the corners of my mind

These two drawings are a kind of memory drawings. Well, the idea is from a memory I've just kind of updated it a bit. Used a bit of creative license. I remember as a kid being told to go and tidy the living room which would have been full of toys and books and stuff. I would pull the settee out and pile absolutely everything in the room behind the settee then push it back into place. You see, creative even back then.

So, this girl has been told to tidy up, and that's what she's done. In her way.

These drawings are crying out for me to colour them in. I really love monochromatic drawings. I am never that happy when I add colour, but with these I really feel the urge. So you might just be seeing them again, sometime in the near future.

Kids, (big and small) you have my permission to print these off and colour them in yourselves. You have to let me see the results though. And, I might just post them.

Just one more day to vote for my Tee. Look HERE.

ain't too proud to beg

Click on drawing to view.

Well folks, I really don't enjoy plugging my wares. I get a little (a lot) embarrassed about it. But, I haven't done it for a while. So, here goes....

Remember this drawing? This, er, hum, award winning drawing that was chosen for Bologna Children's Book Fair? Well, if you vote for this design it could be made into a kiddies t-shirt. So click HERE and vote vote vote. Please please please!!!

If it does get printed, not only does it mean money for me (and, boy, do I need it) but also some t-shirts to give away, here, on my blog at a later date.

Right, I'll go away now. And hang my head in shame.

take a pinch of keyhole

(Click on drawing to view)

This drawing had all the ingredients to be great. A beautiful subject matter courtesy of my friend Annette. Stunning colours. Heaps of nostalgia. And hours of time to simmer. Somehow, for me, it falls short of being an extremely tasty dish.

Everyday Matters #37, draw some keys.

all i wanna do

The Travel Moleskine

Click HERE to see my Travel Moleskine, so far.

I thought I'd condense this travel themed Moleskine down to one post, so that it's not dominating the main page of my blog. Instead of cutting it down, however, I've just ended up doing a big huge Moley post. But, what's wrong with a bit of Moleskine love between consenting adults, eh?

The most frequently asked question from visitors to my blog, who are not part of the drawing community, is what is a Moleskine? Well, Moleskines are sketchbooks. Great ones! I think the mark of a really great product is when you don't have to advertise, your customers do the advertising for you. HERE is a link to my first ever Moleskine post, from my first ever Moleskine. I was smitten straight away.

The Ballpoint Moleskine

HERE you can see the beginnings of my Ballpoint Moleskine. It's a bit rubbish, so far, but it's just the start.

The Spare Moley

And, HERE you'll find the drawings from my Spare Moleskine. A kind of back up Moley. It's the substitute I call off the bench when the others are worn out from too much cross hatching.

The Sepia One

Finally, you'll see the entire set of drawings from my Sepia Moleskine HERE. It's the only one, to date, that I've finished.

But mostly, I'm the most excited about my New Moley. Which'll be coming to your screen some time soon.

And, if you are not convinced about how great the Moleskine is yet, check out Moleskinerie for all things Moley.

(Surely, I've broken some kind of record for the use the word Moleskine in one blog post? Somebody call Norris McWhirter.)

the ghosts of night, the dreams of day

Somebody, who was recently leafing through one of my sketchbooks, remarked on how unsketchbooky my sketchbooks are. It's true, of course. Almost all of my books are obsessively finished and presented. I rarely sketch, and have been meaning to change the name of this blog from 'sketchblog' to 'drawing blog' for as long as I can remember. I see every sketchbook I'm working on as being an actual finished piece. As a whole.

So, I don't really own any sketchy type sketchbooks. I do, however, have books that are filled with words, quotes, titles, names. References, basically. Ideas and references. They are the closest I get to a sketchbook. In the past I always wanted to be the kind of artists that is really sketchy and loose in the way they work. Here, in a pathetic attempt to show how sketchy and free and easy I am, I turned one of my reference pages into this drawing. Convinced? Nah, me neither. It just looks like a doodle by somebody with a serious mental illness.

I have accepted that I am not one of those artists. I'm as obsessive as the day is long. And what's really bugging me about this drawing is that I didn't add more to it, especially in the bottom left hand corner. There's always tomorrow, I suppose.

where'er you go

I did warn you that I'd be boring you further with this travel themed Moleskine, didn't I? Oh, right. Well, I will be. I'm like a dog with a bone when I get hold of a subject. I just cannot let it be.

So, anyway, here's a couple more spreads. Today, boys and girls, we will be covering London and Italy. In a roundabout sort of way. And, just out of interest, does anyone know of a UK stockist for this licorice? It's amazing.

Now, children, I won't tell you again, click on the drawings to view.

for a minute i lost myself

What can I say? More Moleskine madness.

you been going through changes

I'm happy with this one. I hope you like it, too.
You have to click on this drawing to view it. Stick your beaks right in and have a proper rummage around.

blink and you'll miss it

Hey, guys and dolls. I am drawing. Really I am. Here's the proof. It's just that I've suddenly taken to drawing on A3 paper, and I don't own an A3 scanner. I'm loving this bigger paper, though. Just what I needed, double the size paper to fill with the tiniest most intricate of details.

