June Jubilation
What I got up to in June…
I met the lovely Gill (left) and Angel at Graduate Fashion Week.
Winners of this month’s New Subscriber competition are Gill and Angel who I met at Graduate Fashion Week, (more on that fashion extravaganza later.) They were such a stylish and exuberant pair, it was a pleasure to meet them!
Each month I choose a new subscriber to my email newsletter list and draw them as a fashion illustration. And this month it’s Gill and Angel! I hope you like the drawing, do let me know if you’d like me to send you the digital version and/or the original illustration.
Existing Subscribers, tell your friends to join up and they could be next month’s winner!
Or, if you want me to draw a quick portrait of someone special, follow this link for a personalised fashion illustration.
Illustration of a doll’s house inspired by the sequinned and bejewelled handbags of Alexander McQueen. Available NOW in my Online Shop!
This month, I have another Special Offer, available until August 9th-
This des-res is ready to move in! It’s an A4 size fine art giclee print of the Alexander McQueen Doll’s House illustration,
£10 off for the next month only, and postage is FREE in the UK! Buy it here
It’s an ideal gift for a fashion lover and fan of McQueen, or for those who are interested in unusual things. I was inspired by seeing McQueen’s “Cabinet of Curiosities” which took over an entire room of the Victoria and Albert Museum during the Savage Beauty exhibition.
If you love McQueen, fashion, dolls’ houses, quirky wall art, then you’ll love this print.
Me standing in the dj booth at Love Da Beat Radio, with all the top secret notes and symbols.
June began with a big deal- I was on the radio! I was invited by Jackie Groundsell to appear on her radio show, 1230 TWC Business Beat and you can hear the podcast here . You can hear all the details about my work as a live event illustrator, fashion illustrator, wedding illustrator, graphic recorder, fashion workshop host and more! As well as hearing insights from Bhavya Arora, Selina Boshorin and Donna Garratty.
It’s the first time I’ve ever been on the radio, and it was quite daunting. Jackie is so friendly and welcoming though, she soon put me and the other guests at ease. There were five of us altogether, all talking about our experiences as women in business. If you would like to know more about Jackie and the work she does through her networking group I have included a link at the end of my email.
From June 12th- 14th I had the great honour of hosting my own stall in the middle of Croydon’s Whitgift Centre. I was so impressed to see how many cool people there are in Croydon! It was an absolute joy to see so many people and to create live illustrations of them. Can you spot yourself?
I met some fantastic people and it was great to be next door to my friend from the London Colour Walk and the South London Women’s Artists group, Michell Baharier.
This event was run as a collaboration between Culture Croydon and The National Gallery for Art on Our Doorstep.
From the 15th to the 18th of June I had the time of my life at Graduate Fashion Week! I was immersed in innovative fashion from enthusiastic young designers from morning till night!
I was lucky enough to sit at the front row at catwalk shows- it’s a Fashion Illustrator’s privilege! And so I got to sketch some amazing looks as they sashayed down the runway. I used my brushpen to draw the first lines and then added the colour afterwards.
One of the highlights was getting to see the show that the students had created in association with Liberty.
It was a great event as it’s all based in one place and you know what’s coming up next! Again I got to draw some amazing people and my head was just fizzing with ideas.
I managed to illustrate some talks too, so here they are. It’s not just clothes, it’s a wealth of information.
I took so many photos, it was so hard to choose which ones to feature! I can’t wait for London Fashion Week coming up in September, so do let me know if you’re going- and if you’d like me to illustrate your show. Especially if you are called Sean McGirr, or you know him (he’s the designer for Alexander McQueen, showing at LFW for the first time since 2019)
And of course, if you have a fashion show or panel talk coming up- let me know. I would love to illustrate it. Find out more here
Next up, I had another fabulous Dress Up and Draw workshop at The Hive Design Studio. This was so much fun, there was a great vibe within the group. Everyone was extra-creative and very keen to dress up! The wonderful artwork that they produced speaks for itself.
I have two more workshops coming up in July- both of them at the Museum of Croydon. These will form part of the celebration of the arrival of Grayson Perry’s Essex Tapestries in Croydon. Links to book are here, there’s one on the 23rd of July and one on the 30th.
Towards the end of June I had the absolute pleasure of creating a live illustration at a birthday party. The venue was the host’s beautiful garden, and the weather was very kind to us!
There were about 100 people there, so I couldn’t draw them all, but I managed to capture the spirit of the event. I hope that when you look at it you can almost hear there’s a party going on!
This piece was such fun to create, I would love to illustrate at your next event- indoors or out! As a follow-up, why not create prints of your bespoke illustration or create cards to send to your guests. It’s a beautiful way to let people know how much you appreciate them- and they can have fun seeing if they can spot themselves in the design!
If you would like me to illustrate at your party or wedding, here’s some more information or simply reply to this newsletter/blog.
My very last event of June was a joyful trip to Joy Collective! I love it there, it’s so great to be surrounded by other artists, all getting paint on their clothes and not caring. It was a “Joy Jam” which meant a few lucky ticket-holders were given their own wall space and unlimited spray cans to create their artwork. The artists had brought their designs with them so they already knew what they were going to create.
I didn’t have a wall space, but I did get an A2 piece of card and unlimited use of Posca pens! I spent a blissful couple of hours drawing the artists at work, in a vibrant action packed illustration- and I sold the finished work (hooray!) so now I’ve bought my own Posca pens!
July is looking a little quieter, which is kind of a relief- and it means I do have some last-minute availability for event illustrations or a very last-minute wedding!
Oh, and you heard it here first, after much discussion and deliberation, I am going to change the name of my website to Zoe Parker Illustration. It’s a bit of a faff because it involves changing my email address too, but I’m assured it is possible to do. The reason? Well, The Gleeful Dabbler was chosen originally as I wanted my website to be anonymous- but now I don’t and I think it’s become too confusing.
Let me know what you think and if you have any questions, in the meantime-
Links to people, places and events I have mentioned:
Upcoming workshops on July 23rd and 30th at Museum of Croydon, book here.
Culture Croydon, The National Gallery, London Colour Walk, South London Women Artists
Graduate Fashion Foundation