A crafty update!

I've been a busy bee of late so I'm aware my blog is well overdue an update!

Late September we spent 2 and a half weeks in the USA on a little roadtrip from San Francisco to Las Vegas via Yellowstone and lots of other scenic places, it was hugely inspirational.
Here's me with 3 Elvises and a man dressed as the Vegas sign!

While I was away my latest digital scrapbooking kits were released on Ideal World's Create and Craft TV. The kits were....PIN UP THEMED! I had to keep that a secret far too long! There were 5 kits in total on different themes, here's a little selection of images from the different kits.

We're also celebrating my promotion to Senior Creative Illustrator at Serif and the release of my Christmas scrapbooking kits for Craft Artist, now available to buy on Daisytrail.com. My kits are "Traditional"  "Retro" and "Homebaked" but more about those in a future blog!

That just leaves me to say a belated Happy Halloween!
x Charlotte

Milkcow Magazine Interview

A few weeks ago I was interviewed by the lovely Kate Hawkridge (check out her work, she's a fab artist!) for the 40s and 50s culture magazine Milkcow. The latest issue has just come out and my interview is featured! Ive got a fab double page spread, check it out!

Big thanks to Kate and to Milkcow magazine!

New Gorgeous Gifts to Buy!

As you may have already heard there are two brand new Tote Bags now up for grabs on the 'Gift' Page of this very website. Both feature brand new, unique designs and have been lovingly screenprinted for me by a local Nottingham company.

I had a lot of fun coming up with the designs for the bags. I knew all along that i wanted to make a Robin Hood bag. I had so much fun creating the branding for Dr Sketchy Nottingham, and wanted to make a bag that we can sell at the events but that also stands alone as celabration of a National and my Local hero...or in this case HEROINE! With the film coming out soon, what better time to sport a 'Steal From the Rich' tote bag?

We made a few amendments to the Dr Sketchy Robin Hood, we took away her pencil (sorry!) and gave her a standard (but very very deadly) bow and arrow and gave her a little medieval tattoo inspired banner with the slogan 'Steal from the Rich' (not that we in any way condone stealing from anyone, rich or poor!).


















'Man's Ruin' ius a 100% brand new design, created exclusively for the Tote Bags. With 24 hours to come up with a design I simply made something I knew I would love to wear! I'm a big collector of Hawaiian-alia, we have a bathroom crammed with tikis, hula girls, hibiscus, mini palm trees and bamboo encrusted tat! So it seemed to make perfect sense to cram all of this onto a bag design. You'll also note this is not your most innocent Hula Girl, she seems to have some homicidal, if not cannibalistic tendancies! Make note of the various sailor skulls and the skull of Jack Sparrow in the foreground. Hers is one desert island you may want to avoid!

The bags are a good size for shopping and fit an A4 folder perfectly (great for school work or portfolios I discovered this week!) They also have decent lenght straps and fit nicely over one shoulder. Very chic!

Big thanks to David Morley aperfectimitation.co.uk and Matt Vickerstaff darkwaveart.co.uk who helped hugely and gave advice on the designs. (The pineapple on 'Mans Ruin' was entirely Matt's idea!)

2009 Round up!

So a new year is beginning, and for me it’s going to be a big one in so many ways!
It’s always good to have a little look back on the year just past though so time to recap great things that happened in 2009?

In no particular order

Danse Macabre Nottingham happened….after battle after battle and rather too much blood sweat and tears later!

Pit of Curiosities happened….an off the cuff idea turned into an event that 900 people turned up to! More blood sweat and tears and feet that felt like they had pins and needles for 2 days! Remind me why (and how!) we’re doing it again in Feb 2010?

Dr Sketchy Nottingham took flight! With my new comrade in arms Scarlett Daggers we brought sexy life drawing to Nottingham and another city to the Dr Sketchy family!

I worked with some amazing people, new friends and new colleagues bringing new ideas and experiences to the table, we couldn’t have achieved these things on our own!

I worked with some amazing companies/people that I’ve had my eye on for years, it’s been an honour to be chosen to create work for you guys.

