Welcome back for 2026, #colour_collective! I felt like going a bit retro for #CCPeachBud 💜 #kidlitart

Hello #kidlitartpostcard! I’m Alison, a #kidlitart illustrator from (currently very sunny) Perth, Western Australia. I love all forms of illustrating for children: picture books, chapter books, book covers, fiction, non-fiction, I love it all! 💜 #kidlitartpostcardday #childrensillustrator

Bringing back an old favourite for #colour_collective #CCSilverBirch so that I can continue being very lazy while I’m on my holiday break. (I’m actually being pretty busy but let’s avoid drawing to deadline, at least, right? 😉). Are you having a break too? 💜 #kidlitart

And to all my #kidlitart and #kidlit friends, let’s bring joy and success into 2026!

Wishing everyone a peaceful and joyful festive season, whatever and however you choose to celebrate. 💜 This is our family Christmas card. 2025 has been A Year, so I kept our card very simple, rather than spending time I didn’t have creating something really spectacular. #christmascard

A compilation of the carolling mice I’ve drawn over the past few Christmasses. I thought I had enough for a nice little group by now, but I’m sure I’ll keep adding more! 💜 #kidlitart

Reposting with #CcPhthaloGreen because no one else was using the underscore 😬

Should I have spent all evening adding a mouse to my collection of mouse carol singers for #colour_collective #CC_PhthaloGreen? No. But I had fun anyway. 💜 #kidlitart

A redo of an old #colour_collective for #CCOldGold - a core memory of seeing the 🎄lights in S’pore when I was about 4. 90s Perth didn’t have that kind of spectacle; though I don’t remember very clearly it started a lifelong love of twinkly lights. Do you go in for lights at Christmas? 💜 #kidlitart

This is was not my plan for #CCZaffre but this afternoon I opened my Christmas card list & discovered the app had stopped working with no way to extract said database (I tried *everything*). It was a DAY. 😭 So I decompressed with the symmetry tool & vintage baubles. #kidlitart #colour_collective

Let’s all have a moment of serenity before December starts. An afternoon nap, maybe. 💜 #CCBurlywood for #colour_collective, inspired by a 19th century photo I found on Pinterest. #kidlitart

A quick little sketch for #colour_collective #CCPeacock - it’s been pretty humid here today so tropical leaves seemed the perfect subject. 💜 #kidlitart

There’s a bit of #CCOyster for #colour_collective in this piece from ‘Little Dune’ (written by Lisa van der Wielen). Hopefully I can be back creating new pieces for CC in December - right now my nose is firmly to the grindstone! How are you going with the November to-do list? 💜 #kidlitart

I’m doing digital linework with a multicoloured gradient clipping mask to get some subtle magical colour and I can confirm it’s *really fun* to just draw lines and watch random colours appear from nowhere. It’s like the multicoloured pencils and scratch art activities I did as a kid. ☺️ #kidlitart

Dug into my files for #colour_collective #CCDarkCharcoal and I admit it’s probably cheating to just how use black and white but I am BUSY. 🫠 Anyway, it’s ages since my little ghost Mariella has appeared on my feed. 💜 And I’m late for #kidlitartpostcard but…hello! I’m Alison! #kidlitart

Not very original for #colour_collective #CCPersimmon but it is new! Still busy, but I had an iron infusion today so I feel a but meh… so what better time to draw a small cat with a white sock? 💜 #kidlitart

There’s a bit of #CCPickleGreen for #colour_collective in this zhuzhed piece. And I think this cat is definitely called Pickle too! Now it’s back to tackling the to-do list for me! 💜 #kidlitart

Back with an old favourite for #colour_collective #CCHeather. I had to prep some needle felting for an event tomorrow & totally ran out of time for CC cos it was also one of those days where weird stuff happens (like drawers falling apart without warning) and eats into your plans! 🤪💜 #kidlitart

Another zhuzhed old piece for #colour_collective #CCAuburn. I’m deep in the race to the end of the year & my spare time is practically non-existent so I returned to this relatively peaceful little tiger who’s probably never even *heard* of ‘deadlines’. How are you doing this October? 💜 #kidlitart

A complete redraw of an ooooooold piece for #colour_collective #CCPrussianBlue, because I wanted to draw something sparkly and didn’t want to think. I do love Prussian Blue! 💜 #kidlitart

An #Afghan hound on an #autumn afternoon amble. #CCFallow #colour_collective #afghanhound #fall #autumnwalk #woodland #autumnleaves #dogillustration #illustration

Kept it suuuuuper simple for #colour_collective #CCFallow. I’m tired. 😅💜 #kidlitart

Would you believe it, I’ve written a substack post. Find out what I’ve been up to since I last managed that feat (in June 😬) - get to the end and be rewarded with a photo of my dog! open.substack.com/pub/aleneill... #kidlitart

Dug deep into my archives for #colour_collective #CCForestGreen and gave this old favourite a teeny bit of an update. My to do list is not conducive to drawing whole things from scratch today and anyway, this cat and I are basically the same right now. 🫠💜 #kidlitart

Ghost bunnies frolicking for #colour_collective #CCDoveGrey. I don’t know either, I’ve just apparently reached the point in the year where ghost bunnies seem a logical thing to draw. 💜 #kidlitart

