Frances's Illustration Blog

Illustration Friday - Prepare

2012-01-15T20:47:00.003Z

The King and Queen prepare for their daughter's wedding in The Frog Prince

Couldn't think anything for this week's topic, but browsing through some of my past books came across these which fulfil the brief perfectly...

They were done for German educational publishers Cornelsen's book The Frog Prince. The pictures of the King and Queen preparing for their daughter's wedding were witty fillers devised by Cornelsen's Marie Keenoy.

Illustrations copyright - Please do not reproduce without permission.

Un-colour-corrected whole page.

Illustration Friday - Separated

2011-12-15T14:17:00.001Z

I think this must be a Romeo & Juliet situation, or one of the squirrels must have a bad cold or something, as most squirrels would be able to meet up quite easily usually!

Partly inspired by previous Illustration Friday entry for Crunchy.

Season's Greetings!

2011-12-15T13:52:00.001Z

Illustration Friday - Round

2011-12-01T22:01:00.003Z

The Bristol Zoo Wow! Gorilla, which I designed and painted, Endangered PJs (aka Bert) is very rounded...like all the other 62 Gorillas designed by Chris Wilkinson of Wild in Art. The shoulders, head and especially the bottom are beautifully rounded. The Giant Panda emphasises the lovely round bottom!

See my gorilla blog for Bert's development: www.franwowgorilla.blogspot.com

Illustration Friday - Vanity

2011-11-25T12:15:00.003Z

The Fox and the Crow © Frances Cony

Years ago for Oxford University Press, I illustrated the fable The Fox and the Crow. This is a quick sketchy reinterpretation. The fox keeps praising the crow, and asking to hear the beautiful voice it must have in order for the crow to open its mouth, and thereby drop the cheese it was holding. The crow's vanity gets the better of it.

Illustration Friday - Stripes

2011-11-08T01:26:00.005Z

Easter Zebra © Frances Cony

Don't think I'll have time to draw a new picture this week. I do have quite a selection of zebra pictures. Here is quite a stripy one.

I even illustrated a book of Zebra Jokes!, currently unavailable...

Illustration Friday - Scattered

2011-10-21T12:15:00.003+01:00

Having previously scattered the seed, Little Red Hen is now gathering the wheat. (Little Red Hen : Cambridge University Press)

Illustration Friday - Hibernate

2011-10-05T10:02:00.004+01:00

Spent ages trying to find the book in which my illustrations about hibernation are in...but to no avail. Had to get the artwork out from under the wardrobe, from amongst hundreds of pages for the same project...Kooky and English language course for 7-8 years old German schoolchildren produced by Cornelsen Verlag, Berlin, about 20 years ago!

Click on images to enlarge.

Going! Going! Gone! ENDANGERED PJs (Bert) sold and Gone!

2011-10-01T18:51:00.001+01:00

Bert was sold for £6.5K on Thursday at the WOW! Gorilla Auction.
For further details see www.swillustrators.blogspot.com

and www.franwowgorilla.blogspot.com

See Gorilla Auction LIVE TONIGHT

2011-09-29T18:48:00.001+01:00

See the auction live on a web cam via http://www.bristolzoo.org.uk/auction

Frances's endangered PJs (or Bert) is lot 56 (out of 60!).

You can also buy raffle tickets to win a school-size unpainted gorilla, bit of a Formula 1 engine or a ceramic ape. See zoo site for details.

Illustration Friday - Ferocious

2011-09-25T13:27:00.009+01:00

© Frances Cony - Couldn't think of anything very original or witty...and it's a bit of a weird-looking dog with rather large paws, but quite a ferocious, weird-looking dog with rather large paws! Not my best drawing ever, but not third from last (hopefully) on the Illustration Friday listing...as 2 of my recent ones have been!

Illustration Friday - Mesmerising

2011-09-23T11:28:00.003+01:00

Bristol Zoo Wow! Gorillas appear in London 16-22 September 2011

2011-09-16T03:33:00.003+01:00

My Gorilla Bert (aka Endangered PJs) went to London today and will be at More London, Queens Walk (between London Bridge and Tower Bridge) with 19 others from 16-22 September.

