Best Nine of 2025

 I love joining in with the drawing challenges that The Tuesday Collective sets on Instagram. It's a great way of honing my illustration skills as well as doing something creative that's not work-related. The last challenge for 2025 was to collate our favourite nine images of the year, so here are mine! As you can see, I love colour. I also love to involve something fashion-related. And I use a very graphic, stylised feel. These images look great together as a set of nine, but scroll down to see the individual illustrations.

The prompt for this challenge was 'turtle neck' so I chose to draw my model up close. She wears a dark burgundy turtle neck with a dramatic pair of geometric earrings.

The prompt for this challenge was 'pencil skirt' so I chose to draw this stunning sequinned lip print pencil skirt from Le Superbe. I love the matching lip sweater.

The prompt for this challenge was 'pleats' so I chose to draw this fabulous voluminous-sleeved dress from H&M. I struggled with the see-through nature of the sleeves but was happy with the final result.

The prompt for this challenge was 'purple' so I chose to draw a dress from Me and Em that has a pretty tonal floral print. I like the jaunty bob haircut that I gave my model and her cheeky grin.

The prompt for this challenge was 'narcissus' so I drew a beautifully patterned shirt from Luv Boutique.

The prompt for this challenge was a gorgeous colour palette of corals and pinks. I chose to draw this fabulous floral coat.

The prompt for this challenge was 'beach chic' and I used my inspiration from a black and white 1950s photograph. I designed it in a stylised design and used colours associated with travel posters from that period.

The prompt for this challenge was 'jewel tones' so I chose to draw this floral dress from Farm Rio, one of my favourite shops.

Self portrait

Last week's drawing challenge from The Tuesday Collective on Instagram was 'Self Portraits' which I found quite hard to do. I decided to choose recent photo of me as my inspiration, taken last weekend on a sunny day in Windsor. I'm wearing a hot pink scarf, my favourite colour (see my Cheeky Leopard logo) and my big green cosy Uniqlo coat. I'm also wearing my signature green sunnies, that come everywhere with me!

I love the colour palette I used for this drawing challenge. The teal background really sets off the green of the coat and the pink of the scarf.

 

Christmas cardinal

Last week's drawing challenge for the The Tuesday Collective drawing challenge on Instagram was a pleasing colour palette of red, pink, orange and green. After some backwards and forwards and some designs that didn't quite work, I decided to rework this cardinal design. I created it in a folk style and surrounded it with flowers and leaves.

The colour palette was fun to use once I got the hang of it and placing the images on the dark background gave it drama and allowed the other colours to sing.

 

Turtleneck illustration

This week's prompt word from The Tuesday Collective on Instagram is 'turtleneck' so I chose to draw this auburn-haired beauty. She is wearing a deep brown turtleneck and has a fabulous pair of oversized earrings.

I love joining in with these drawing challenges as it frees me up from my regular job of designing. I love to use fashion and beauty as my influence and enjoy using a pleasing colour palette. This one uses warm autumnal tones of brown, orange and pink.

Drawing challenge

For the month of October I joined the drawing challenge called the Galoween Art Challenge 2025. It was hosted by a number of artists on Instagram and included some fun prompt words that inspired me. Each week, there was a choice of three prompts and you could use as many as you wanted within that week. I only had time to do one a week, but still enjoyed getting involved. 

For the first week I chose the prompt words 'Skeleton Sisters'. I decided my sisters were going to have matching peroxide blonde hair and each of them wearing sunglasses. I always like to include a fashion element in my drawings so I researched skeleton sweaters and found two perfect choices. One has an outline skull placement on a black background, and the other has a tossed skull motif on a cream background.

It's also fun to choose a colour palette for each illustration. The skeleton sisters illustration was pretty muted so I added a vibrant turquoise background to lift it, with a tonal spiders web on top.

The second week's prompt words included 'Meowgical Night' where I drew two black cats surrounded by some of my favourite plants.

I used a similar colour palette to the 'Skeleton Sisters' illustration but ramped up the colours a bit and added a mustard yellow and deep coral colour.

For the third week's prompt I chose 'Pumpkin Pals' and used an existing design I had but put it on a bright, happy coral colour, which I love! It's been added to my Spoonflower shop.

This colour palette was totally bright! I had to include the oranges and yellows for the pumpkin colours but also included reds and pinks to make it prettier.

For the final week I chose 'Batty Besties'. The sisters are back, but this time they have dark hair and are wearing bat t-shirts instead of sweaters. 

I chose a more muted colour palette for this one, in shades of purple and grey.

Which one is your favourite?!

Snakes

 The prompt word for last week's drawing challenge from The Tuesday Collective on Instagram was 'snakes' so I chose to draw this fabulous snake shirt from Fara Boutique. I also added a pair of serpent earrings.

The snake shirt is made from 100% silk and has a hand-drawn snake motif. Its oversized mid length fit means it drapes beautifully. The snake is symbolic of rebirth, death and mortality in Hindu culture.

There are also matching snake trousers which are also made of silk and have a flattering drape to them. They have a drawstring waist as well as handy pockets.

