one day your print will come - a giveaway

I have finished all my current pet portaits, completed the Juno illustrations and don't have to meet with the puppet people until next week. Some usually very elusive time working on my own illustrations and playing my harp beckons... Plus, I have tickets for Crooked Still on Sunday night (a mini celebration in itself - the cellist is amazing!!!).

So, to celebrate this short-lived and most unusual artistic freedom (and the fact that I won the puppet design pitch for 2010), I have decided to have a fabulous print giveaway!

The prize:

The very first print of The Jumis Tree painting, inspired by my trip to Latvia in May, numbered and signed.

Want to enter?

Post a comment with your name AND your favourite item on either my illustration site or the Painted Forest.

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 about this giveaway, and leave a link to my blog.

Contest ends 05 November 2009 at midnight! Good luck!

the jumis tree

The Jumis Tree is heading to Italy as I type, now let's see if it is selected for inclusion (I hope so, I like it far better than the Fires of Beltane illustration in the current exhibition).

The colours in the hires scan are so much brighter than the digital pics I took with my camera in the previous posts! There will be a limited edition run of 30 giclee prints of the Jumis Tree on the painted forest.

nooks and crannies

amid the chaos

There do not seem to have been enough hours in the day this week. Finally I found a small, quiet space this morning to work on the Latvian illustration. I'm hoping to get it finished this weekend (not least because my deadline for posting is Monday!). I like the questions it throws up, like why is she alone? I spoke to people in Latvia about the years of deportations under the Soviets. Perhaps her husband is one of the missing...

The new issue of Juno will arrive soon. I was flattered to be asked to contribute a photo and short biography as one of the Juno team. I hope it doesn't appear too cringeworthy embarrassing when I see it in print. I hate writing things about myself!

sow, sow

Adding colour and detail to the Latvian illustration. I'm finding it hard to keep away from the children, bottom right - I know that's where all the life of the illustration is! Accents of red, such as the red flowers (which were everywhere in Latvia) next...

Oh and a warm welcome to Jessie! It's good to know there's someone out there!

If you are as excited as me about the upcoming Where the Wild Things Are film (see April post for a link to the fabulous trailer which always makes me want to cry), check out http://weloveyouso.com/blog/ - loads of interesting stuff, including previously unseen Maurice Sendak sketches.

Happy birthday Maurice!

ouch (and coos)

Ouch! Feeling a bit stiff now after Sunday's horse riding - I must be incredibly unfit! Worked through the pain last night though (I'm such a trooper!) and added the cows. Getting there slowly...

I was looking through my Latvia pics last night for some reference shots and found this one. It's Jack enjoying a plate of mash and peas (his choice) in Riga on our last night.

Since we got home, Jack still says paldies (thank you) to waitresses when we're out because he got such a great reaction to that in Latvia!

ps check out http://diterlizzi.com/blog/ Tony DiTerlizzi's blog -fabulous work and a fascinating look at the process of creating the illustrations. I'm in awe...

pps once you've been there go to Lisa Hannigan's site. Sea Sew is what I'm illustrating to at the moment - beautiful. You should also have a look at her pub session version of 'I don't know' on youtube, it never fails to cheer me up.

There, my work here is done.

Italian exhibition

Work has (finally) begun on the illustration for the Italian exhibition. I've based it on the farm in the Latvia post below, the countryside there is dotted with small farms like these - usually with a least one fruit tree or even a small orchard. The storks were everywhere with these amazingly huge and intricate nests. It's considered very lucky if a stork nests beside your house so I've added one to my little farm. It's a tenuous link to the exhibition theme of 'Earth' - if I'm honest, I actually had this illustration in my head while we were still in Latvia. It's just a happy coincidence that I have an excuse to begin it straight away! I saw the woman in the headscarf hoeing her small plot while we sped past her in the car and I knew then she would definitely be popping up in a future illustration.

Latvia

Just returned from a trip to Latvia - what an amazing country and people. Lots of inspiration both in my work and just generally as to what people can endure and come through. I don't think I have ever been anywhere where the folk are more friendly.

Meanwhile busy with the latest illustrations for Juno and beginning work on the 'Earth' themed illustration for I Colori Del Sacro. I'm taking inspirado from Latvia and the field and fertility god Jumis for this one, using photos from the trip as a starting point.