Belle & Boo artwork of children

London-based artist Mandy Sutcliffe draws absolutely lovely artwork of children. Sutcliffe illustrates children's books and also sells prints of her wonderful art on Etsy, under the name of Belle & Boo. From an interview with Sutcliffe last year in Venus Zine:

When I asked Sutcliffe why she is interested in drawing children, she told me about time she spent in Paris during an exchange with her university. "The Parisian children had such an elegant, old fashioned charm about them, very classic clothes and hair styles. They reminded me a lot of the characters from my favorite childhood story books," she says. It is evident she has glorious memories of her childhood story books because the images she sketches are nothing short of innocent magic. She assures me that this inspiration goes deeper than just nostalgia and sweet sentiments. Even at a young age she appreciated the craft of illustrating. "I remember winning a book token when I was 9 and buying The Water Babies, illustrated by Mabel Lucie Attwell, purely because of the beautiful paintings. I still go back to it for inspiration."

Link to Belle & Boo shop on Etsy, Link to Venus Zine interview (Thanks, Kelly Sparks!)

• [danai]

  If you like this, you should check out Hiden Seek at Etsy. I just bought one of her prints and it is beautiful. She does a lot of drawings related to children and childhood dreams.

• [livefunky]

  Her work is beautiful, this piece in particular takes me back to my childhood.

• [Sparkley]

  I discovered Mandy’s work on Etsy last year and chose a number of her prints and had them framed for my daughter’s room. There is so much predictable (and awful!) stuff out there for children’s rooms, and her pictures are a breath of fresh air. SO glad she has got some coverage here!