Strawberry plant happily growing in the garden
Really pleased to share that my project ‘Nurtured Pots’ has been selected for the World Illustration Awards longlist!
How my World Illustration, longlisted project came about…
After nearly ten years of living and studying in London, we made the decision to move into the countryside just outside of the beautiful city of Bath.
Lettuce grown from seed and Sunflower on gravel garden
As many of you may already know I grew up on a small holding in the countryside. Slotting back into living a quiet life in nature was something I found surprisingly easy. To begin with, I missed the bustle of London and elements of my old life. The things I had so happily taken for granted, such as casually calling into large galleries and museums and soaking up the undeniable energy unique to our capital, left gaps in my life that I knew I’d have to fill. But I soon found my stimulation and inspiration elsewhere; quickly finding my feet through taking comfort in nature, birdsong and the great outdoors.
Tomatoes happily growing in the garden
We moved to an old house with a small and sad-looking, gravel garden. I rapidly began filling the new, small, but sunshine-filled outdoor space with pots of flowers, fruit, and vegetables. I wasn’t always practical and chose plants for their colour and form. Additionally, this also pulled me back to paying more attention to my family’s country garden and the fruit and veg growing there!
This was the start of the inspiration for this project, which has now led to a whole new, colourful body of work and generously expanded my portfolio. After some time of trying hard to bring colour back into my work, this project offered an opportunity to bring colour into my work in a very organic way.
Working through these new ideas complimented my enthusiasm for the exploration of the outdoors and attending to my pots. My love of growing blooms and veg, rekindled and my unwavering admiration for the tools required for the job!
You can visit my entry on the Association of Illustrators website below:
https://theaoi.com/wia/ruth-emma-fox-in-the-garden-nurtured-pots/
T h e E n t r y
Ruth Emma Fox - Peaches
Ruth Emma Fox - Sunflowers
Ruth Emma Fox - Artichokes
Ruth Emma Fox - Garden Tools
Ruth Emma Fox In the Garden - Nurtured Pots
2023 / Longlist
Exploration
Multiple Entry | Un-commissioned | Professional | Category: Exploration
Subtitle:
Exploration of a Small Garden and Nurtured of Pots
How were your illustrations used? :
Self Promotion/portfolio
How did you make this work:
Moving from London I became immersed in the countryside. Filling our new, small, but sunshine-filled outdoor space with pots of flowers, fruit, and veg.
Illustrations are traditionally crafted by hand with ink and a dip pen, then finalised with contemporary digital practices. This project was an important development to my process and portfolio having worked in black and white prior to this.
Click this button for entries listed on the Association of Illustrators website