scribbles in ink

off the shelf

2012-02-13T10:47:00.003Z

The latest addition to my bookshelf: Eric, from Shaun Tan's Tales from Outer Surburbia. Just gorgeous.

rabbit rabbit rabbit rabbit...

2012-02-06T23:27:00.000Z

My procrastination knows no bounds and my knitted rabbits are breeding like, er, rabbits. Three done, another fancy merino one on the way (mine, obviously) AND a flump in production. Having just gone mental on ebay for kapok, wooden buttons and loads more wool, I don't see it fizzling out anytime soon either. Fortuitiously, this somewhat pointless activity has just been validated with the news that J's school is taking part in a 'knitathon'*. Now that I've youtubed my way to casting on, off and purling, I'm perfectly placed to take part... (Oh and if you're up for knitting your own bunny, this all started with a Christmas pressie I bought from here).

Completely unrelated, this could well be the funniest thing I've read for ages.

*If you're a knitter with time on your hands feel free to get in touch, it's for a very good cause.

spring sing

2012-02-05T20:30:00.000Z

A sneaky peak for you - sections from the latest illustrations for Juno's spring issue. I didn't really notice until I saw them side by side here that they are actually both quite spring-like. Jeez, I must be feeling subconsciously optimistic!

I've also had an update on the book of children's plays I illustrated way back in 2010. After some scheduling issues at the publisher, it's back on track and I should have some finished copies in my grubby little mitts sometime in late spring. Especially exciting as I'd almost completely forgotten about it!

procrastinating (again)

2012-01-22T15:59:00.001Z

I say 'again', because I'm sure I've done a post about this before (probably when I should have been doing something else).

The creative process chart I stumbled on pretty much sums up how I work. Sure you can substitute binge eating (smoking. Definitely the choice of the true procrastinator.) and discouraged napping (absolutely not feasible with a boisterous six year old in the house) but the pie slice ratio will remain the same. The killer combo of a blank sheet of paper and a looming deadline invariably results in me immediately getting the urge to do something else. Anything else. Having two illustrations to produce this week resulted in the knitted rabbit you see below - who'd have thought I could be so industrious while not being industrious?

(Oh and the illustrations did make the deadline, accompanied by my usual mad panic, last minute drama).

appy new year

2012-01-07T00:13:00.003Z

Finally, I get the point of an app... how cool is the hipstamatic? I get to make everything look nostalgic (and vaguely 70s, if also slightly creepy). Prepare for mucho more pics, vintage style...

Shot with my Hipstamatic for iPhone
Lens: John S
Flash: Standard
Film: Ina's 1969

occupying (my kitchen)

2011-11-23T00:18:00.004Z

Been on Facebook lately? Then you won't have failed to notice the internet's latest meme - “Casually Pepper Spray Everything Cop” - famous works of art photoshopped to include the image of the pepper spray-wielding UC Davis police officer. His presence in these iconic paintings is absurdly incongruous and profoundly disturbing. And for that reason they're brilliant, because that's exactly how I felt when I watched the video footage. I'd say a degree of outrage is being expressed in these images. They're the visual, viral equivalent of the protest song.

More on the American (based in Edinburgh apparently) artist who started it here and here.

P.S. I'm also quite taken with this poster, created by sympathetic graphic designers after the OWS Zuccotti Park eviction. As someone texted me recently, 'mon the 99%.

P.P.S. Nonplussed by the current crisis of capitalism? (I know I am). Then here's a theory, complete with cartoons...

zen-like-ish

2011-10-13T19:50:00.000Z

The indecipherable scrawl above is a teeny section of my latest illustration for the winter edition of Juno (I have promised the editor I won't show the whole image until the magazine has hit the stands, so you'll have to take my word for it - it is actually very zen-like-ish). Ok, so it probably didn't warrant a whole new post but the fact is this tiny flurry of illustrative activity gives me an excuse to pop back here after a sizable absence - um, drinking lovely coffee from lovely cups is very lovely, but let's face it, doesn't really make for a very interesting blog post, and aside from that I really haven't been doing very much of late...

up close and observational

2011-08-23T21:42:00.002Z

It's been lovely to have my evenings back for a while but I miss the creativity now and, more especially, the drawing. It keeps me sane. I have a fabulous botanical illustration book and stretched paper drying but meanwhile, for the purpose of this post, I raked out these old chestnuts (well ok, they're actually apples), done way back in college. Not quite good enough nor detailed enough for professional botanical illustration (I need to get me a magnifying glass for that apparently) but sometimes it's good to have a point of reference. I want to see how much (if any) I have improved in 20 years...

nice surprises

2011-08-13T21:37:00.003Z

The world of full time work has left little time for blogging recently and anyway, unless you want the lowdown on what a drawing of an oil rig sea deck looks like, there's been nothing much to report. Until today that is.

As a contrast to the computer rendering I've been doing all day, I'm getting the paints out to try my hand at some botanical illustration, partly because it's something I've been toying with the idea of for ages but I figure it'll be super useful for the Growing Boy too. It'll be therapeutic to take my time and focus purely on composition and the painting process for a bit instead of always rushing to an end result (usually to meet a deadline I've left until the last minute). This time there's no deadline, give or take the risk of shrivelling... The bad boys above are chilling in my fridge (for freshness!) as I type.

But what are the surprises? You may remember some of my work has been at the Hung gallery in Inverness for a while now. I hadn't, it's been so long in fact I'd forgotten it was there. But yesterday I got a surprise email from owner Kevin to tell me he's sold a Highland Cow print and the original Black Dog illustration "Both of which went to customers who instantly fell in love with them and have been given pride of place in their homes" Which is very cool.

But even cooler still is my new shiny sunshiny yellow FrancisFrancis! coffee machine - a fabulous [birthday] surprise which I'll be using to make my coffeecoffee! of a morning.

wake up you sleepy head

2011-07-28T19:57:00.001Z

Maybe I've not had much time to blog of late, but now comes the reward for all the technical illustrator hours I've been working - payday, whoop! And given my new v early starts, I reckon making my bleary-eyed mornings chirpier is a totally sound and worthwhile investment no? I could do the obvious here and add a link to Pretty Things, but what the hell, I'm listening to King Creosote on a loop at the mo and on a mission to spread the word.

going global

2011-07-18T21:00:00.000Z

If you've noticed I've been a bit thin on the ground lately, that's because it's week two of full time work. These days it's mostly taking all my energy to get up in the morning and that's despite not even working a full week last week! Hard to believe I did this before for almost 15 years - I must have had way more energy in my youth...

Anyway, I've gone global how exactly? Um, truth be told, and obviously not counting my one night of inexplicable and since unrepeated popularity in France, I guess it's actually more Italian American. Having (somewhat alarmingly) found myself regularly video conferencing with Houston courtesy of the day job (who knew I could do corporate?!), in addition to dispatching another Blessings print to Pittsburgh I'm also planning what will be a well-earned trip to Venice in the autumn and mulling my submission for the upcoming Italian exhibition.

