North Doodle Co

Animal drawing

MA journey, SketchbookJess MahyComment

These are pages from my sketchbook that are exploring drawing animals on the move from video footage. A lot of these drawings are attempts at getting the position and shape of the animal before they move again and as you can see some were more successful than others. Even though these drawings are not the best, drawing animals on the move definitely develops the hand eye co-ordination for drawing as well as memory drawing.

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Drawing in York

MA journey, SketchbookJess MahyComment

Having illustrators you can meet up with and draw outside together is the perfect way to spend an afternoon. In the summer when the covid restrictions had relaxed a little a couple of friends and I drew in the museums gardens and had a little picnic type lunch it was very nice and very therapeutic.

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Drawing in the rain

Sketchbook, MA journeyJess MahyComment

Helen Stephens is the queen of drawing in the rain and making fabulous drawings, I am not. Unfortunately a combination of completely saturated paper, water soluble materials and lack of experience created some unsuccessful illustrations. However, as a positive I do enjoy the texture that the rain drops create on the page. Maybe more soggy drawing adventures are needed to create carefree images and a bit more practice!

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Sketching from film

MA journey, SketchbookJess Mahy1 Comment

These pages of my sketchbook show a combination of drawings from different films. I was experimenting with drawing thumbnails of scenes as the film was playing as well as pausing the film and setting timers to work on tone. I really enjoyed the thumbnails as it helped me work on moving from just observation to memory drawing.

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York Open studios

eventsJess Mahy1 Comment
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Happy spring everyone! 

Here at north doodle co I've been a bit quiet on the blog front lately! I've had a busy fun filled year so far and thought it was about time that I shared some of our exciting going ons with you all. 

Last weekend I had the privilege to be part of York Open Studios. I love being from York and I am so proud to be part of this wonderful event supporting local artists. I'm sharing Kate Pettit's studio space, she is a very talented modern landscape painter and life drawing artist. 


We had a busy, successful first weekend with just shy of 500 visitors to the studio. I had so many wonderful comments about my original illustrations, glicee prints, wrapping paper and cards. So thank you everyone who dropped in and showed their support! 

But it's not over yet! We are back next weekend (21st & 22nd April) for more, so follow the balloons to Castlegate House and pop in to see us. 

It really is a wonderful opportunity to view everyone's artwork, explore parts of york you didn't know existed and hopefully find the perfect piece of art for your home! 

Can't wait to see you all next weekend.  

Jess x

Art&Show

Jess MahyComment
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We are very excited to let you know that we will be showcasing our original illustrations and stationery products at the Art& show in York this October. It is a fantastic event filling York racecourse to the brim with talented artists of every medium. If you are some one who loves handmade and unique pieces you will be in your element at this show. We have a competition on our Facebook and Instagram pages for one lucky winner to get their hands on 2 free tickets to the show. You will be able to enter this competition from today the 9th October till the 20th October. So if you fancy it head over to either of our pages to enter or you can enter on both to double your chances of winning! All the terms and conditions for the competition can be found here. If you would like to see some more information about the event here is their website.

Tomorrow's Talent Winner

Jess MahyComment

In January 2016 I applied for a competition with the Princes Trust. My mentor at the time told me all about the competition and I thought why not have a go; you have to be in it to win it. I never imagined I would win but when I received a phone call in March saying I had been shortlisted my heart started to flutter and I thought maybe this is my time. In April I received another phone call telling me I was a winner and I couldn't have been more over the moon with this news. Mid April I travelled down to London for an awards ceremony for the competition and here I got to meet the other winners and a few celebrities as well as meeting the Fat face team that I would be working with for the collaboration. It was such an amazing month and so very very exciting. I would never had had this chance without the support of the Princes Trust; they really do provide great contacts to help young adults achieve their dreams. This was my first step in starting to illustrate and design for my career rather than a hobby and what a great way to start!