They will be auctioned along with the other 41 apes at The Victoria Rooms, Clifton, Bristol on the evening of 29 September. The money raised will go to The Wallace & Gromit Grand Appeal in aid of Bristol Children's Hospital, and to ape conservation charities.

Bert at Bitton - Avon Valley Heritage Railway where he's been for the last 10 weeks

Illustration Friday - Boundaries

2011-09-16T03:16:00.002+01:00

Personal Space!!!!

Illustration Friday - Mysterious

2011-09-09T11:55:00.014+01:00

Newspaper is The Bristol Evening Post showing one of their many spreads of readers' photos of the WOW! Gorilla sculptures which have been positioned around the city all summer. My gorilla Bert (or Endangered PJs) is in the big central photo on the left-hand page. (Illustration copyright Frances Cony).

Illustration Friday - Disguise

2011-09-02T11:10:00.009+01:00

The Plotters (c) Frances Cony

Earlier Disguise drawing (c) Frances Cony

I wanted to transpose the 'wolf in sheep's clothing'

idea, and gathered together some wolf-haters.

NEW Gorilla blog

2011-06-02T23:29:00.000+01:00

Please see my Gorilla Blog for Bert's progress:

www.franwowgorilla.blogspot.com

Illustration Friday - Asleep

2011-06-02T23:08:00.002+01:00

Ben can't get to sleep as he's worrying about the awful things that might have happened (but luckily didn't) to his puppy Lucky after he left the gate open. He ends up going downstairs and sleeping in the dog basket with Lucky. From Lucky by Jean Ure, published by Orchard Books.

Illustration Friday - Soaked

2011-05-26T03:00:00.000+01:00

These pictures were based on Ogden Nash's premise that the 'lovingest' dog is a wet dog.

My new blog - Bristol Zoo Wow! Gorillas - Endangered PJs

2011-05-26T02:31:00.003+01:00

My Gorilla Bert's progress to becoming Endangered PJs will be shown on my Gorilla Blog Bristol Zoo WOW! Gorillas - Endangered PJs

At the moment, I'm still designing the blog, but you are welcome to have a peek and then come back in a couple of days.

Bristol Zoo WOW! Gorilla submissions

2011-05-24T00:09:00.003+01:00

Bristol Zoo Gardens, UK, is 175 years old this year. To commemorate this birthday, and to raise awareness of the gorilla conservation work in Cameroon being supported by the zoo, they have planned amongst other things a public art event. For this they have collaborated with Wild in Art who have form in bringing art, wildlife and cities together!

There will be about 50 gorillas on the streets of Bristol this summer; well, painted sculptures of gorillas. The artists have been sponsored by companies that have connections with Bristol. In September, the gorillas will be auctioned in aid of two charities. Ape Action Africa works for the conservation of gorillas and other primates, and the Wallace & Gromit Grand Appeal raising money for the Bristol Royal Hospital for Children. Bristol is the home of Aardman - makers of the Wallace & Gromit animation films.

I submitted two designs, and had one selected.

Endangered PJs


Yet another case of Gorilla Gardening

My design Endangered PJs has been generously sponsored by Mama Bear's Day Nursery who provide childcare locally. Thanks to them.

I'm now painting it...

Illustration Friday - Bicycle

2011-04-28T23:17:00.003+01:00

A slightly amended illustration that I did for the educational publishers Cornelsen 18 years ago.

See also last week's Journey entry, which is a tad more recent!

Illustration Friday - Journey

2011-04-20T13:40:00.001+01:00

A picture I started a couple of years ago for a friend, depicting her and her husband's epic tandem ride from Land's End to John O'Groats (from the southernmost point of England to the northernmost point of Scotland - about 960 miles).

Maybe I should explain that she was born in the Year of the Pig; her husband in the Year of the Tiger. I've quickly coloured it in and not added the background (or researched tandems that carefully!).

SW Illustrators CONSEQUENCES 1 (1)

2011-04-14T20:56:00.004+01:00


Surf Cats

SW Illustrators is just starting a new Consequences game on its blog. At the moment, there's only this one image so it's on a loop...