There's nothing quite like a deadline to get me moving (let's face it, it's practically the only thing that does), so it was fabulous to get an invite for the 2011 I Colori del Sacro exhibition, remember Beltane, above (oh, and the Jumis Tree almost ran)?. For 2011 the theme is air and I have until September to submit so plenty of time to start thinking about the illustration (I must, absolutely must not leave this until the end of August to put pencil to paper).

what is not but could be if

2011-07-08T21:48:00.001Z

Some sneaky previews of the latest illustrations for Juno, hot off the drawing board. I have promised the editor I will hold fire and not post them in their entirety (alongside the versions that nearly were but now are not) until the upcoming issue has hit the stands. If they look a teensy bit familiar, I guess sometimes when I'm in certain frame of mind it's safer not to stray too far from the path.

(When I was mulling on a title for this post, this was the song on repeat in my head).

homegrown

2011-07-08T09:35:00.002Z

Ooh, getting quite excited now but eek! trying to juggle my last few precious days before I start my full time job on Monday. As well as frantically trying to finish my current freelance work, I figured I'd try and give myself a head start on the mess created by my resident house trolls (if I'm messy now, things can only get worse once I have less free time). The plan was to do a room a day but, as usual, things haven't gone quite to plan... Still, I did manage the kitchen, and I'm super chuffed with my sprouting aubergine plant (mmm, aubergines). I also have one whole strawberry! Go green fingered me.

In between times I hit fabulous Edinburgh with J. He was totally taken with the Scottish parliament building, especially when I was compelled to ask a handy policeman the way to Our Dynamic Earth (it's through that gap in the wall behind him if you're ever trying to find it!).

Weirdly, the freelance work seems to have picked up again which means I may have a busy summer in store, but just off the phone with my new boss and apparently my first task on Monday morning is a coffee with her. I think I'll be able to handle that...

[Weekend edit: Bizarre... Il semble que je me suis du jour au lendemain une sensation en France!? Je voudrais bien savoir pourquoi? Encore, je l'aime... Un très agréable week-end! (and excuse my horrible French).]

the moon's a balloon

2011-06-28T12:49:00.001Z

Has my current illustration project been influenced in any way, shape or form by the fact I've just read American Gods? You betcha. Go impressionable me.

This is a section of the pencil rough, which I'm currently working over in more pencil and pastel.

shutting shop

2011-06-27T13:44:00.000Z

You might notice the link to my prints for sale takes you to a closed shop - I just have too many other things to focus on right now, so have decided to take a wee break from Etsy selling. I still have giclees and a few linocuts available, anyone interested in my work can get in touch directly and I'll be happy to help!

baby snakes

2011-06-24T15:42:00.005Z

It's not a hat. An elephant inside a boa constrictor (from Le Petit Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry)

So apart from drinking endless cups of tea, far too little wine and enjoying (*ahem*) the glorious Scottish summer of too much rain and not nearly enough sunshine on interminable repeat? This month I have been in an alternately decadent/distracted cocoon (and deeply immersed in American Gods, so don't want it to end and I never, well hardly ever, recommend a book) but have finally emerged on the other side of June with a new career in the offing and some interesting commissions.

The next two Juno illustrations are underway and ooh, some illustrated snakes (in the style of the Little Prince) have been requested. It's good to be drawing again.

technically

2011-06-03T08:57:00.001Z

My goodness, I've moved so fast I'm still waiting for myself to catch up with myself... if you see what I mean... No? Me neither. Anyway, after making my grand announcement on 11th May to go back to full time work, I've managed to reinvent myself as a Technical Illustrator working in the... dun dun duh.... oil industry!?! So by day I'll be drawing oil rig platforms, by night I'll be working on my illustrations (assuming I can fight off the urge to veg all evening a full time job usually brings with it). Go super me.

But it's a scary world out there, and getting scarier by the day I reckon, so all in all it's a good move for me and my boys. And I'm a Technical Illustrator, so really I'm still an illustrator right? Technically.

catching up

2011-05-26T10:11:00.002Z

My week in a day... There really are lots of things I should be doing instead right now but, as I've been neglecting this blog lately, first here's a quick catch up. The old chairs I picked up in the charity shop are finally re-covered, one in red, one in green. The red one is pleasingly throne-like I think!

And, in the post today, the booklet using my first linocut as its cover...

I have been moving furniture around and have found a place for my precious owls. These belonged to my Nana (who always referred to herself as a 'wise old owl' - usually when giving me advice on some hair-brained scheme I was planning!) and I have started adding to the collection I inherited (the lovely little red glass owl is one new addition). This was also the inspiration behind my wise old owl postcard - and if you look closely you might spot the actual owl he's based on...

word in pictures

2011-05-17T20:53:00.001Z

The Word Festival Marquee and the Crown Tower of King's College Chapel

Elphinstone Hall

I spent Saturday strolling around Old Aberdeen - visiting the Word festival, browsing bookshops, nosying at the Alasdair Gray exhibition in the Old Town House and being inspired by the very shy but super funny Tim Dowling. Strolling round Old Aberdeen feels a bit like stepping back in time; it's a small university town surrounded on all sides by an oil obsessed city and has a vibe all its own. Totally separate and the better for it. Perhaps I'm biased because King's College Chapel also the place where my parents got married.

The Old Town House

And at the end of the day (and quickly donning my day job hat), I hijacked the members of all girl ceilidh band Danse McCabre after their performance in the festival cafe and forced them to pose in our organisation's tshirts for the front cover of the newsletter I'm currently working on! So all in all a very productive day.

word

2011-05-15T22:20:00.001Z

I spent yesterday at Aberdeen's Word festival. There's way more to come on this, as soon as I get around to downloading pics, but one thing I came away with (apart from far too many books) was a new enthusiasm for my own little book. Combine this with my earlier revelations, and I think it's safe to say the focus will be switching away from here for a while and over to here instead...

near and far

2011-05-11T12:09:00.002Z

“Originally about me leaving behind the cut throat world of corporate design and becoming a freelance illustrator”

So says the spiel down the side of this blog. The process began in 2005 while I was still working full time as senior designer, now six years on I have a part time job I love with a music education organisation and, until the end of last year, a growing freelance business.

I’ve been incredibly lucky with the projects I’ve worked on and met many wonderfully committed and creative people but, with the funding for so many arts organisations (including my own) increasingly uncertain, it’s doubtful whether the myriad cultural festivals and arts events I‘ve had the pleasure of working with in the past will now happen at all. If they do, it will almost certainly be with a vastly reduced budget for design and illustration.

With this in mind (and combined with an irritatingly inconvenient need to eat, darn it!), I guess for now the spiel is changing… wheels have been set in motion to leave the world of freelance illustration and rejoin the world of corporate design.

More positively, the time spent promoting my work and sourcing new freelance clients can now be used to work on the much neglected growing boy.

and testing a hairy cow

2011-05-02T11:45:00.001Z

The first print of McNair

Testing my latest linocut - a Highland coo I've christened McNair. I've been experimenting with my new baren but to be honest I'm quite taken with the results (above) I got using a good old wooden spoon. With both of my fox linocuts now sold, hairy McNair will be making his debut over on Etsy very soon...

in pictures

2011-05-02T09:57:00.000Z

A combination of work, holidays and glorious sunshine have kept me away from blogworld recently. It's very easy to take where you live granted and I guess I'm guilty of forgetting I have this fabulous landscape on my doorstep. With the Highland cow lino block finished and ready to print, for the second time in recent weeks I headed for the cliffs and this time took my camera, partly in search of inspiration for my next linocut (I found lots).

space to work

2011-04-18T15:25:00.003Z

Having turned my tiny studio into a tiny bedroom when J was born, I've spent the last six years working on freelance projects haphazard style in various places around the house (the computer desk in the living room, the kitchen table, the worktop in the utility room). As a result, not only do I have bits and pieces scattered all over the place, it requires superhuman motivation to actually do anything, given I've to clear a space, find what I need and then clear up after myself (you don't want to leave a wet watercolour painting anywhere a cat might walk!). Superhuman motivation is not my strong point, so I'm totally excited that I've finally got round to setting up my own studio space in my bedroom. Right now I'm herding paints, pastels, ink, drawing boards, sketchbooks and other paraphernalia from all four corners of the house and organising them all in one place! I told you it was exciting. I'm also finding mucho inspirado in the Wednesday Workspace posts over here (where I found the photo above).

