Delivery was fast, faster that I anticipated in fact. I ordered on a Tuesday, got it by the Saturday, so I was quite happy with that.

Now the products.

First of all the canvas, I went with one of my Debbie Harry portraits.

It looks really good! If you compare it to the original you can see the colours are really accurately reproduced.

Obviously it appears darker in the photo, but that’s due to the camera not the canvas.

Closer inspection is just as good, no bleeding of the ink, or blurriness. It’s handled the harsh lines and vivid colours really well.

I like the slim frame too, in this case it’s been quite useful as I didn’t choose an image which has much of a margin around it, so lost some of it to the sides. A thicker frame would have lost a lot more, so be aware of this if you order one too!

I have one teeny tiny niggle with this one, in that the canvas isn’t particularly high quality and feels a bit cheap. However, unless you are planning on stroking your wall art you wont notice to look at it, and at £17.99 I can forgive that. It also looks like the thicker framed canvas is a higher quality canvas, so you could always upgrade if that was important to you.

Now my favourite, I was honestly not expecting much from this. I’ve ordered photo books before and they’ve been a bit so-so, but I might just have squealed with excitement when I opened this one.

I just had to make a book up with my plus size blogger portraits, as this was just a review I didn’t bother to pay extra to fit all of my portraits in, but now I wish I had. Helpfully you can add extra pages in while you are making it up. It comes as standard with 20 pages, which is a good amount to start with.

It’s a lovely slim book, it feels incredibly professional. The binding and finish make it really lovely to hold. The pages are a lovely weight too, it feels like quality all round, and it’s only £17.99 (plus £1.49 for each two additional pages).

Again the colours are accurately reproduced, look at how well these bright blues have come out, compare (again) with the originals.

You have got quite a lot of flexibility in the layouts used, I played it safe with the same layout on each double page spread, just varying the background colours.

You have quite a range of backgrounds to choose from, I stuck with the simple studio set and just used black and white, but you could go for something more ornamental.

And the layout choices are just as varied, including layouts where you can add text.

It’s all simple drag and drop too, so even easy for beginners.

Backs to the quality though, one thing I wondered about was how they’d handle gradients. I chose this image to test it.

And while the result isn’t 100% faithful, I think it looks really good.

So in summary, I absolutely love the products I got, and would definitely order from them again. And highly recommend them!

I’m going to try and bring the book along to the next few plus size blogger meetups I go to, so you can see for yourself how it’s come out.

Plus it looks gorgeous against this bag..

*The products in this review were gifted to me, but all opinions are my own.

The post MoG Art plus Snapfish gifts – match made in heaven? appeared first on MurderOfGoths.

I decided to do some super quick illustrations, focussing on simplifying them as much as possible, but in a way that was both stylised and made it easy to recognise the subject. And who better to use as my muses but the plus size bloggers?

Amanda – http://www.amandaapparel.co.uk/

Kat – http://www.henryskat.blogspot.co.uk/

Lottie – http://lottielamour.co.uk/

Ivory – http://www.lovelustloves.blogspot.co.uk/

Steph – http://www.nerdabouttown.com/

Amy – http://www.thekalekitten.com/

Lucia – http://www.ucantwearthat.com/

The post Quick Fire Illustrations: Round Two appeared first on MurderOfGoths.

I decided to do some super quick illustrations, focussing on simplifying them as much as possible, but in a way that was both stylised and made it easy to recognise the subject. And who better to use as my muses but the plus size bloggers?

Georgina – http://www.shemightbeloved.com/

Debz – http://www.wannabeprincess.co.uk/

Kat – http://www.thecurvykitty.com/

Kathryn – http://www.misskathrynsmisstakes.co.uk/

Diana – http://blog.fashionlovesphotos.com/

Katie – http://www.toodalookatie.com/

Lolly – http://lollylikesfatshion.blogspot.co.uk/

Kitty – http://www.kittyramblesalot.blogspot.co.uk/

Chloe – http://www.chloepierre.com/

Margot – http://margotmeanie.com/

I really enjoyed this, and quite pleased with how many I got done! It felt like a bit of a palette cleanser for me, it’s renewed my enthusiasm.

Definitely going to do this again, so many more bloggers I wanted to draw but I ran out of time.

The reception to these has been amazing too, it’s been quite a shock to have been so focussed on drawing and uploading and then to look up and notice my mentions have gone mad. It’s hugely encouraging, so thank you everyone for all your wonderful messages.

I don’t know if any of you realise, but every time I upload an image of someone without telling them first I worry that they are going to demand I take it down. So when I comment and say how glad I am people like it, I don’t mean it lightly. I am always hugely relieved. So thank you my gorgeous muses, thank you so much. x

The post Quick Fire Illustrations: Round One appeared first on MurderOfGoths.

I’ve decided to start with my fruit themed pin-up illustrations. Mostly because I’d like them on products! So at the very least I get to buy them myself, and if others like them enough to buy them then it’s a massive bonus.

I’m using Redbubble to sell through as I can print on to a large range of products which look to be good quality for a decent price.

There’s something for all budgets, from stickers for £1.43

To tote bags for £11.52

To scarves for £22.73

You could even get a duvet cover for £75.21!

