I wish me a merry christmas

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!

all the young punks (and a bat)

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...]

poop...

Here's the progress on the rough below - a painstaking process of layer upon layer of watercolour, trying to gauge when it's 'just right' (before I overwork it and end up hating it!). It's my favourite bit though; it's worth taking the time over the roughs and initial drawing out. I love the feeling of having a freshly stretched piece of paper, just waiting for an image to appear on it... making it come to life is immensely gratifying.

My tip for freelancers who work in the evening; keep your painting water and red wine glass in separate spots - not good if you dip your brush in the wrong one... although slightly preferable to the alternative. I will live and learn...