As well getting my mitts on a lovely new workspace table, I'll also be able to ditch my gruelling stool in favour of comfy seating - I picked up two fabulous chairs (for £10!) on a recent rummage through a Borders charity shop, which I plan to reupholster in lovely fabric procured for mucho cheapness on ebay... will post the transformation when I'm done (then all I'll have to do is actually sit down and get on with some work... maybe, just maybe, even this!).

making plans

2011-04-15T23:10:00.001Z

The last Juno illustration is finished (hopefully) and my fox linocut has sold after only 8 hours and 7 views... Only one left over on Etsy - the remaining two will be attending the opening of a new gallery in Inverness today (Saturday). I'm pleased for foxy, I like him. Next up, a dancing peacock - linocut style.

inking foxes

2011-04-14T11:34:00.004Z

I've been working late, late at night on my nocturnal padding fox, getting to grips with the process and experimenting with different papers.

The incredibly delicate Japanese Hosho paper wins hands down for crisp, clean prints (and ease of printing too) but I'm quite taken too with the mottled 'happy accident' effect of the watercolour paper. There will only be four Japanese paper fox prints in total - two are winging their way to a gallery in Inverness, two will be coming to my Etsy shop v soon... Just to see how it would look, I plan to hand tint the watercolour version. I'll post it here when I'm done.

Meanwhile, people never cease to amaze me; check out the picturesque wall spotted on my recent travels to the Scottish Borders... nothing mars picturesque quite like lethally lovely six inch shards of embedded glass glinting in the sun.

I guess there's not liking cats and there's really not liking cats, although there's always the hideous alternative that it's aimed at wayward kids rather than furry intruders. BIG pff (and I'm sure it can't be legal).

[Edit: apparently it is. Go figure.]

slow black fox

2011-04-01T12:55:00.004Z

I should really be working on my next illustration commission but instead (feeling inspired by the linocuts of Ian Phillips and the fact it's so addictive) I'm sneaking in this linocut based on my quick brown fox just for the fun of it.

I reversed my original fox sketch (so that he prints the right way round) and drew him out roughly on the lino block, then added highlights in white pastel pencil to help me see which areas need to be cut away and which stay (the bits that will be inked up).

For various reasons I'm quite taken with foxes these days - but not least is because the fox appears in numerous folk tales in countless cultures and is such an ambiguous character. I guess that's why I can't decide if this one is going to be paddy or prowly...

Anyway, I want to try printing a few in black ink only on Japanese hosho paper and some more on heavyweight watercolour paper which, depending on how the printing goes, I may or may not hand tint with colour washes...

printing prints

2011-03-28T21:40:00.000Z

It's totally rough, and not entirely sensitive to the method or the medium, but it's my first attempt and I have to say I'm hooked...

part of the process [and russian dolls are go]

2011-03-25T23:00:00.002Z

The Russian dolls are approved and coming to a magazine near you this summer - here's a sneaky preview.

Meanwhile I have spent most of today completing my first proper linocut - a print to represent a print - and I have learned a lot in the process.

My foray into handmade prints has revealed the following: firstly, that linocutting is seriously, incredibly addictive. I like it. I'm talking losing hours here - there's something immensely satisfying and tactile going on AND it is colossal fun. Secondly, that I probably shouldn't have gone for a three colour reduction print relying on fairly intricate detail on my very first attempt. Err, right! What was I thinking?!? Thirdly (and this is a biggie), while gouache appears to be a fabulous medium for linocuts (oh yes, I tell you, on first printing it certainly gave that impression, pardon the pun), with the benefit of hindsight (possibly read common sense) any waterbased medium might be more inherently suited to printing colour separations than overprinting (this I learned the hard way, although there were some fabulous spontaneous textures to be had!). Finally, and most importantly I feel, I need to wear some kind of protective plaster on the middle finger of my right hand if I'm going to lose myself in this for hours on end (or suffer one ouchy blister!). I will post the final print once I've scanned it and you can make up your own mind.

Hmmm. I think the positive (and important) thing is that I learned something. And I am addicted to the process and the possibilities of it (and since I wrote this post title I have this earworming, was never a big Morcheeba fan but I guess it fits).

today's lesson...

2011-03-22T14:49:00.005Z

...is that food photography is much harder than it looks! Luckily, it's more about the lovely, lovely bowl than my lunch (which, incidentally, is the same lunch 5 year old J. is having by special request - complete with dusting of hot smoked paprika - for his packed lunch today at school. It looked so tasty when I made it for him this morning, I had to have some myself).

And my 2011 calendar arrived today (yup, I know it's March but I only just got round to buying one!). Fingers crossed, it looks like it has brought spring with it too. It's printed on my newest favourite thing, banana paper, totally fueling my obsession with everything handmade and recycled and, even better, crammed with cool, quirky images. It's from Ana's lovely shop, Merry Blues Art, over on Etsy.

Plus... stay tuned, because today I start my linocut illustration...

tooled up

2011-03-17T16:24:00.001Z

Ooh, am all excited about my new linocutting equipment (it's very, very basic but it will get me started). I'd originally planned a foxy foray into the world of printmaking but, by happy coincidence, I've just received an illustration commission which is so totally suited to linocutting it isn't true. So while there's more riding on my first attempt (a deadline, client and fee for starters!), it also means I've no choice but to stop procrastinating and get stuck in.

And while it'll be too late for this commission, me and a friend are already planning to sign up for this linocutting course at the DCA in May. It's led by Babs Robertson - just looking at her work (below) is inspiring.

Babs Robertson // Linocut

size isn't everything

2011-03-15T11:32:00.005Z

I'm trialing some new mini prints over at my Etsy shop - I think it's a cool way to collect favourite images, (especially as some of the larger limited edition prints can be quite pricey) and they'd look fabulous framed as a group for a kid's room. I've also found some amazing brown flecked recycled envelopes to go with them. I've got a real thing for all things handmade and recycled at the moment, and am obsessing about uncoated papers just now for some reason. Partly down to Etsy and partly because of my linocutting obsession I think - more to come on that shortly...

work should not be this much fun. part 2

2011-03-11T10:48:00.002Z

I'm still having fun with the potato print Russian dolls for my next editorial illustration. They have become less spud-like and, although I'm adding finer details, I like the background textures the printing created (even if the smaller one looks a teensy bit like he's about to be deployed in desert warfare, only with added scarf and kite - not especially useful in a combat situation). Anyway, more to come; I've added another two dolls since this photo, but I want to run the concept past the editor first. Talking of which, the Spring issue of Juno is out and includes my tightrope illustration...

