Sarah Olive Edwards

Bio: Sarah has worked in the creative industries for 14+ years as a freelance graphic designer, and has now expanded into the area of arts facilitation.

Sarah’s involvement with collective arts creation was stirred most recently while creating a mural at local mental health charity MindFood, and she went on to be a co-founder of Welcome Create, a community art group at Pitzhanger Manor & Gallery.

She enjoys working with all ages, and values listening to the needs and desires of those involved to co-produce ideas, creating a sense of learning via exploration and peer-to-peer interactions, connection and increased self-confidence.

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.

Samuel Golc

HadashArt

Being both an artist and art psychotherapist, I am interested in the healing capacity of art as well as its role in conveying meaning and communication with both the internal and external words. I draw inspiration for my paintings from my unconscious as it manifests in dreams and visions. I am inspired by esoteric sciences such as Kabbalah and quantum mechanics. My treatment of photography evokes that of painting and is highly experimental in nature. The shots are created with the use of self-made optical devices, which allow me to beguile the camera into shooting abstract images. In more than one way these instruments replace paint tubes and brushes.

Leanne Armstrong

Leanne's website and portfolio

Leanne is a multi-disciplinary graphic designer and illustrator based in South London. She has experience working with a variety of clients on anything from flyers, children’s books, wall decals, logos, magazines and more. Using vivid colour and complimentary graphics, she creates attractive and compelling designs, with harmony between imagery and typography.

Yousif Naser

Yousif Naser biography & work

One constant theme evident in Yousif's numerous, paintings and drawings is the suffering of Iraq and the pain of exile. His largest project Black Rain is an ongoing undertaking, which began as a painting project during the build up to the 2003 invasion of Iraq. It quickly acquired momentum and generated much local media coverage. Gradually it evolved into a a series of paintings comprising of multi-and-single media works, ranging from gigantic canvases to small drawings, collages and paintings, all inspired by the horrors of war.

Peter Hirst

http://www.peterhirstphotography.com

I am a retired educator who has taught painting and photography in Ealing schools for over forty years. During that time I never stopped producing my own photographic work. Since retiring I have increased my photographic output, self-published several books of my photographs and also exhibited, most recently in the current Royal Academy of Arts Summer Exhibition.

Carl Gabriel

Carl Gabriel: from mas band to museum

London-based Carnival artist Carl Gabriel has achieved international renown for his large-scale sculptures, lovingly handcrafted through the disappearing art of traditional wire bending. These have been exhibited at the British Library, the Science Museum in London, Ohio State University. Carl's greatest inspiration came through childhood experiences of Carnival in Trinidad.

Richard Cook

https://www.richardcookart.com/

My interest is in the play of colour and texture as they revolve around nature and people. I use digital software to re-work sketches, painting and photographic images to explore the play of colour, texture and line that presents itself. It's a multi-layered approach whereby original sketches and photographs may be re-worked, re-painted and then re-worked a number of times till completion of the final image – a process that can take many months. My aim is to delight and surprise the viewer – for them to see and feel an abstraction of the familiar re-presented from a new perspective.

Emiliya

https://www.instagram.com/emaemiliya_art_trial/

I'm a new artist. I used to draw in my teens age and later as most of us just give up. Now the pandemic makes me go back to my hobbie. Unfortunately, I have no website yet but using social media.