Illustration Friday - Bottled

2011-04-11T16:24:00.003+01:00

First thought (maybe worryingly!) I had was of bottled people, which naturally suited the ogre from my Illustration Friday drawings for 'Dip' & 'Savour'.

Illustration Friday - Stir

2011-03-18T00:50:00.002Z

Two quick sketches of foxes (were originally going to be dogs) beginning to stir.

Illustration Friday - Warning

2011-03-08T16:10:00.002Z

I grew up in Ware, Hertfordshire, where they decided on a pun for the Town's motto: Cave (Latin for Beware - or in this case Be Ware).

Illustration Friday - Swarm

2011-03-04T01:32:00.002Z

Rabbit-fish

More a shoal than a swarm, but I didn't have time to do both and I was already doing this birthday card and it's sort of a swarm!

Illustration Friday - Layer (too late!)

2011-02-25T11:57:00.000Z

Missed again!!!!

Was originally thinking of layers of cages of layers ie hens, but didn't want to look at the reference for battery farming... so I did this instead...

A Little Bit Bunny - Polar Bear

2011-02-21T20:02:00.001Z

A personal Christmas card: Bearing Gifts from a few years ago, posted for A Little Bit Bunny !!!

Not very funny, but I like it!

Illustration Friday - Sweater

2011-02-16T19:11:00.004Z

A Sweater

The Sweater without the steam
dulling the nice colour of the wood!

Illustration Friday - Reverse

2011-02-11T01:48:00.006Z

Reversing the car / Reversing the image* in the rear-view mirror / Reverse of where the driver sits in most of the world (but not in the UK).
*Reverse of the other side of the face.

Another late quick effort...

Illustration Friday - Surrender

2011-02-04T02:35:00.003Z

A very quick & simple last minute drawing...

Illustration Friday - Dusty

2011-01-28T03:52:00.000Z

The only thing I could think of for Dusty was the corgi we had when I was born. He was called Dusty! I worked from the only photo I have of him, taken with me and my mum, when I was a tiny baby. It's black & white and I don't usually work this way. After scanning the oil pastel drawing, I added some 'dust'...

Then I took some of it away...

Video of SAUSAGES! book on YouTube

2011-01-23T23:12:00.014Z

Have just found that the Spanish publishers of Sausages! (or ¡Salchichas! or Salsitxes!) Combel Editorial has put a video of the pop-ups of Sausages! on YouTube.

Illustration Friday - Chicken Revisited

2011-01-22T01:31:00.009Z

A Pet, Please, Mama (Tango Books)
Shen Roddie & Frances Cony (ISBN 978-1857076936)

Thought about having this as an IF - Chicken entry but didn't have time to find it, which I now have...

Illustration Friday - Chicken

2011-01-20T22:56:00.027Z

Have drawn loads of chickens for various books and projects... This is one of my favourites, which was done for PLAYDAYS magazine, which accompanied the BBC series of the same name.

Illustration Friday - Winter 2

2010-12-31T01:38:00.003Z

Blue Zebra

Having posted my new illustration for Winter with my zebra icon thumbnail, I realised the relevance of the picture itself - my Christmas card from about 3 years ago.

Illustration Friday - Winter

2010-12-30T02:15:00.003Z

Mail Storm

This is a re-creation of a Christmas card I did in the 1990s, which I can't find. I did mean to post it for Mail, but with travelling around different people's homes and computers recently, I didn't get the chance to... I think it's relevant to Winter too.
See the picture that goes with the Illustration Friday thumbnail in my next Winter 2 post.

Season's Greetings! A Ham Role!

2010-12-30T01:51:00.005Z

Oh, no, it's not!!!

For those that don't know about Pantomimes, comedy plays based on fairy tales, they have a funny man dressed as a Dame...and young women in the two romantic leads - both the male and female roles. There are not usually any pigs in the cast or even in the list of characters...cows, cats, dogs but not pigs. There is a pig here as the Dame, as I am a member of SWILL...and I was born in The Year of the Pig.

Illustration Friday - Prehistoric 2

2010-12-10T02:48:00.002Z

Work I did a couple of years ago for a NHS (National Health Service) brochure.