Meanwhile, if you factor in that the painting is occurring with this in the background, interspersed with a bit of this (and obviously accompanied by an evening glass of this), the fun just goes on and on.

*I just wanted to see if I could manage to upload a vid... and I did. Go me. Methinks I may have been a tad influenced by playing this...

with an owl

2011-03-06T14:26:00.000Z

The names are out of the hat...

Get in touch with your snail mail and I will send your owlies!

For everyone else there is this http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q_a1wxqloEs

work should not be this much fun. part I

2011-03-05T23:36:00.000Z

As well as making a general mess, I am making potato prints of russian matryoshka dolls for my next illustration project. These are how they looked earlier today (um, you have to use your imagination a little bit), will post more soon. But... it is just too much fun, it's like being 5 again.

I have also unlocked a secret and moved up a level in the art of curry making....

...and been getting a feel for foxes in preparation for my very first attempt at a linocut (everything has arrived and, incidentally, I thoroughly recommend GreatArt if you're looking for art supplies - super fast, totally efficient and phone person Diane is lovely).

Right, am off to sign an owl with an owl.

quick brown fox

2011-03-01T11:10:00.002Z

The fox
Last night I doodled a fox. He will most likely go through many permutations to become more stylised in readiness for my linocutting debut (oh, oh! With trees!!!). But ordering the materials has put me in a mild creative panic working through some permutations of my own. I'm swerving between excitement (yay! new ways of working, tactile, textures, strong, bold, linear!) and self-doubt (I won't know what I'm doing, have terrible ideas and make a hideous mess of them anyway!) then back to excitement (I get to try printmaking again!). Ah, the joy.

The cat
Shortly after, a rare midnight moment when crazy, fierce, independent Wilson allowed himself, in a momentary lapse of his psychotic personality, to be picked up and snuggled on my lap. Normally content only to sit near me or follow me around, dog-like (but don't touch!) he went into a sort of reverie, staring off into space with his big, green eyes and staying perfectly still while I stroked the soft fur under his chin.

This blissful state lasted for oooh, at least five minutes, before he snapped out of it, looked up and tried to bite me quite viciously on the nose.

More art, more cats, and a lot less whinging at my latest fabulous blog discovery here.

country file[s]

2011-02-27T22:11:00.000Z

More photographs for Etsy, but tomorrow I will definitely draw...

a wise, wise owlie giveaway!

2011-02-23T21:47:00.009Z

To celebrate my 50+ followers (wow, now 60 :)), the return of the pet portraits, my first Etsy sale, my feature in the current Juno mag AND the fact it's almost spring, I'm having a wise, wise owlie giveaway!

The prize:
The very first artist's proof print of the wise old owl. He's a pen and ink owl sitting on a 'branch' bearing the super wise words "the more he saw the less he spoke, the less he spoke the more he heard". The print is A4 (around 8" x 12") on gorgeous 167gsm Epson archival matte paper and I'll sign it with a teensy owl pencil doodle. The winner will also get an owlie bookmark.

Three runner up prizes:
I'm also giving away three mini prints of the same wise owl on Light Me Metallic smooth 250gsm paper - one each of silver, copper and gold. The mini prints measure 4" x 6" and are wonderfully shimmery. Frame it and hang it, stick it on a mirror, pin it on a bulletin board, prop it on a windowsill or bookcase, you could even stick a stamp on the back and send it as a postcard.

And finally:

I also have three of the owlie bookmarks to giveaway. This graphic mini print on a bookmark measures just under 2" x 8" and comes on a plain white or blue background on claywhite 250gsm Impressions recycled paper.

(Gosh, can you tell from the above I have a total paper fetish thang going on?). Anyway....

Want to enter?
Post a comment with your name, telling me what's your favourite item in my Etsy shop.

Want some extra credit?

You can do either of the following, just make sure you leave me another comment for each one.
1) Follow my blog.
2) Blog, tweet or FB about this giveaway, and leave a link to my blog.

Oh, and you heard it here first - until the end of March there will be a free owlie bookmark with any larger print purchase from my shop (8"x12" and 11"x16" prints) AND if you add the code WISEOWL at checkout, you'll also get 10% off!

All comments go in the hat for a draw at midnight on 05 March 2011! Good luck!

new direction [or back to my graphic roots]

2011-02-22T21:38:00.005Z

I have been messing around with this pesky owl for the last few days now and I think, after a shaky start, me and him have finally reached a tentative understanding.

Right now he's a pen and ink illustration with a smidge of digital chucked in, but I reckon he'd be much, much happier as a linocut. Then again perhaps that's me projecting... I have been having a creative crisis of sorts lately. After much soul searching and angst (mostly involving the poignant midnight munching of mucho Mini Cheddars) I've come to the conclusion I'm in a rut and in dire need of a new and exciting way of working, and printmaking is something I've always had a hankering for. Unfortunately as time, responsibilites and funds don't allow for a 5-day workshop in the Italian hills darn it, I'm thinking some linocutting tools might be the very thing. Watch this space.

But this is by way of preamble, because my little feathered friend is about to become the subject of my fabulous, incredible, spectacular (and wise) 50+ followers owl giveaway, so watch this space x2.

book list

2011-02-17T21:10:00.006Z

Sticking with a bookish theme, here's me in book heaven. These are now on my ever growing list of books I simply must have! I did buy this one (below) by the fabulous Suzy Lee though.

Ooh, P.S. the giveaway plan is taking shape, I'll be posting more shortly (53 followers is awfully exciting).

And P.P.S. do you see how I'm shamelessly cranking up the anticipation? Do you?! I'm shameless me!

shelve it

2011-02-17T00:53:00.005Z

I'm plotting another giveaway as I have fifty fabulous followers (ooh, now fifty-one!) and I said I would, and I have something new and owlie I'm working on so I think I will combine... details soon...

Meantime, check this out. All the fabulous picture books I buy for Jack (ahem, ok, and me), this is so obvious howcome I didn't think of it before? So much better than sticking them in the bookshelf and hiding all those wonderful covers. It's artwork and books combined, what could be better? (I found it and lots of other good stuff over here).

historical

2011-02-06T23:43:00.006Z

A blast from the past, really and truly, found amongst my old sketches during a blitz this afternoon. It's Dunnottar Castle, just outside my hometown and famous for all sorts of worthy historical reasons, but also as the setting for Mel Gibson's Hamlet - my sister served Franco Zeffirelli at a local restaurant during filming. I can remember doing this one as part of a project in eeek! - 1995! I can't decide if I like it or not. There's something slightly unnerving about looking at your work years later, as if it might possibly have been done by someone else entirely. Which in a way I guess it was. I remember doing another version of the castle too, in watercolour only... I must try and rake it out.

8th Feb Update: Ahem, as proof I am absolutely NOT the best judge of my own work - I just sold my first print on Etsy (whoop!) and it was this one!

year of the rabbit (or dog, cat... or iguana!)

2011-02-04T14:56:00.009Z

Having taken some time out (gosh, a whole year! Time flies, I had no idea it had been that long!) to concentrate on my illustration projects for a while, I am tentatively updating the pet portrait site. The last time it got kinda too successful for it's own good, which meant I ended up having no time at all for my personal work. I have learned my lesson though and this time round I plan to only take on a few at a time. What I'd really like is some weird pets to draw though! Maybe some ducks, or a rabbit, or a goat... or an iguana would be cool!

