Raquel Macartney

Instagram @raquelmacartney

UK based, Christian, British, Filipina Artist working and living in Birmingham and London. Single mother to 2 pre/teenagers.

James Barnor

Pioneering photographer

James Barnor was born in Accra, Ghana in 1929. He began work as a photographer in Accra?s Jamestown district in 1947 where he set up the Ever Young studio, taking photographs of the local community. He also worked as a photojournalist for the Daily Graphic and Drum magazine, which led him to London in the 1960s. Beyond his studio photography and press commissions, Barnor also has an extensive archive of street reportage. After spending the 1960s in Britain, Barnor returned to Ghana at the end of the decade where he helped open the country?s first colour-processing laboratory. In 1993, after 24 years in Ghana, Barnor returned to London where he continues to live today. His varied body of photographic work documents the shift towards modern living as experienced by black people in both Africa and Britain.

Fetch Photos

Fetch Photos Instagram page

London's "pup-up" dog photography service... Bringing communities closer through the love of dogs and photography.

Lily Mixe

? Look deep into nature, and then you will understand everything better. ? Albe…

Lily Mixe is a graphic artist originating from Paris who has now based herself within the creative hot bed of London, UK.
Lily?s artwork moves from paper and canvas, found objects and onto the surface of walls in the street.

At the centre of the work is Nature and in particular the Ocean. The subjects are otherworldly, aliens from our own planet. Specimens that offer reminders of how beautiful and complex life on Earth can be and how much of our own planet is unknown and undiscovered.

Inspired by numerous diving expeditions, and hundreds of notebooks and studies of animals and plants, the work is both familiar and unusual. Lily states, ?The work examines life under the surface, the incredible unseen, silent beings we take for granted. I want to give a visual voice to the natural world. I want to celebrate nature in the same way we value precious stones and rare artefacts, I place nature as the highest currency on planet earth?

Lily?s work mutates. It starts as a sketch, it builds and becomes a form, filling and layering textures and patterns that give it a life of its own. The art lives in books, on paper, found objects and ultimately become fully realised when added to the landscape; pasted to bricks and cement, continuing to change over time, changing with the weather, with plants, pollution, graffiti.

The work really starts to take shape once lily walks away. Making the art is only half of the process, placement of the piece is key to its completion, the transient and brutal spirit of nature frames the work, pasting drawings to a wall is an offering, and a sacrifice, an experiment, to see the drawings grow, change, and often be destroyed by the environment and time.

Lisa Read

http://www.inkyflamingo.co.uk

My family home is in Cowes on the Isle of Wight. I moved to Southampton to complete an Art Foundation course followed by a three-year Textile Degree at Farnham Art College, after which I worked as a print designer in London for 2 years, giving me a more rounded understanding of the textile industry.

Wanting an adventure, I spent the summer of 92 working with young children in the Catskill Mountains in New York, as part of the Camp America summer camp program, before travelling the East coast of America. Several years working in retail funded a year-long backpacking trip through Thailand, Vietnam, Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore, and Hong Kong.

Returning to London, I started working for Marks and Spencer, where I’d stay for the next 22 years in a variety of roles. I started as a merchandiser but soon returned to my passion as a textile designer progressing to senior textile designer within a few years.

Working for M&S as a textile designer was my dream job. I worked creatively every day with textiles, following the latest lifestyle, product, and colour trends. I travelled the world as part of a team visiting textile fairs, shopping for inspiration, and working closely with factories to deliver beautiful product for the seasonal ranges.

In 2020, the impact of COVID meant I was furloughed for seven weeks and by the end of the year, the M&S design team was reduced by half resulting in my redundancy.

In that time, my younger sister asked if I’d like to illustrate a story that she was writing for her two young sons. Redundancy allowed me to focus on illustrating the book while also giving me the time to learn about the book publishing industry. From hand-painting the watercolour illustrations, to book layout design, to learning about print and production techniques.

I sourced a UK print house as sustainability is very important to us both, and we printed the books in the UK to keep their carbon footprint low, using FCS certified paper and vegetable inks.

In 2021 Frederick the Fox was rolling off the presses! Having learned a lot about production, marketing and distribution, we published our second book, Maximus the Mouse in 2023.

Both books are beautiful rhyming stories of friendship, brought to life with colourful hand painted watercolour illustrations perfect for children up to six years old.

I work at my small kitchen table in Chiswick and enjoy painting and experimenting with my trusty set of watercolours. If I’m not painting, I’m using my MacBook Pro to digitize artwork or to stay in touch with current retail partners and to contact new potential partners, set up book readings, craft sessions, or market stalls.

Illustrating Maximus the Mouse planted the seed for me to explore other products using both my existing and new artwork. This summer I produced a range of animal alphabet prints that I’m selling through select retail partners. Each design is beautifully hand painted with watercolours then Giclee printed onto a high quality art paper using fade resist inks. Perfect for adding a personal touch to any nursery, child's bedroom or playroom . Or if you're looking for something smaller each print has been developed as a greetings card.

Future plans include product personalisation within the Inky Flamingo range.

Anita Duggal

https://www.linkedin.com/in/anitaduggal/

A photographer and designer from West London. Inspired by the natural world, travel, and unique places.

M Dillon

M Dillon Artist

M Dillon is an artist and designer who makes mixed media collage and sculpture that might appear superficially decorative or humorous, but there is a narrative beyond the decoration that aims to provoke a specific response of disquiet.

Martin Lau

http://www.martinlau.net

Martin's practice reflects a lifelong fascination with a non-dualistic conception of the world, which both feeds and is informed by his interest in Buddhism, where states considered to be binary opposites can co-exist in the same time and place. The heightened sense of reality as encountered in dreams and moments of clarity is at the core of his work. His pursuit of photography, video and timbre-based electronic music can be traced back to his school days.

Photomontage and music has been the basis of much of his recent practice, but he employs whichever medium he finds most appropriate for a given project, and works include sculpture, assemblage, and chocolates moulded from his own body. He performs and records under the name "Flooded Access", and in the audio/visual project "on&off"

David Emmanuel Noel

Official website of David Emmanuel Noel FRSA

Artist /designer with a background in visual & performing arts, architecture and building design with interest in the therapeutic benefits of art in public spaces. He's here to share and discuss all things creative and artistic! David has collaborated on cross disciplinary projects, taught art and worked closely with bodies such as New York’s Groundswell Community Mural Project, the UK Department of Health and NSPCC with an aim to promote the social and therapeutic benefits of art in public spaces.

Sarah McAlister

I am a textile and mixed media artist working with found objects. My mission is to re-use and recycle discarded materials in a transformative way. Recognising that an alternative view can also be beautiful.
I run creative workshops at my local library.