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Blog

New Projects and Old

I’ve been creating work on the iPad for some years now. It changed everything for me. I could talk about improved…

I Love My ‘day’ Job

Decades ago I trained as a teacher. Before I’d had a chance to work out what I really wanted to do.…

Embrace the mess

You may have noticed that I got very enthusiastic about writing for the past couple of weeks. I had decided that…

More Dogs

The second greyhound book by Kylie Miller was sent off to print a few weeks ago and the book launch is…

Boys Can’t Sew

It happened again! At the market last weekend someone approached my stall and showed an interest in my Sew Together Dolls.…

We’re off to The Show!

The Melbourne Royal Show I’ve heard a lot about it over the years. My kids have visited it with other families…

Peninsula Studio Trail Artists

Last week I had the opportunity to have coffee with another peninsula artist. Narelle Callen is a fantastically talented painter. She’s…

Christmas in July!

I last set my market stall at the end of May and it was a super chilly start. It’s been two…

Celebrating Dogs

I don’t have favourites. I love dogs so much that we have three! I don’t (really) have a favourite, but I’m…

It’s all new to me

‘Emerging artist’ always seems like an odd term to me. It seems to suggest you’ve been hiding away somewhere, not quite…

Time to stop

We need a mini-break! The first three months of this year have whipped by at break-neck speed. It’s just as busy…

Markets Update

It’s been a little over a month since I started selling at local markets. Packing up my car the night before…

Time to celebrate women

It’s 8th March again! International Women’s Day. Time to shout loudly about how great women are. I was really lucky to…

My First Market Day

If you were to make a wish list for the best weather and people for your first market it would look…

Market Time!

I’m having a mild panic putting together my first market stall. Fortunately the market is set a truely gorgeous place and…

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You Can’t Get It Right

At the start of an art class, particularly with children, I often say ‘You can’t get it right and you can’t…

Wrap It Up

Time to wrap up 2021 and wish it a fond farewell! But first a little bit of reflection. It hasn’t all…

Christmas Challenge

Mid November, panic time! Although generally I get the sense that Christmas has a different tone this year. Let’s face it,…

Badger

Where have you been?

Well, the quick answer to that is nowhere! But I have been very distracted and busy with projects and trying to…

Back to Redbubble Fun!

This week I had a whole lot of fun uploading some patterns and illustrations to Redbubble. It was incredibly easy and…

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How Important is Imaginative Play?

Let’s escape all this. What’s better than sitting down to a good movie or reading a book? Escaping into another world…

Let’s Sew Together!

Creating sewing kits Over the past couple of months I’ve been working on creating two collections of sewing kits. Now they’re…

New book on the way!

Tomorrow is the publication day for this lovely picture book celebrating some of the heroes of the catastrophic bush fires that…

Crafting Slowly

In 2020 Whenever we got the chance we bought up big at Spotlight (our handy craft mega-store) and sewed. We sewed…

My hair

Another Challenge

The 100 Day Project – again I do love a challenge, but sometimes you have to gracefully admit defeat. In February…

Got an Issue?

Should picture books tackle the big issues or are they just for fun?

Dont Stop

Illustrator Karen Erasmus discusses the slow and sometimes difficult process of developing a creative career.

I finally kicked him out

My Space I know how lucky I am to have an office to myself. It’s an outrageous luxury, but like all…

Love a challenge!

Another 100 days Once or twice a year I take on a ludicrous but entertaining art challenge. It’s always an interesting…

Inspiring Surroundings

New Project…time for a break The start of every creative project is an idea and a brief. And it’s always nice…

Colour and Illustration

Colour – it’s a massive subject. Something that is incredibly beautiful and fundamental to art and illustration. Yet if you start…

It’s all new

New Year The start of a new year immediately makes you look at the past one. It’s not very pretty this…

Well here it is…

Happy Holidays From where I’m sitting on the south coast of Australia, I’m very aware of how incredibly fortunate I am.…

Grace;s Mystery Seed published by Ford Street Publications

Famous Story Reading

I’m a bit excited about this! A famous person reading a book I illustrated, and getting dressed up for the occasion.