(ooh, I'm now on twitter! And facebook! How much technology can I handle? Only time will tell... Link on the right hand side of this blog...)

I want to draw!

2011-01-25T14:35:00.006Z

But instead I'm taking photos, and editing descriptions and adding new items and creating discounts (and forgetting to have lunch while I do it! The tummy-rumbling is getting out of hand!). Sometimes doing this for a living feels like no fun at all! Tonight I am promising myself at least an hour at the drawing board as a reward.

telling stories - a bookish giveaway

2011-01-22T23:58:00.006Z

Oh dear, I'm afraid it's true, I have to confess I have an Etsy addiction. Under the thin guise of setting up my shop I've also been connecting with some super talented people and having mucho fun in the process. It's completely, totally, utterly addictive! Aside from the ongoing tinkering with my own bits and pieces, there's the compulsion to search out all the cool stuff available (and there's lots of it!). To prove my point, there's an ongoing bookish giveaway here, but even if you don't fancy winning a print (an A4 giclee of the Slugs and Snails drawing) or perhaps don't consider yourself a rampant reader, it's still totally worth popping over just to check out the some of the fab items my fellow Etsians have up for sale (I myself definitely have an eye on the fantastic [Mr] fox cushion cover).

perilous tightrope II

2011-01-10T10:29:00.004Z

For the spring issue of Juno.

a totally bats giveaway

2011-01-08T13:26:00.003Z

In November I promised to give away a mounted bat print, and I can now absolutely, definitely, without question, announce that the winner is *drum roll please* ....err, primula monkey.... which should come as no surprise as you were the only respondent! Congrats, a little mounted Echo the bat print is winging its way to you!

lists

2011-01-08T11:36:00.008Z

I spent a bit of time creating a banner for the Etsy shop yesterday (it looks tiny here but bigger on the site). Meantime I need to get on with the latest Juno illustrations which are due on Monday AND write my biography for the article on my prints they are including in the next issue. I'd also like to update the print website in a similar style before the magazine comes out.

Oh my gosh! I'm suddenly feeling the need to write a to do list!

In addition I'm determined this year to do something about my workspace (aka the sofa, the kitchen table, the computer desk overflowing with scraps of paper, cds and sketchbooks and well, mostly the kitchen table). Since what was once my tiny studio is now my son's tiny bedroom, I am being super inspired by this fabulous blog post, perfect inspirado if like me you suffer from a total lack of space...

resolution

2011-01-06T18:13:00.005Z

Gosh, I am a terrible, TERRIBLE businesswoman! Maybe even the worst ever! In a burst of energetic enthusiasm I finally spent some time this afternoon adding prints to my Etsy shop, The Painted Forest, something I've been meaning to do for absolutely ages. Except then I went foraging around the other illustration prints available and ended up buying the fabulous print below by illustrator Jamie Mills. So much for that as my 2011 business plan, although yay! it does mean I will finally have something to put in the huge charity shop frame that's been propped up in my hall since I bought it.

Anyway, I now have a few prints up for sale over there and will be putting more up over the next few days, pop over and heart your favourites! Soooooo many fantastic illustrators on Etsy - make yourself a coffee and spend a few hours browsing and being inspired. It's totally addictive I warn you!

perilous tightrope

2011-01-05T21:18:00.006Z

I have a magazine deadline looming and am snuffling and sneezing my way through (over) the roughs. Hopefully over the worst - lots of steaming hot tea and spicy food has made me feel a little bit better... AND I have finally got some ideas down on paper, always a relief. The perils of being last minute...

Actually, I should probably point out that the little blob by her hand came from a smudge on my scanner, not me (I'm not really that disgusting, honest!).

red and gold

2010-12-29T14:56:00.005Z

Things that are cheering me up on a grey December day.

private collection

2010-12-27T23:58:00.003Z

One of my illustrations (bottom right) sitting next to work by the fabulous Martin Honeysett, John Byrne and Gilbert and George no less. How very cool is that?

I wish me a merry christmas

2010-12-20T23:20:00.011Z

Yesterday I received two Christmas cards with my own illustrations on the front - very strange! This one is from the lovely people at Juno magazine, who are also going to feature the Painted Forest in their next issue.

With a whole bunch of new bottles just arrived in the drinks emporium, I have found the perfect way to add some (alcoholic) warmth to the cold, dark evenings - more fabulous wine by some young punks. I get to obsess over the fabulous label illustrations, Lee obsesses about the deliciously unusual grape combos, then we both drink it. Like I said, perfect (and very more-ish). I feel a collection coming on...

Meanwhile the big freeze continues, making it a huge effort to do much that involves going outside (as that would involve me, a spade and mucho shovelling. Brrr), but on the other hand it does give me plenty of time to sit in my cosy kitchen with some lovely coffee writing this post! And I am kicking myself for not finding out until after the event that there was a spectacular lunar eclipse this morning. It was amazing by all accounts and apparently only happens around once every 400 years... darn!

seasonal sprouts

2010-12-06T11:49:00.003Z

Finally, after much faffing, procrastination and snowy havoc, my Christmas card has made it to the printer and only a week late! Now all I have to do is remember to write them and post them when they return...

'owl

2010-11-28T15:57:00.006Z

I would be feeling more festive today, what with the snow and a roaring fire and all, if only I didn't have to come up with an idea for my Christmas card - like smartish. After spending an age lovingly painting a robin last year only to swap it in favour of something scrawled on the back of an envelope in 10 minutes, I've decided not to spend too much time on it this year. Well, that's one reason, the other being it needs to go to print on Wednesday! So far I only know sprouts may feature... post to follow I guess. Until it's done though, for the purpose of this blog I'm rehashing the above (how lazy!); the owl is a detail from an old illustration for 'At Night' (I can't believe I didn't even notice I had a thing for drawing birds until recently. Duh).

I've also got a minor alteration to do to the whistling santa illustration for my publisher (as they're using it for their Christmas card this year) and I need to write some not-too-cringy text about myself for a feature in the next issue of Juno (they're also using an illustration of mine on a card notifying all their contacts of the magazine's change of ownership - so lots of free publicity coming my way, which is very cool). But oh my gosh it is sooooo cold (I am typing this wearing fingerless mitts like an extra from A Christmas Carol).

Oh, and don't forget to leave a comment on the Monochromatic post if you want the chance to win a mounted bat print.

monochromatic

2010-11-22T23:32:00.009Z

"On the 3rd of December 2010, Aberdeen City Council will meet to discuss proposals which will see music tuition in Aberdeen either privatised or terminated. Both options would be hugely damaging to music education in the city. Pupils who have Council instruments will be forced to return them and those wishing to carry on learning an instrument will have to pay for private tuition and the costs of purchasing their own instrument – an option not available to many. In addition the bands and orchestras run in schools and by the Council Music Centre will cease to exist."

