce or trace ANY of her work without her express written consent. All Rights Reserved.

* * *

in other news, i made something kind of cool the other day but i keep forgetting to post it on here! i PROMISE i'll post about it tomorrow or Thursday (promise promise promise) so you can all have a little look!

so until then, that's all folks... ◕‿◕ ★ xX

Sweets and Zombies ★

so did you enjoy the lovely Creative Café features this week???

well today is just a short post so you don't think i've vanished again, i've been busy this week working on commissions AND a few new pieces for college that i (maybe...) intend to have a go at painting.

so i thought i'd share some of my new work with you all

(Copyright © Jade Boylan 2011. All Rights Reserved)

anyway, first up there's a super yummy Ice Cream Sundae!!!

totally delish!

i'm still working on another ice cream one but it's not quite finished yet! i still need to work out some chocolate chips/fruity bits! but oh well... here's a peek anyway!

there's also a pair of donuts but i don't really like these, not sure why... just not too fond of them for some reason!

oh AND since it's the end of September and everyone is getting excited for Halloween, i thought i'd let you see this years Halloween Pinup a little earlier than usual...

so this year it's all about Zombie Pinups! yaaaaay, zombie pinup girl = automatic creepy awesome times!

last year we had 2 (sort of...) the Midnight Burlesque girl and the Tattooed Lady (see below)

and of course the year before that there was the Zombie Ninja Panda Bear... so NOT a pinup but still delightfully creepy!

so who knows, i might have a go at another pinup or spooky themed creation during October, not sure yet!!!

oh and fyi, the Zombie Pinup is currently being featured in the annual ArtWanted Halloween Showcase aka the 'Haunted House'

now last time i checked they had the zombie pinup and my sugar skull on the front page (click thumbnails) but it might have vamoosed by now, not sure, you can check out all the groovy spooky work here anyway - Haunted House

* * *

and that's that!

i've been listening to Seth MacFarlane's album 'Music Is Better Than Words' on repeat all week since it's so super duper! for more info about Seth + to hear him sing, you can check out this old feature i did here - Super Sunday #3

there'll be no blog tomorrow night since i'm heading out to the Gaiety Theatre to watch my cousin's dance schools annual show + my little god-daughter Bonnie is performing in it!

should be nice, i always love a trip to the Theatre! any excuse!

so until next time, that's all folks... ◕‿◕ ★ xX