Play the Game

After going to all the effort of learning your craft and creating work marketing and showing your work can be difficult.…

Mock-up Love

I love creating mock-ups for patterns and prints. Here are some pointers on how to start creating mock-ups

Reading to Children

I can honestly say that some of my favourite memories of my children being small are the times when we sat…

Next Phase

A brief update of what I’ve been up to for the past three months. I’m very happy to be getting back…

Learning new skills

I’ve recently published a Skillshare class on illustrating characters in Photoshop. You can get 2 months free Skillshare access with the…

More sewing

Face masks with wire! So life is opening up again and it feels weird and worrying so this weekend I hid…

My first story reading

At last! I was brave enough to get in front of the camera and do a story reading. And it turned…

Happy Easter

Stay home, stay safe This time next year With any luck I’ll be able to look at this picture and remember…

Getting by at home

Sew-Walk-Draw-Design-Repeat As for most people on planet earth at the moment life has changed dramatically around here during the past two…

Flying Elephants from the Past

Many years ago when my parents lived in Australia (and the world wasn’t completely fxxxed…sorry, I’m trying to stay positive!) my…

Time for some Dancing Bears

I scribbled down some dancing bears today. It seemed right to find something silly to do. Things are still pretty easy…

Rainy Day Mock-up

It’s been raining non-stop today and I’m feeling a bit coldy and yuck, so what better to do that play around…

Setting up shop!

Over the past couple of weeks I’ve been setting up shop on my website. The idea is that this will support…

New Collections!

Three new surface pattern design collections. Here’s some of the inspirations and ideas behind the designs.

Springing Forward

Illustrator and surface pattern designer Karen Erasmus has designed a new pattern with a Springtime theme

Magical Mallacoota

Australia is experiencing our worst bushfires in history and the news from Mallacoota was some of the worst. It is harrowing…

Happy Holiday Season

I made this! The holiday season always seems to creep up on me at an alarming rate in Australia. The kids…

Walls That Talk

My illustrations on the outside of a public building! Back in August The Maitland Library in New South Wales approached me…

Book reading on Play School!

We’re on the telly! I was super excited this week to hear that ‘Eva’s Imagination’ is going to be read on…

Water Lilies

I made a new pattern yesterday with water-lilies for inspiration. I was also following the creative prompt ‘Grateful’. My cynical voice…

Inktober Round-up

This is the round-up of all my Africa Inktober sketches. I’m not sure what I was thinking of when I decided…

Inspiration for Design

Inktober I’m managing to keep up with two versions of Inktober, but only just. Days go by and I miss doing…

I’m nearly 4! You are invited to Kate’s birthday party on Sunday 9th September at 52 Bellbird Road, Mount Eliza 2.30 to 4.30pm rsvp Karen 97754539

Do children have a say in design?

They have minds of their own A long time ago, when I started illustrating children’s books someone very cynically said to…

Inktober

Inktober 2019. Will I get to the end?

Licensing my work

This week my surface pattern designs were accepted on patterndesigns.com, a European pattern licensing site with really high standards. I was…

Winter Blooms

What better way to get back into designing than to enter another Spoonflower challenge? This week is Winter Blooms and as…

Illustrated gum-nuts

After an extended break to the wilds of the UK and Africa, I’m finally back to creating patterns starting with recolouring…

Limited Palette

This is the first time I’ve attempted the challenge of using a limited palette for a pattern. Who knew it could…

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4 responses to “Blog”

  1. Hi Karen,
    I love your work. Pyjama Party is gorgeous. Writing to see if you might be interested in illustrating a children’s book?

  2. Belinda Green Avatar
    Belinda Green

    Hi Karen (I’m Susan’s mum). I love your work – your illustrations really make me smile, and I love your “dribbly” watercolours. Yes it is scarey having an exhibition. No doubt Susan has told you that I am having my first exhibition in October in Wagga Wagga – it is something I had never even thought about until I was asked to have one!! Who would have thought at age 72 that I would be doing this. Nearly all my work is pastel which I love – it is so instant. Keep up your wonderful work and I will proibably catch up with you next time I am needed to look after Max, Ed and Arch. Belinda

  3. Your work is so inspiring, I plan to put my work in the young artist section in the Derinya art and craft exhibition this year 2010!
    Love your work :o)

  4. I absolutely love your blog, and all your beautiful pictures. I think we share similar tastes, and we have some favourite illustrators in common. You are much better at drawing children than I am though! I love your loose use of watercolour; it gives such energy and life. You’re very versatile too. Lovely stuff.

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