Meeting lots of new businesses – its always an honour to make your business look just how you want it so you can launch with pride! I’ve had so much fun making logos and stationary this year!

Meeting lots of new ladies and making pretty pictures for you! My particular favourites have been the ‘surprises’, my only wish is that I could’ve been there to see your faces when you received them!

Seeing my work in print – Bizarre magazine, hell yes! Bags, Calendars and Tshirts at What Katie Did, Interview with Bubblegum Slut Mag, Promo/posters flyers galore, giant canvas prints. I’m always very excited to see my work printed onto something!

Settling into a new flat and new office and generally enjoying domestic bliss, eating cake and having someone to watch star trek with.


Maddest experience - illustrating for Tesco, spending the day at the Microsoft office in London and watching the slideshows being run from a Mac (HAHA!) Then seeing one of the ideas we illustrated on an advert narrated by Dawn French. AWESOME!


So what is to come next year?

The Thomson-Morley wedding in September! Rubber stamps, MORE Dr Sketchy, Pit of Curiosities 2, the Danse Macabre world tour, more burlesque adventures, a new member of my team, new artwork collections and other things I cant think of at the moment!

Ambitions/Plans? – to work hard for bigger and more exciting things like tshirts, greetings cards etc so there will be lots of nice things in the shops for you all to buy next Crimbo! To get about more, hoping to head to a few more cities with my work this year, or at least plan which ones I’ll be heading to in 2011! To make time for important things like planning a wedding! To stay focused and not get distracted by shiny things!

Happy New Year Everyone!
X Charlotte

NEW Showgirl Series & Website UpdatePi

You may have noticed that a few new things have been added to the website, most notably my new 'Showgirl' series. Absinthe, Cassis, Ruby, Kahlua and Pink Champagne are my newest artworks and are for sale on in the 'Burlesque' section of the website. They're all inspired by the wonderful world of vintage cabaret and burlesque and are painted in pen & ink, watercolours and acrylic inks. More ladies may be joining them soon!

Other new things on the website include - prints of Lucky 13, a piece recently sold at Gallery 8 in Somerset. New bridal and boudoir portraits in my portfolio, new fashion images including work done for What Katie Did and new Entertainment/Burlesque portfolio pieces.

Enjoy!

x Charlotte

Dr Sketchy Nottingham TICKETS ON SALE NOW!

Tickets are now on sale for Dr Sketchy Nottingham August on 22nd 1pm - 4pm
Check out www.drsketchynottingham.co.uk

Our Launch Line Up is
Mysti Vine,
Diva Hollywood
and Emerald Ace

Mysti and Diva will be performing and modelling and Emerald will be modelling.

Tickets are £8 in advance, some will be available on the door but you may not want to risk it!
Doors open from 12:30 so you can get settled and find a seat before everything kicks off.

Remember to bring your own media and paper, dry media only please (pencils, charcoal, crayons) ! If you want more info check out the info page on the Dr Sketchy Nottingham website.

Look forward to seeing you there!
x Charlotte

(Photograph of Mysti Vine by Candee Photography)

What Katie Did Tshirts

http://www.whatkatiedid.com/src/just_arrived.php

NOW ON SALE! Exclusively designed Charlotte Thomson Tshirts for What Katie Did, available for ladies and gents in a range of sizes and in black or pink for ladies (black only for gents). You can also get your cotton 'bag for life' shoppers with the same design in black and white, great for summer and putting your veg in!

What Katie Did are one of my all time favourite repro vintage comnpanies, the quality of their products is second to none and thier attention to vintage detail is impeccable! I'm really chuffed to have worked with them!

Hope you like the design!

Modelled by Missy Malone http://www.missymalone.co.uk Photo courtesy of What Katie Did and Missy Malone © 2009.

x Charlotte

What Katie Did - New Tshirt and Bag Design

The tshirt and bag design commissioned by What Katie Did has now been revealved! check out www.whatkatiedid.com (News section)

Its just been sent out on the newsletter, its not available to buy yet, i believe its being launched at Hemsby Rockabilly weekender, but it'll be online at the What Katie Did shop by the end of may!

Very exciting stuff!

x Charlotte