And so it begins. The truly scary part is the philistines at Aberdeen City Council are not alone. They're not the first local authority to view the arts as a soft target nor will they be the last. Neither are the cuts to the arts restricted to tuition in schools (despite the fact that my guess is that while these cuts might save a ridiculously paltry amount of money in the short term, long term they'll cost - unemployed teachers, the widening gap in educational attainment between those from different economic backgrounds and all that comes along with it for starters), these come on top of the cuts to culture in general. Yup, let's ignore the fact the cultural industries are of enormous value to the economy and play a vital role in regenerating communities, while wholeheartedly rejecting the importance of culture in a civilised society.

I sketched my wee boy the other day as he drew a complex picture 'game' of pirates, complete with treasure map - totally lost in concentration as he added details of palm trees, sharks, treasure chests, erupting volcanoes and men overboard. His imagination is amazing and I'd like to think that's a positive talent his school would love to be able to recognise, nurture and encourage. But depressingly it appears we're now living in a society that not only doesn't value creativity and the arts, but in fact actively sabotages them and/or is intent on retaining culture only for the elite, so perhaps not. As someone fabulously said - the arts add colour to our lives. It really is that black and white and that's why these cuts are so totally, utterly tragic.

But enough with the enforced drabness, leave me a comment with your views, sign the petition http://www.gopetition.com/petition/40692.html or protest any other way you see fit.

And purely as an exercise in adding colour I'll be putting all posters' names in a hat and giving away a mounted Echo the Bat print come the festivities/revolution.

blue blood, white nights

2010-11-09T20:42:00.004Z

I'm gradually making the switch from my trusty old watercolours (which I've had for oh, ever) to my shiny new White Nights watercolours.... and loving them. Very intense. The brief was simply for a king and a queen, I'm not sure why he's doing his staring into the middle distance thing or what her facial expression is all about.... that's just how it came out!

a very rough rough

2010-11-04T09:58:00.004Z

In amongst the chaos I have managed to snatch a tiny bit of time to start on the poetry book - rough indeed, but now that the first ideas are out and down on paper the whole process becomes so much easier. I hope.

all ears

2010-10-31T20:19:00.007Z

This year's pumpkin effort was greeted with cries of "it's got ears! Who the hell puts ears on a pumpkin, you weirdo?" Clearly my attempt at a sinister grinning Cheshire cat has not received the recognition it deserves. Pff, I don't know why I bother (except actually I do, given that I did it while my eldest was at work and my youngest was at his party - I do it purely for my own selfish amusement, cos it is fun!). Um, happy Halloween.

black dog and barter

2010-10-01T09:17:00.010Z

Hot off the press, I've been working on these. The illustrations for the winter issue of Juno. The street scene morphed (at around midnight, after a glass or two of rioja - which does wonders incidentally for dispersing that kinda hesitant "eek! Beautiful but scary sheet of stretched white paper and I'm going to attack it with a pen with no pencil sketching first" feeling) from an idea involving scales. Which was appropriate but, after a second reading of it, I decided scales didn't quite communicate the social aspect of bartering described in the article it was to illustrate. On a more cautionary note, I'm not generally recommending working while a little boozy though, there's that whole brush water/wine glass danger to be aware of for a start...The second one is my fave though, for an article on bipolar disorder. It's a fairly bleak article written from a personal perspective and I was having a teensy bit of a creative crisis wondering how to go about conveying it, until a chance conversation resulted in the fabulous black dog suggestion (I hadn't heard the expression in connection with depression before).

Meanwhile the children's drama illustrations are all editor and author approved and the publishers want to use one of them (the whistling santa) for their Christmas card this year which as well as being quite flattering, also happily means oodles and oodles of free festive publicity for me.

Finally, it's Banned Books week (In The Night Kitchen? Really???). There's an excellent post on this over on illustrator Cassia Thomas's fab blog.

all the young punks (and a bat)

2010-09-04T22:59:00.012Z

My first post for what seems like ages. The illustrations for the children's plays are finally finito... 32 in total... and all now with the publisher. I'll post more as it happens. But they have taken up most of my time lately, so much so that there hasn't been much spare to post on here. Ah, the highs, the lows, the Photoshop jiggery pokery at the last minute. The next project will be a goodie though - a lovely children's poem collaboration in picture book form that's been waiting patiently in the wings.

Meantime though, my red wine addiction, combined with the lovely Lee now gainfully employed in a local(ish) drinks emporium, got me thinking now is the perfect opportunity to get around to growing my own wine cellar (and please note, I use the term wine 'cellar' loosely, in an-Ikea-wine-rack-atop-the-kitchen-cupboard type way).

And how cool is this? My own personal Master of Wine has triumphed already with The Squid's Fist (above) from Wine By Some Young Punks. Let's face it, even if it tastes gawd damn awful it's worth it for the Asaf Hanuka label alone (although I'm assured the clash (geddit?) of Sangiovese and Shiraz is both unusual and divine). And you have to applaud any wine which eschews the usual wine label conventions of "ripe" and "spicy" and the like for "a monster bigger than the three of us that leads us to soapbox, grandstand and sometimes pass out on the couch." Fabulous. My main challenge now is to ensure this bottle is still in the rack when the next one arrives. Will keep you posted, unless I'm passed out on the couch...

Incidentally, the bat was a bemused and disorientated visitor to my garden recently. My best (but ultimately misguided) efforts to get him to fly came to nowt (I've since been informed they don't, not in daylight hours anyway, so tossing them about in a teatowel is both pointless and quite possibly cruel). So I called the SSPCA and, I'm sure much to his relief, he was removed from my clutches, released safely into a wildlife sanctuary and is hopefully not permanently traumatised by being 'rescued' by me.

[Edit: The Squid's Fist survives, for now, but the Cat's Tail syra next to it? Loooong gone - a distant but delicious memory...]

bird nest messy

2010-08-04T10:32:00.002Z

into the woods

2010-07-23T11:58:00.003Z

with a duck...

this chicken is not edible, for decorative purposes only

2010-07-20T22:34:00.003Z

Although I have no idea why... all I know is ' a cake with a decorative chicken',which so makes me want to get my mitts on a copy of the text...

Also, a sunbather. I told you the content was varied!

humungous root vegetable

2010-07-17T11:54:00.004Z

A giant turnip.

an ambiguous wolf

2010-07-14T21:18:00.003Z

'a wolf waving from behind a tree'

Is it a friendly wave or something more sinister? I'm not sure...

they might be giants

2010-07-13T11:57:00.002Z

Well yes actually, he is! That's why the tree is so teeny tiny...

I'm working through the illustrations for the dramas - 5 down, loads more to go!

It is fabulous to get away from the computer screen though, especially after all the design work I've been doing this year. Pushing coloured water around a piece of paper is so much more fun and very therapeutic. Put a little birdhouse in your soul indeed!

rats...

2010-07-08T11:55:00.003Z

My rough sketch for the next illustration, the Pied Piper plus mucho rats. I found it incredibly difficult to find my own slant on something that countless other fabulous illustrators have depicted already... so I decided to take my own work as a starting point (the piper bears a passing resemblance to the evil pipe playing monkey in 'Monkey and Bear'

[Edit] Finished illustration above.

the twilight zone

2010-07-07T00:25:00.000Z

The new project is a fairly big one; more than thirty illustrations for a book of children's dramas. It's a lovely job though, as the subject matter is so varied. So the elderly bods above appear alongside the fat hedgehog and the benign hen below. And still to come - mermaids, giants, wolves, monsters and turnips, to name but a few! Much fun!