Illustration Friday - Prehistoric 1

2010-12-10T02:44:00.001Z

Hysterical prehistorical

Illustration Friday - Savour

2010-12-03T02:17:00.001Z

I remembered my illustration for IF - Dip and decided a follow-up illustration could be made for Savour.

Dip

Savour

Illustration Friday - Sneaky

2010-11-26T02:20:00.000Z

The sneaky chameleon knew what it was doing when it played Hide and Seek with the slug, fire beetle and the glow worm

Illustration Friday - NOT SO Sneaky

2010-11-26T02:06:00.001Z

The sneaky chameleon isn't so sneaky in this one, well not so invisible, but I prefer the composition with the bolder chameleon....

Illustration Friday - Burning

2010-11-18T23:38:00.001Z

Burning Love - a match made in heaven

Illustration Friday - Afterwards

2010-11-12T14:08:00.000Z

Probably after the Illustration Friday word has changed!!!

Illustration Friday - Spent

2010-11-05T03:01:00.006Z

Chemo

Having spent ages doing a colour version of this, I've decided that I prefer this one!!!

Illustration Friday - Racing

2010-10-28T15:09:00.000+01:00

This was a picture I did for my friend Raj quite a while ago... Some of the drawing would be a bit better now, of course!

Illustration Friday - Spooky 2

2010-10-21T21:09:00.000+01:00

Illustration Friday - Spooky

2010-10-21T18:43:00.000+01:00

These were all for Spooky Sparklers series of books published in various countries. They were written by Kath Mellentin & Tim Wood and devised by Oyster Books.

Illustration Friday - Transportation

2010-10-14T22:33:00.000+01:00


Jungle Bus

This is an 'improved' illustration from the board book \\Jungle Bus Matt Mitter (Reader's Digest)

Illustration Friday - Beneath

2010-10-08T13:11:00.000+01:00

Beneath

Oops!

Original drawing

Oops! Illustration Friday topic has changed from Beneath.

Might have got it posted in time if Blogger hadn't changed its images upload. Flickr has changed since I last used it too. Maybe I should have posted it a few days ago when I actually drew it...apart from I was busy doing other things!!!

Illustration Friday - Acrobat

2010-09-24T11:30:00.001+01:00

The Tumblers

Illustration Friday - Dessert REVISITED

2010-09-17T12:53:00.000+01:00

I found this book Ice Cream when I was looking for Let the Dog Sleep for my Illustration Friday - Proverb entry. It was done about the same sort of time - long ago!

Illustration Friday - Proverb

2010-09-17T12:04:00.001+01:00

Let Sleeping Dogs Lie

These illustrations that I did over 20 years ago for a book called Let the Dog Sleep seemed to fit this proverb...

In looking in a proverb book, I came across lots about friends. My friends and family have been very supportive recently, regardless of me sometimes being difficult, so here are some of the relevant proverbs I've found:

A friend is to be taken with his faults (applies to me)

A mother's heart is always with her children

A good friend is better than silver and gold

Illustration Friday - Dessert

2010-09-10T12:36:00.000+01:00

This is an illustration I did for my Illustrator friend Nadine Wickenden's birthday card, last year, her being a custard fan.

Illustration Friday - Trail

2010-06-09T15:49:00.000+01:00

These snails etc were drawn for my SAUSAGES! book (by A H Benjamin) last year. They've moved from the cabbage patch to a paving slab...

See elsewhere in my blog

Illustration Friday - Fearless

2010-05-12T16:42:00.001+01:00

This is from a poster of The Ugly Duckling done for Cornelsen Verlag (2009). As I remember, the ugly duckling was asking the big, rude cows to be his friend.

Illustration Friday - Cocoon

2010-05-04T16:39:00.000+01:00

Illustration Friday - Ahead

2010-04-26T13:15:00.000+01:00

Sorry, it's the obvious pun...

Illustration Friday - Detective 2

2010-04-21T15:41:00.001+01:00

Have thought of lots of things that Miss Marple could do with her knitting needles and wool to foil the culprit of the dastardly deed that she has exposed...but haven't the time to draw them all.

Illustration Friday - Detective

2010-04-19T14:06:00.000+01:00

This dogged pair are from a story I thought of writing and illustrating about some errant sheep after going on holiday to Derbyshire a lot of years ago...