Todays colour collective illustration using the colour palatinate #illustration #faunafairy #fantasyillustration #colourcollective #clr_collective #ccpalatinate

A comfort-zone sketch for #colour_collective #CCPalatinate, based vaguely on a vintage photo I found on Pinterest. I can confirm that drawing spots on a dog is very cathartic if you’ve been a bit stressed. 💜 #kidlitart

There’s a new holland honeyeater in our garden with NO finesse, launching himself at branches & almost missing, flying erratically, looking like he’s been through a bush backwards (to be honest he probably has) and I LOVE him. So here he is for #colour_collective #CCStrawYellow 💜 #kidlitart

I was sick ALL Book Week, but I did manage to make it to the launch of Crunch! Kaboom! at Melville Library. You can read about the launch here: www.alene-art.com/journal/crun... HUGE thanks to Clodagh for doing the heavy lifting, & Sam & Lorraine at the library, who made it an amazing event!

Crunch! Kaboom! Is out today with Fremantle Press! Head to my substack to learn about discarded concepts and my quest to illustrate sound effects with typography in a behind the scenes post! 💜 open.substack.com/pub/aleneill... #kidlitart #picturebook #crunchkaboom

I’ve been watching an historic kdrama so here’s something inspired by all the beautiful hanbok for #colour_collective #cctanagerturquoise - I know it’s time for the CC Summer Break but it’s freezing and WET here. 💜 #kidlitart

Behind the scenes on one of my favourite spreads from ‘Crunch! Kaboom!’ From one page in a 32-page book to a finished double spread in a 40-page book! “Crunch! Kaboom!” was illustrated by me and written by Conor Mills and Clodagh Starr, out July 29 with Fremantle Press. #kidlitart #picturebook

I found this piece deeeeep in my archives (I had forgotten I did it and don’t think I ever posted it anywhere!) and decided it could work for #colour_collective #CCSeashell 💜 #kidlitart

Running with the simple shapes of lovebirds for #colour_collective #CCCoralQuartz (I think the last time this colour rolled round I did VERY much the same thing but I’m stressed and birds are fat and easy to draw. It’s a new piece though! 😅) 💜 #kidlitart

Hello #colour_collective! I tried some coloured linework to warm up #CCNyanza - it felt so cold with my usual black linework. If you’re in the northern hemisphere I know you could do with this icecream right now though! 💜 #kidlitart

I did not technically have time to do ANYTHING for #colour_collective this week but #CCCornflower is my favourite colour so how could I sit it out? So I stole half an hour to colour up this old vignette of Margaret Cavendish. I hope you get to lie on the grass with a book this weekend. 💜 #kidlitart

I would have LOVED to redo my original #CCOperaRose for #colour_collective but I do NOT have the time - so I’ve reworked something simpler in the interests of maintaining momentum on the deadlines. I feel a bit like this frazzled galah tbh. 😅💜 #kidlitart

#Colour_collective has rolled around again (where did the week go??), so here’s a little sketch for #CCKombuGreen. I hope everyone gets good snacks this weekend. 💜 #kidlitart

An old piece for #colour_collective #CCXanthous because I didn’t have time to do a CC sketch this week. I would like this to be my weekend vibe, how about you? 💜 #kidlitart

Hello #kidlitartpostcard! I can’t believe June has rolled around already, but I’m Alison, a Perth 🇦🇺 #kidlitart illustrator who loves picture books & middle grade. Seeking representation and #kidlit projects. 💜 #kidlitartpostcardday

I am *so* tired. Seriously. 🫠 But to get at least one mermaid in before #mermay ends, here is a nice simple napping mermaid for #colour_collective #CCWisteria 💜 #kidlitart

I couldn’t resist #colour_collective #CCTractor (I love using red in illos) but I have a terrible cold and couldn’t organise my brain to draw something new, so here’s a zhuzhed piece I made earlier. 💜 #kidlitart

I’ve been absolutely SLAMMED tonight (and all week!), so here’s a repost of a motivational mouse for #colour_collective #CCManganeseBlue. I can do it! So can you! Go us! 💜 #kidlitart

New post on substack: What I’m up to in the #kidlitart sphere. open.substack.com/pub/aleneill...

Had to keep it super super quick for #colour_collective #CCBamboo - a combo of very busy and a migraine doth not make for extended sketching time (or original ideas!), Friday or not! 💜 #kidlitart & I’ve joined Substack, please join me if kidlitart is your jam! aleneillustration.substack.com

I’ve joined Substack! Please come and join me so I’m not shouting* into the void: open.substack.com/pub/aleneill... *I promise not to shout 💜

A perfect afternoon for #colour_collective #CCAmaranthPink. What are you reading right now? 💜 #kidlitart

An Easter egg haul for #colour_collective #CCDandelion, inspired by an old photo I saw on Pinterest (of a small Edwardian child with a doll’s pram). I love drawing button boots. 💜 #kidlitart

Trying to dislodge a welly boot for #colour_collective #CCRaisin. This colour just said ‘mud’ to me, possibly because I’ve been off my food and am not currently interested in raisins. 😅💜 #kidlitart

#CCNonPhotoBlue will come out in the wash, right? I was feeling retro for #colour_collective so I ran with it. 💜 #kidlitart