[edit] And ooh, ooh, was nosying about on the fabulous Jon Davis's blog and stumbled on a link to this amazing Ukranian illustrator. The artwork is stunning, I just want to fall in and soak it up. And further foraging in blogland also turned up Lisbeth Zwerger, whose work is spellbindingly exquisite and who I hadn't come across before. So I have just ordered the book above (love those colours)...

hedgehog, hedgehog!

2010-07-05T12:58:00.001Z

get a grip hen...

2010-07-02T09:44:00.006Z

...that's what I imagine, in my deeply ignorant fashion, is what someone from the West of Scotland might have said to me the other day if they had witnessed my frantic multi-tasking and ensuing panic. I have a new illustration project (the benign hen above will feature) and some straggling design projects, like the fiddle festival work below, which stubbornly refuse to end despite my best efforts. All a bit manic. Which is good I guess, but also mucho stressful.

tree-mendous

2010-06-25T19:55:00.007Z

I'm feeling particularly smug after finally making the cushion for J's chair. And it only took me a couple of hours too (discounting almost a year of procrastination before I opened my sewing box, obviously). I expect my parents realise the error of their ways when they made such a fuss about me dropping Higher German to take F&F with a view to doing something vague with textiles now. Oh yes.

So, yay, feeling all Good Life and Country Living today. Plus, the best bit... it is reversible. Tree-mendous on one side, but if you get bored with it, simply turn it over and it's, erm, owl-right. (I was brought up with bad puns).

beached

2010-06-01T16:00:00.005Z

I finished last night and I think it works. I took aspects of each of the photos supplied and mixed them up (to create the rough below). The beach is local and the cliffs are bit of a landmark, so they add a personal touch to the illustration. Just the mounting to do now...

pebbles

2010-05-26T11:59:00.004Z

This is what I'm currently working on. A commission for someone's wife's birthday; her two children on the local beach in the style of an illustration.

going downhill fast

2010-05-11T11:30:00.005Z

Well not really, but I've being burning the candle at both ends recently and should probably, definitely even, get an early night soon! Spent the weekend whizzing around the borders, crossing bridges between Scotland and England, visiting relatives and attending weddings. Too much dancing, drinking and talking! Arrived back late last night with this illustration still to do. Still, it's done now. Phew!

one day my prints did come...

2010-05-06T15:57:00.003Z

Yeah, yeah, I know I've used a similar post title before and the joke wasn't that great the first time round. It's been a busy day is my only excuse. I will try harder tomorrow...

My prints finally arrived at 4.30pm (I've been waiting in all day), but as usual Michael has done a fabulous job so definitely worth the wait. Now I have to cut mounts, oh and sign them.

the loss of letters

2010-05-06T00:13:00.004Z

The latest Juno magazine illustration is taking shape. As usual, I'm going right to the wire with this one and still one more to do. This one needs some more work - I wanted Letraset but can't source any quickly enough, so will have to rely on Photoshop. Darn, was looking forward to getting my mitts on some of those letters, I remember how much fun it was to use. Just something so satisfying about scrubbing away at it with a pencil, then lifting the sheet away to see a perfectly formed letter. And way more soul, with all its imperfections, than a computer programme. Pff. Deadlines, dontcha love them.

toying...

2010-04-24T13:53:00.002Z

howling snarling prowling snapping

2010-04-23T22:31:00.008Z

Ha, can you tell what kind of mood I am in today?!

This friendly little chap has been prowling in my head for weeks and tonight he finally got let loose...

These are the rough sketches, the final work will be... well, probably a little more disturbing. I have an idea to use a quote I am in love with, it starts "just around the corner...". But I will see how it develops.

a serious cat

2010-04-08T00:21:00.004Z

Wilson the Maine Coon. He's now just over six months old and about half the size he's going to be (he's currently the same size as fat cat Rufus). He rules the house, and has been the boss of Kenzie the husky since he was a tiny kitten. It's as if he knows that he will one day be enormous...

it's been a while...

2010-03-22T22:09:00.004Z

It's a long time since my last post - partly work related, partly not! (Facebook has a lot to answer for...). Bologna opens tomorrow and I've been doing some new work for that. Unfortunately my scanner chose the final week to give up the ghost so at present I only have this horrendously coloured scan to show you. I'll replace it with a new one as soon as I can...

those damn puppets

2010-02-19T16:24:00.002Z

Ah, a long time since I last posted due to the ongoing puppet design job. I finished, finally, this morning (although I still am on tenterhooks for the phone call from the printer with a problem!). The title of the post is a homage to all my lovely friends who have been saying this to me whenever I have been unable to join them to do anything for the last two weeks!

Now I'm free to carry on with the Growing Boy and to let out the wolf image that has been gnawing around in my head...

today I have mostly...

2010-01-29T00:02:00.007Z

...been working on a design project on the computer, interspersed with mad spending sprees... in a, probably, vain attempt to lift the eternally dreich January gloom which seems to go on forever, and ever and ever...

At last, the green polka dot tablecloth I have coveted for ages...

a gorgeous dish from Jules...

and little bird tile tattoos for my bathroom...

plus some watercolours, pens and the most fabulous knitting book.

Meanwhile, Jackson ran into a door (he did, honest! well, the door handle at least...), and now has a round, egg-shaped bump on his cheekbone. Although he is not complaining, it looks very sore and I'm not looking forward to nursery tomorrow!

In the midst, I found some time to work on the Growing Boy.

the soul of birth

2010-01-21T10:24:00.002Z

The second Juno illustration for 'The Soul of Birth' article...

building blocks

2010-01-19T20:54:00.002Z

juno spring issue

2010-01-17T22:08:00.004Z

With the deadline fast approaching, I have finally managed to pull together two roughs for the next issue of Juno. They are laying out the magazine this week so I'm cutting it very fine this time... Thankfully the fabulously understanding editor is quite happy to let me go to the wire on this one...

[the wee boy is becoming a bit of a recurring theme...]

a trusty steed...

2010-01-15T11:23:00.005Z

sugar and spice

2010-01-13T23:09:00.003Z

Mmmmm, cupcakes...! New work for 2010 - artwork for greetings cards. This illustration and Slugs and Snails (below) are also available as limited edition prints.

slugs and snails

2010-01-12T20:50:00.003Z

My first post of 2010, so happy new year! I'm doing some speculative greetings card work, while trying to remain true to my own style and not being too 'cutsy'. Not easy... I'm also being a bit sneaky and using these to work on a style for the growing boy...

[edit: maybe try one with added mischief!]

we should be doing better than this

2009-12-17T15:10:00.007Z

I just read this article which appeared in the Guardian yesterday, very sobering stuff... There is an online petition you can sign if you, like me, want the Government to know you think what they are doing here is wrong.

From the Guardian, Wednesday 16 December 2009:

Yarl's Wood immigration removal centre is not exactly easy to reach. Our taxi from Bedford station drives through the village of Clapham, with its 11th-century church and ancient yews, then out again through fields. Suddenly, we see low-lying buildings like those on a modern industrial estate. A lone man walks purposefully with a dog. From inside a glass-paned office, a man waves us through the boom gates. His uniform could be that of a security guard in any official establishment.