Haven't quite finished this project yet...

Illustration Friday - Dip Revisited

2010-04-16T14:27:00.001+01:00

Drew this at Easter during the dip week, but didn't have time to tidy it up.
As well as someone having a dip in the bath, it represents a (library) book being dipped in the bathwater.

Don't know how many will relate to that. None of the people I've asked read in the bath..............

Quite a lot of library books get water-damaged (not by me) ; some in the rain...but not all.

Illustration Friday - Linked

2010-04-15T16:45:00.001+01:00

Illustration Friday - Dip

2010-04-08T13:52:00.000+01:00

DIP is a really good word, there are loads of things that could be done.
I was thinking of Jack and the Beanstalk and (Fee, fie, fo, fum...Englishman...grind his bones to make my bread)...

Basically this is a giant eating an Englishman after dipping him in tomato ketchup/mayonnaise (more European)/salt/vinegar along with his British chips... A colour version may follow...

or precede this.........

Illustration Friday - Adrift

2010-02-17T16:49:00.000Z

Maybe more drifting than adrift...

Was thinking of drifting off in a swimming pool (or the bath), just floating and letting the water move you around...
Then I thought about drifting away with all the cares of the world (as represented by the scribbles) blocked out...

Illustration Friday - Muddy 3

2010-02-08T13:44:00.000Z

This one is very old (18 years), and hopefully I can draw a bit better now. I can draw hands a bit better now. However it is pretty relevant!

It was done for an anthology of poetry Another Very First Poetry Book (OUP).

The poem is called Mandy likes the Mud and is by Gareth Owen. In it other children like bears, football, tennis, tricycling, dolls etc, whereas Mandy's great passion is mud. She slides, scoops, slides and 'galumphs' in it. She adores it!

Illustration Friday - Muddy 2

2010-02-06T13:48:00.001Z

I did this one for myself after I had finished the previous picture...

Illustration Friday - Muddy 1

2010-02-06T13:44:00.000Z

This was for a German magazine Primary English (Oldenbourg Verlag) for teachers teaching English. It's to the poem Cow by Ted Hughes. I painted it in greys and they printed it in the reddy tones...

The lines include 'The dirt O the dirt, it does me no hurt...'

Illustration Friday - Focused

2010-02-05T15:49:00.001Z

I wasn't quite focused enough to get this done by the deadline... Can't understand why more people aren't killed: about a third of those I see around this city are looking down at their MP3 or phone, or at the pavement as they talk on their phone, whether or not they are crossing the road. I know of people who have been killed stepping onto the road while talking on their mobiles. Then there are those cyclists, and car drivers...

Illustration Friday - Confined

2010-01-15T11:49:00.000Z

Was trying to combine the enclosed/imprisoned use of

confined with 'in confinement' as in giving birth...and thought of baby bird trapped inside an egg... Didn't work brilliantly...but still...

Warmest Seasons Greetings from a member of SWILL (SW Illustrators) hence the Pig

2009-12-24T23:01:00.001Z

Illustration Friday - Hatch 2

2009-12-15T16:38:00.002Z

Although the hens are not actually hatching their eggs in this picture, they are protesting because Old Mac is preventing them doing so...

Old MacDonald had a Farm
Frances Cony & Iain Smyth (Paper Engineer)
Orchard Books
978-1860395574

NEW BOOK - Sausages!: A Pop-up Book

2009-12-15T16:18:00.001Z

Sausages!: A Pop-up book

A H Benjamin & Frances Cony

Paper engineering by Manth

(Tango Books 2009)

978-1857077360

http://swillustrators.blogspot.com/2009/11/new-book-sausages.html
http://tangobooks.co.uk/html

Illustration Friday - Hatch

2009-12-15T13:39:00.002Z

Hatch, Egg, Hatch!
Shen Roddie & Frances Cony
(Orchard Books 1991, Tango Books 1997, 2006)
978-1857076783

Illustration Friday - Crunchy

2009-12-10T12:44:00.002Z

Illustration Friday - Music

2009-11-26T09:18:00.000Z

The Food of Love

Illustration Friday - Unbalanced

2009-11-19T17:05:00.001Z


Finished artwork