Birthday cake... with all the sprinkles ✨ April newsletter
Spring arrived all at once this year.
Between Easter beginning the wedding season, two illustration exhibitions, birthdays, and welcoming a beautiful new baby niece into the family, April felt full in the very best way. There’s been a lovely sense of momentum again — creatively and personally — and I’m excited for the months ahead.
Pop The Confetti
10 Years of Business
April marked a milestone I nearly forgot to celebrate properly — ten years in business.
What began in my childhood bedroom (a rent-free studio thanks of my parents) slowly grew into a business I genuinely love. At the start, I simply wanted to find a way to make a living through drawing. Creating my own path turned out to be the best decision I could have made.
Over the past decade, I’ve been supported by wonderful customers, fellow creatives, mentors, friends and family, and I never take that encouragement for granted.
To mark the milestone, here’s a fun post I made about 10 things I’ve learned over the past decade.
Bologna Book Fair Exhibition
Serendipity Exhibition
This spring, I was delighted to take part in Serendipity, a collaborative exhibition presented during the Bologna Children’s Book Fair with the Illustrators Guild of Ireland.
The project began with a collection of handmade works created by artists from RiSialto Bottega Creativa in Italy. Those pieces were then passed on to Irish illustrators, who each created an entirely new artwork in response — a visual conversation between makers, materials and ideas.
It was also my first exhibition with Illustrators Ireland, which made the experience even more special. Being part of a creative community that values drawing, storytelling and experimentation feels incredibly inspiring.
For my own piece, I responded to jewellery created by Locagiuliva. I was instantly drawn to the bold colour and shapes within the work. The earrings reminded me of trains crossing on parallel tracks — two journeys briefly meeting for a moment before continuing on.
Belfast Group Exhibition
Affinities
I’m also thrilled to be part of Affinities, another group exhibition with Illustrators Ireland opening this spring in Belfast.
Created in collaboration with The Space Between, the exhibition explores the quiet rituals, environments and small moments that nurture creativity. The theme, “The Ties That Tie,” asks artists to reflect on the places and experiences that reconnect us with imagination and inspiration. In such a busy and noisy world, I loved the idea of focusing on the softer spaces where ideas first begin.
The exhibition opens at Cultúrlann McAdam Ó Fiaich on April 30th, and I’m looking forward to sharing more of my artwork from the show very soon.
In Wedding News
Wedding Season Has Officially Begun
Easter always feels like the unofficial start of wedding season, and I’ve been back drawing guests live at weddings again over the past few weeks.
Live illustration will always be one of my favourite parts of the year. No two weddings are ever the same, and I still feel incredibly lucky that drawing people can be part of someone’s celebration.
What’s drawing me in…
What I’m watching:
Have you seen Puffin Rock? It’s a wonderful nursery animation series made here in Ireland, my daughter loves it (especially Mossie) and I get to watch it a lot with her but I must admit I am captivated by the colour palettes. They are so dreamily and fit so beautifully together. It’s a master class in colour theory.
What I’m listening to - Stephen King’s : The Green Mile
That’s all folks..
I’m so happy to finally share news of the exhibitions I’ve been working on behind the scenes, and I’ll be sharing more artwork from Affinities soon.
Hopefully I’ll make it to Belfast for the opening this week , more on that next month.
Linda x
