Sue Tildesley Craft & Design

Hi, my name is Sue and I originally studied botanical illustration, but found it too exacting. Now I enjoy creating characters, and giving them their own lives and adventures. I come from a family of happy campers and I enjoy drawing them too, especially ones that are really part of a family with their own original name. I love plants and small intricate objects like shells and starfish. I like fine details, and I’m especially into ‘shadows’ a botanical illustrative discipline, showing what’s in front. I work in ink and watercolours, and occasionally pencil. I always try and see the funny side of everyhing. There’s always plenty to laugh about if you know where to look, the mirror’s usually a good start. I am a company director and accounts administrator for our family business. But in my dreams, I’m an illustrator. I love creating characters and giving them life on the page. So much so that I’m thinking of giving up the day job and taking early retirement, allowing me more time to travel and draw. I studied botanical illustration at Leicester college and took a certificate at Sheffield University, but now after a serious illness, I’d rather concentrate on things that I really enjoy, as botanical illustration is so exacting. The flowers that I paint now are simplified and I like to give them an outline in ink. I have a bit of a thing about shells and starfish, so there will be more of them on the way. My characters grew out of my illustrated diaries. They make me happy, and I hope that you like them too.