And of course a variety of art prints, on a variety of media. So if you prefer canvas to framed, or metal to a poster, you’ll be able to find what you want.

I’ll be adding more as I draw them, so expect more plus size pin-ups! I’ve already started work on the next one, so expect to see her up in the next few days.

In addition to these I’m also able to do custom portraits, you just need to email me on [email protected] and we’ll work something out.

At the moment I’m not offering clothing through Redbubble as they only go up to XL, and that’s at odds with the designs I’m working on. So I’m currently looking for somewhere to sell plus size clothing with my designs on, somewhere that is a reasonable price for you. I’ll keep you updated.

In the meantime, so feel free to browse my store and maybe buy something. If you do, please tag me in any pictures of your purchase on Instagram or Twitter!

The post Exciting news! My art is now available to buy! appeared first on MurderOfGoths.

I knew about her and liked her art, but didn’t know a great deal about her life when I watched the film Frida. The film was a real eye opener for me, and also hugely inspirational.

This painting is one of my favourite Kahlo paintings, if you’ve read about my health problems you should be able to see instantly why.

The Broken Column 1944

If you don’t know about Frida let me do a quick recap.

When she was 6 she contracted polio which left her right leg thinner than her left, it’s also suspected she had spina bifida which would have affected the development of her spine and legs. Then when she was 18 the bus she was travelling on was involved in an accident which resulted in a broken spinal column, a broken collarbone, broken ribs, a broken pelvis, eleven fractures in her right leg, a crushed and dislocated right foot, and a dislocated shoulder. On top of that a handrail pierced her abdomen and her uterus, which meant she was never able to carry a pregnancy to term. She recovered from the accident enough to be able to walk, but suffered a great deal of pain for the rest of her life, which resulted in long periods where she was bedridden or in hospital.

Through all of this though she painted.

She had a special easel made which she could use whilst lying in bed.

Frida Kahlo’s bed easel

She achieved so much despite the pain, and in fact used it to create some truly incredible works of art. She also made use of the trauma of her dysfunctional reproductive system in her art. She created beauty from what were some truly horrific experiences.

I remember watching the film and thinking how she was in a much worse state than me, and still followed her dreams. She didn’t let the pain stop her, and has left this incredible legacy behind.

I know it’s something that is always at the back of a my mind now, though I don’t profess to have even half her talent!

Tree of Hope 1946

I know that right now there is a show on in the New York Botanical Garden which is a re-imagining of her studio and garden, which has original artwork by her and also a recreation of her desk. It looks amazing, I just wish I could go there. One day I’d love to go visit her studio, Casa Azul, which is now a museum dedicated to her.

I leave you with this quote by Frida

I am not sick. I am broken. But I am happy to be alive as long as I can paint.

The post Frida Kahlo appeared first on MurderOfGoths.

As I’m taking part in #blogeverydayjune (see original here) I want to try and do a lot more artwork this month, so stay tuned for more, and please do take to Twitter to remind me to blog every day!

The post Happy Birthday Marilyn Monroe appeared first on MurderOfGoths.

The prize is a portrait drawn by me. All you need to do is provide me with a good resolution image to work from. The bigger the better, but I can work from images from about 1000×1000 pixels.

Anyone can enter, but only UK residents will be eligible for a 7×5″ print of their portrait when it’s finished.

The contest will end on the 26th April 2015 and then you will be entered in to a raffle. I’ll notify the winner on Monday the 27th.

Competition is now closed

In case you are new to my blog, here are some examples of my work. More here.

Benny

Toby

Leanne

Hayley Stewart

Catysuewho

Marie Southard Ospina

Self portrait

Marilyn Monroe

Betty Pamper

Good luck everyone!

The post Competition: Win a portrait by me! appeared first on MurderOfGoths.

Even her creation is incredible, she was created by William Moulton Marston, whose wife (Elizabeth Holloway Marston – a psychologist) suggested he create a female superhero.

He then went on to create Wonder Woman, using Elizabeth and another woman Olive Byrne as inspiration. She was designed to be a “psychological propaganda for the new type of woman who should, I believe, rule the world” as William Marston believed “the only hope for civilization is the greater freedom, development and equality of women in all fields of human activity.” I haven’t read this yet, but the book about the origins of Wonder Woman by Jill Lepore
looks incredible, and the excerpts I’ve read are fascinating.

So here is my homage to those two women, dressed as Wonder Woman in her original outfit as seen on the cover of the first comic she appeared in.

Olive Byrne

Elizabeth Holloway Marston

The post The Real Wonder Women appeared first on MurderOfGoths.

My husband is the gardener in the family, and he got a slightly wicked grin on his face when I told him. So suspect he’ll be throwing a few challenges my way.

This will be a year long project with constant updates, so if you are here before March 2016 then you haven’t seen the completed project yet. Do check back.

Anemone

DSC00223

Primrose

The post Garden Project appeared first on MurderOfGoths.

This is a continually updated project, so feel free to check back.

Last Updated: 19/03/15

Amanda Vickery

The post Feminist Love In appeared first on MurderOfGoths.