zombie

Nope, not a description of my current state... The Walking Dead are shambling across our tv screens once again and have reignited my obsession with all things zombie. With the excuse of Halloween looming, a small 'walker' in my kitchen... I'm particularly taken with the exposed ribcage! (And despite some misgivings, vermillion hue doesn't appear to have had any adverse affects on skin!).

imposter

This summer feels like the ones when I was a child - it just goes on and on. Fabulous. Another glorious, sunshiny day yesterday so we hit the beach... But, feeding the ducks, we noticed this cunning little seagull... I honestly think he thought no one would notice!

good things, small packages

Some tiny, exquisite little quails eggs courtesy of my cousin Louise at Edenwater Eggs. I can't quite capture it in a photograph, but they are gorgeous and look far too good to eat - I really don't want to break them! I wish I had the time to make at least a tiny watercolour of them, they are just fab. Anyway (unfortunately) they will be forming part of my Monday lunch, so the yellow-tinted pic above will have to suffice!

And I am back in the blogging world because I have illustration news! I will be illustrating a new book by Gracie Summers (I have worked with Gracie before, so I'm really flattered that she suggested me for this one). It's about a cat called Morse, and contracts are being finalised as I type... More soon.

*update* a better pic in daylight before I ate them (they were tasty!)

doodling composition

 

 This is brilliant. It's one of J's and I love it! He rattles hundreds of these off a week. I try to store them all but it's hard to keep up with him sometimes. I love watching him draw, he's never intimidated by a blank sheet the way I am, just grabs a pen and off he goes. This is one of my favourites though, think I like the use of space as much as the drawing itself. And the detail is amazing. Definitely one for a frame... 

serendipitous

Mainly because serendipitous is a fabulous word, but also because I seem to have found a niche with my Juno illustrations - they're proving popular for prints and cards amongst doulas, with more prints and cards just ordered and another image soon to be appearing on the website of a doula organisation in Bangkok. My illustrations are better travelled than me...

And in a happy nappy accident (yuck, sounds mucky!) I happen to have a good friend who runs a cloth nappy laundry, so we're planning an exciting collaboration. More details soon.

time and place

Sometimes it's good to see things through someone else's eyes...

I spent yesterday with friends, one of whom has just returned home to Scotland after years in Houston. While I was just enjoying a rare but glorious weekend of sunshine, she was genuinely overwhelmed by just how beautiful her new/old home town is. These are her Facebook pics from yesterday afternoon, and I have to admit I'm pretty lucky to live in such an amazing place!

small is beautiful

I've had a few requests for cards over the years, but up until now the minimum order required made them prohibitively expensive to print. However, after the last request I sourced a print house in Bristol (which is a lovely place!) that will run quantities starting from just one card if I want. A whole new world of print possibilities... As I already had an enquiry for 10 of the Blessings image, I had them print a few extra. I also have an outlet locally, so I'm planning to print a few more images this way too. I think it's a cool way to buy an image if you can't quite stretch to the price of a print (and they look great framed too). If you want more info you can contact me here

shelf aware

Gosh, I hate to sound so materialistic, but I have to say my blogging is being given a whole new lease of life now that I have my iPad (seriously, those last five words are words I never, ever, thought I'd be typing). Luckily I figure hypocrisy is one of the lesser sins (except in other people obviously) so I have no problem squaring my distaste for consumerism with the fact that I now own two Apple products. (I also lust after a third, but that's another post). Anyway, go me - I'm in sync and totally connected at my kitchen table with jazz and a cup of tea!

But... proof that I do sometimes get my finger out... here are the shelves in J's room that I coveted way back

They've been up a while (and may well be moving rooms soon) but I still think they're a fabulous way to display books. And not just for children - I've bought more for my kitchen. Hopefully you won't have to wait another two years for the pics!

And by way of illustration news, a sneaky peak at one of the upcoming Juno illustrations (more on this when the next issue has hit the stands.

we need a montage... (montage)

An abundance of time has indeed passed since I last alighted on this blog, so I was going to start with a Team America-style montage to bring us immediately up to date... However, as that would have resulted in a mega post of epic proportions, instead here's a wee ice breaker from the first item on my montage list (in easily digested bite sized chunks...)

At last! Photographs of my mythical book of children's plays! I did the illos way back in the mists of 2010, and the book was finally published last year. 

Incidentally, have I ever said I have thing for the smell of newly printed books n brochures? Seriously, open one up, stick your nose in and take a great big sniff! Lovely.

There. I think that has broken the ice.