I love working with other creatives and to feel the inspiration that is ignited when ideas are spoken about and visualised. Being an artist can sometimes be lonely, but my new illustrative journey is helping me to meet so many wonderful people and families. ‘Drawing Nature In’ is a project I am steadily working on. A collection of illustrations and short stories that have the aim to inspire more children and adults to an outdoor life – full of wonder and fascination. In turn leading to more appreciation – and ideally – to nurturing nature. Creating connections that result in our world flourishing and also those individual world’s of our children and (of course) ourselves. You can read more about this project in my previous blog post – ‘Drawing Nature In’. To kick start this project I found a wonderful family who I absolutely had to contact.
The Howell’s from North Norfolk, UK
A mutual friend had recently collaborated with @mimhowell – a wonderful photographer, who centres her work around family and motherhood. Mim’s photos are so warm and inviting – full of love. Husband, Colin is a skipper at the fabulous @coastalexplorationcompany, and a designer who also posts some delightful photos and words on @colinherberthowell. Their sense of adventure and enthusiasm shines through all of their posts and no doubt rubs off on their four gorgeous children. Their family account @thepufflings is just a treasure trove of atmospheric family snaps that anyone would wish for. The Howell family have so much passion and so many adventures in the wilderness – plus they love to share their joy with others. It is contagious, and fills me with such excitement and longing for more outdoor adventures of my own. So they were ideal to help me start my project off. Eternally grateful.
Mim photographed their three daughters – Saffron 9, Stella 7 and Teal 5 and also their son – Moses 3. Mim’s photos helped me to visualise the scenes for each of their children and they were all a real joy to illustrate. Curly hair galore! I was also granted permission to use a photo from The Coastal Exploration Company, to help illustrate a background scene including one of their boats. I couldn’t have asked for more and the finished illustrations got such a lovely response. You can view all the illustrations which are available to buy in my shop. When purchased they will each arrive with their accompanying short story too.
I have not met the Howell’s in person yet but hopefully one day soon we will. I first contacted them in lockdown and so meeting was out of the question. Mim agreed to help even though she didn’t know me! When I have searched, there are many, many people sharing their love for the wilderness on their socials. It is heartwarming to connect with other like minded souls. Over the coming weeks and months I am going to share each of the Howell’s illustrations and their stories here, through my journal, which I hope you will enjoy. I will also introduce you to more families along the way, who join me on this project.
You can also join me on this journey
If you would like to be kept informed, you can sign up to my mailing list here. Equally, if you feel a connection with this project, and/or are a family who love the outdoors, I would love to hear from you. My dream is to create illustrations of children from all over the world. Sharing emotions felt and to ignite a longing for wilderness.
Warm wishes
Juliana x