Karin Littlewood is an illustrator and I'm a writer. We're going to run a storytelling workshop – organised by Women for Refugee Women – with children detained in Yarl's Wood, and we have been instructed to bring Criminal Records Bureau "enhanced disclosure" forms and visual ID. This concern over child protection sits oddly with instances of children being seized in dawn raids.

About 1,000 children are locked up every year under immigration rules, many of them in families who have sought asylum. Yarl's Wood is the main centre for detaining children, with about 30 held at any one time. Although the government says it detains families only as a last resort, just prior to removal, the majority of these children are released back into the community. Many will later be granted leave to remain in the UK.

We step into the visitors' centre under a sign that reads: "Serco bringing service to life." Karin has brought rolls of drawing paper, as well as original paintings from our picture book Baba's Gift. We've had to specify in advance every item that we wish to bring. Apart from books to give to the children and library, our list includes a little wooden elephant and hippo, a finger-puppet hare, a small mbira (thumb piano) and an oyster shell.

As we walk along an empty corridor, I scribble down words from a notice: "Yarl's Wood IRC is committed to promoting and celebrating racial equality and diversity." We are searched in a claustrophobic little room, with two women guards, then a door is unlocked and I step into a huge visitors' waiting room with comfy seats and children's toys, overseen by a single guard. By the time Karin has been processed, we've lost a third of our workshop time.

Five locked doors and corridors decorated with murals lead to Crane section for families – mainly mothers with children. We are introduced to the primary teacher. The young lady smiles and we shake hands, but my brain takes time to connect. She is wearing the Serco uniform, with keys attached to her waist. A guard-cum-teacher or a teacher-cum-guard?

Along more corridors and through an indoor sports hall, we come to patches of grass, high wire fences, and two elongated chalets that house newly-opened schoolrooms. The secondary schoolteacher, also with uniform and keys, greets us. It's unusual to run a workshop for people ranging in age from five to 16, but there is nothing usual about today.

School inside Yarl's Wood is voluntary. Today, three older students are attending, along with 11 younger children from Albania, Egypt, Namibia, Uganda, Kenya, Jamaica and Nigeria. Some have just arrived in Yarl's Wood. For one boy, it's his 37th day. As I give them my South African handshake, a boy of about 10 immediately asks whether I can speak Afrikaans. He asks, and I answer, in Afrikaans. I tell him I have forgotten a lot. Quietly, he replies: "My ook (Me too)." I catch the sadness in his eyes and ask: "What places do you know in South Africa?" Jo'burg, he says. "But I'm a Jo'burg girl!" I exclaim. I pull out a copy of my book Journey to Jo'burg. Within seconds, his head is buried in it.

Most of the children seem to speak English, and within seconds we are playing a name game to break the ice. I sense a generosity from the older students. How easy it would be for them to dismiss our workshop as something for little kids.

Introducing Baba's Gift, about two children's first trip to the seaside in South Africa, I recount how I wrote the story with my daughter, Maya. I slip in that many years ago I came to Britain seeking refuge. I tell them how Maya had wanted to set a story in the place where her father grew up, but from which we'd been cut off for many years. Karin interweaves my reading by showing her artwork close up, drawing in the teens. They are intrigued.

The children begin to open out. I retell a traditional African story from my collection, The Great Tug of War, about the little hare, Mmutla, who must use his wits against the powerful, bossier animals. Karin draws the animal characters as I act out how Mmutla tricks the elephant, Ttlou, and the hippo, Kubu, into a tug of war with each other. Beneath these age-old stories is the message about resilience that enslaved Africans carried to America and kept alive through Brer Rabbit. In identifying with the little hare, I hope the children may gain their own strength.
Our workshop has to finish before Karin has time to get everyone drawing, but she leaves a painting of Mmutla tugging a rope. It stretches across a long roll of paper, and the teachers say they will give the children a chance to draw in their own players for this new tug of war.
Karin asks the two small boys from Albania to help hold up the paper. They have avoided eye contact and been terribly quiet. If for a brief moment we might have almost forgotten where we are, these young siblings most visibly remind us that here are children undergoing a deeply traumatising experience.

The government has signed up to the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, yet its policy runs completely counter to the spirit of the convention. It pays Serco to "normalise" the imprisonment of children – something morally abhorrent that should never be considered normal.

Moral issue

That is why almost 70 writers and illustrators for young people have this week signed an open letter to Gordon Brown, supporting the End Child Detention Now campaign. It follows a joint report by the Royal Colleges of General Practitioners, Paediatrics and Child Health, and Psychiatrists, and the UK Faculty of Public Health, warning that detaining children in immigration centres puts them at risk of mental health problems, self-harm and suicide, and demanding an end to the practice. This is a cross-party moral issue in which we should ask every MP to stand up to the rising tide of anti-immigrant xenophobia and support Chris Mullin MP's parliamentary motion to stop detaining children.

After leaving Yarl's Wood, we meet someone who knows it well, and who says the atmosphere inside has been subdued. Last week, she tells us, a woman was deported, naked. It was her final protest.

What else have these young people – who have struck us as so delightful and thoughtful – witnessed in their uprooted lives? Have we no shame?

advocate it

2009-12-07T16:51:00.003Z

I'm finally up and running on the Advocate Art website - so I guess it's official and I have an agent! The fabulous thing about being represented is that I will now have a presence at book fairs in Frankfurt, Bologna and New York, to name a few. Hopefully this means greater exposure and a chance for more publishers to see my work...

two down, one to go...

2009-12-02T22:54:00.001Z

[but the last one is a VERY hairy dog!]

in your face

2009-12-02T10:14:00.002Z

Done in 10 minutes last night on the back of an envelope with my new black pen and some pastels which were lying around from my current pet portrait, I think this might be my Christmas card instead of my lovingly painted robin! Sometimes life's just like that...

feeling festive yet?

2009-11-26T21:36:00.002Z

polka dot robin [or berry christmas!]

2009-11-24T15:43:00.003Z

I'm working out a Christmas card design based on my cupboard folk art birds. I've produced homemade cards before, but this year I'd like to do something a little more elaborate in design and get them printed up. As usual though, I've left it a bit last minute! This is the rough, which going to try and produce completed artwork for this week (between pet portraits and the puppet festival design work...).

one down, three to go...

2009-11-15T12:22:00.000Z

Maddie's portrait.

hold on to your sombrero...

2009-11-06T20:48:00.003Z

My fabulous assistant just picked a name from the sombrero.... and the winner is...

Giovanna

Print will be winging it's way to you soon! Thanks to everyone who left all the lovely comments. I plan to have another celebratory giveaway when (if!) I ever have 50 followers...

rain, rain, go away....

2009-11-02T23:31:00.008Z

Thought you might like to see how my home town looked at midnight last night... We had a month's rain in a few hours, causing both rivers to burst their banks and invade the town centre (that is actually one of the main roads, not a river!). This has never happened before in living memory, perhaps we should be worried and maybe now it's time for our great leaders to take climate change a bit more seriously? I wish I could say I had faith in them to act! Luckily, for me at least, I live up the hill...

New roughs over on the Growing Boy.

happy halloween

2009-10-31T21:14:00.002Z

all change

2009-10-28T20:16:00.003Z

I've been busy streamlining and reworking my illustration website. A long way still to go but I think it reflects me a bit more now and will be much simpler to navigate around - it had become a bit of a labyrinth!