The snake earrings are from Danamara Jewellery. They are made from 18 carat gold coated brass and have a fabulous emerald crystal at the top.

Jewel tones

The prompt word for last week's drawing challenge from The Tuesday Collective on Instagram was 'Jewel Tones' so I decided to draw this stunning printed dress, inspired by a dress from Farm Rio. I loved the colour palette and the bold print, and the teal background really sets off the vibrant colours.

The colour palette I chose to use included reds and oranges with a touch of purple and pink.

Statement earrings

'Statement earrings' is this week's prompt for the drawing challenge from The Tuesday Collective on Instagram so I decided to draw these stunners from Fatisha Boutique. I loved the colour combo of yellow and green and decided to give my model of shock of pink hair.

These stunning 12cm long acrylic earrings include a vibrant yellow flower and emerald green beads with gold detailing. The perfect way to elevate any outfit and to add a pop of colour to your day.

Delphinium sweater

This week's challenge from The Tuesday Collective on Instagram is 'Larkspur', which is the common name for two members of the buttercup family, delphinium and consolida ajacis. It can have a wide range of meanings including love, sweetness, strength, purity and youth.

I usually start a drawing challenge with something fashion-related and so googled items of clothing that have delphiniums on them. One of the items that popped up was a sweater from Barbour. I was immediately drawn to the bold design and pleasing colour palette. I chose a model with a cheeky smile and choppy bob, and the pink background finished it off nicely, bringing out the rosiness of the model's cheeks. You can find this drawing on my Instagram here.

The sweater is available to buy here.

 

Beach chic

 'Beach Chic' was the prompt for last week's drawing challenge from The Tuesday Collective on Instagram so I drew this fabulous 1950s beach babe, inspired by a black and white photo I found online.

I chose a vintage-inspired colour palette of burnt oranges and teal blues which set off her golden tan perfectly. The yellow sun hat adds a pop of brightness.

Red hot

I love designing and drawing for a living, but it usually means having to keep to a strict brief, so it's lovely to free myself up by dipping into drawing challenges and designing something for myself. A recent drawing challenge from The Tuesday Collective on Instagram was 'red hot'. I like to draw something fashion-related so after doing a bit of research online, I decided to use a fabulous romper suit by Farm Rio (one of my favourite shops) as my inspiration. They always have bold, bright prints and this red romper was the perfect choice.

The Farm Rio romper is playful yet elegant and comes in a bold red colour with pink piping and a bold print. The bodice is smocked and there are delicate cutouts that lead down from a sweetheart neckline.

Look up close and you will see the pretty print that consists of intricate folk-style flowers and leaves in a hot pink colour. The puffed sleeves add a touch of drama.

 

Ann Lowe illustration

The prompt word for last week's drawing challenge from @thetuesdaycollective on Instagram was "Ann Lowe" who was the first African-American to become a renowned fashion designer. Her unique designs were worn by high-society, including Jackie O. I chose to draw the neckline of this debutante dress, but gave it an updated look.

This dress was designed in 1967 and I was drawn to the trailing rosebuds that adorn the neckline of this simple white taffeta dress. The rosebuds are made from red velvet and the leaves and stems are made from a green silk fabric.

From the front, the dress is a simple princess line style, and the white taffeta makes a great background for the rosebuds to stand out.

From the back, the dress has this stunning rose bouquet that starts in the small of the back and trails down the back of the dress.

 

Cute cardinal

 I love to dip into some of the drawing challenges on Instagram. It's really nice to design something for fun and last week's prompt word for the drawing challenge from @thetusedaycollective on Instagram was 'cardinal'. So I created this brightly coloured illustration of a cardinal surrounded by leaves and flowers. I really enjoyed creating this illustration, which I drew in Photoshop. I love the folk-inspired stylised feel of the design and love the colour combination of pinks, reds and greens on a deep purple background.

I designed this cardinal illustration to match the floral I designed for my Spoonflower shop a while ago. It also uses stylised flowers and leaves in the same colour palette.

You can find it on a fabulous floral duvet cover which would make a great statement to any bedroom. This comes on a variety of sizes from twin size to king size.

Alternatively, you could buy it on this lovely floral throw blanket which can be bought in a soft minky fabric or in a performance velvet fabric.

It's always nice to make a statement at the dining table and this print would work well as a floral tablecloth. It comes in a variety of sizes including round and square.

I love these floral cocktail napkins, the perfect accompaniment to a pre-dinner drink.

You can find my Spoonflower shop here

Pleasing plaid

 I recently joined the weekly drawing challenge from @thetuesdaycollective on Instagram. The prompt word for that week was 'plaid' so I chose to draw this fabulous 'Grand Plaid' wool coat from Kate Spade. I was inspired by the oversize design of the plaid but also to the amazing colours. It almost has a patchwork feel to it, with one side using shades of green and blue and the other side using shades of red, pink and orange. You can find it on my Instagram here.

This is the original Grand Plaid coat, which looks amazingly warm as well as stylish - quite a statement piece. Not surprisingly, all sizes have sold out on the Kate Spade website!