Also, I now have to go to the print shop to get my drawings scanned. I'll have to post photos until I do that. Or, until I (can afford to) invest in an A3 scanner.

Something else I love is making life more complicated for myself.

where were you when we were getting high?

So, I've gone and started yet another Moleskine. This is a kind of travel one. That's four different themed ones that I have on the go now. 'Cos, you know, I don't have anything else to do (that's sarcasm, I have SO much on). I know that it's just another avoidance tactic. I am conscious.

Still, at least I'm drawing. You can click on the drawings if you would like to read the text. Although I don't recommend you do. All this stuff is written in the early hours of the morning. The spelling, punctuation and grammar is shocking. But more than that, I always sound rather unhinged.

i was just sitting here thinking

How long exactly can you put off washing the dishes? For me, it's precisely this amount of time. Click on this drawing. It looks a bit better that way. Not a lot, but a bit.

Oh, and a little shout out to one of my very favourite, and one of the most fabulous, blogs on the whole of the entire interweb. I first came across Penguin and Fish through Suzanne. Back then they had featured her work. I've been secretly wishing they would feature mine, in a desperate needy sort of way, ever since. And, my wish came true. Thanks Alyssa!
Warning: you WILL lose the rest of the day if you click HERE.

you've got a lot to answer for

A few weeks ago I was going through the registration process for yet another online account. I said to my niece "I've got to think of another password, I never ever remember any passwords".
She said "Use bumhole".
Me: "Bumhole?"
Her: "Yeah".
Me: "Bum? Hole?"
Her: "That way, every time you look in the mirror you'll remember it".
Me: "Thanks for that".
Obviously, I used it.

Cut to yesterday, when somebody was helping me out with some technical difficulties I was having with an online project. They said "I'll just need your user name and your password".
Of all the passwords of all the accounts in all of the world.

Needless to say, I won't be using bumhole for any future passwords. But, she was right, I didn't forget it.

These are her feet. The cheeky bumhole.

don't look back in anger

The sun is out here, in the UK, this weekend, which means one thing. Actually, it means a few things. Across the country people are wiping down the white plastic garden furniture. Back gardens are filled with the smell of burning sausages on disposable BBQs. People dressed completely inappropriately for the time of year and temperature. Oasis tunes blasting from kitchen windows. And, of course, copious amounts of alcohol being consumed.

Me? I'm drawing pixie shoes. It's a worry.

Actually, I'm going to put this drawing away for a little while. You're probably getting as bored with it as I am. I promise I'm going to draw something a little more normal next. I was thinking of that sugar sachet collection. It's all relative, right?

all the things that you've seen will slowly fade away

As I slip into another of those mega drawings it seems like a good time to, once again, do a step by step post.

This drawing has been in my mind for some time. So, let me take you to a place where I go.

I'm not exactly sure where it's heading, but it's where nobody knows if it's night or day.

So stick with me, but, please, don't put your life in my hands.

I'll just throw it all away.

Take that look from off your face. No, I haven't been smoking crack, again.

It's just THIS SONG has been playing in my head ALL day long.

how soon is now?

For those of you who have asked, I will get around to reporting on my trip to Bologna Children's Book Fair soon. Really, I will.

One of the great things about the trip was getting to meet some fellow drawing-bloggers. I know, from being a part of the online drawing community, that quite a few people have met up with fellow artists. This was the first time I'd met anyone who I communicate with online. It's an odd experience, and one day as I was walking around a small Italian city with three bloggers, who all have the love of illustration in common, it struck me how amazing and weird and wonderful the internet is (daily, I'm struck by how mind blowing the internet is, it's just that sometimes you remember where you were when you were struck).

Of course, I've known Miguel, and his work, for some time. Also, we are both participants in the MoleyX 12 group (I say participant, but that's probably pushing it a bit when it comes to me). Meeting Miguel was like meeting an old friend. A lovely experience. I had never come across Anah's work before . And, even though we could not understand a word that each other said (!), she was such a delight to spend time with. Then, there was Lapin, whose work I knew vaguely. I certainly remember commenting on some of his gorgeous drawings in the past. It seems that every man, woman, child and (probably) animal that meets Lapin falls in love with him. And, I'm no exception. Have a look through HIS BLOG. You won't be disappointed. You might just fall in love.

I have uploaded a set of photos, from the trip, to Flickr. Every picture, apart from one, of the Fair came out blurred. True to form, I had the camera on the wrong setting. So, I have no pictures of my work at the Fair. No photos of me there. Maybe I didn't even go? Actually, there is just this one, thanks to Anah's old Polaroid and a passer by. Spot the Brit. The clue is you're looking for the self conscious, awkward looking one.

Take a stroll around Bologna with me HERE.

so you know it's got soul

I was really touched by the generosity of the Herranz family on my recent trip to Bologna. One of their acts of generosity was to find me a lovely place to stay, in Theresa's apartment. An apartment filled with all sorts of interesting stuff. All sorts of curiosities. Just the right place for somebody whose imagination is fired up by such things.

I haven't drawn a thing for about a month. This is just a little something to ease me back into it.

I'm also going to use this as Everyday Matters challenge 21. Draw something old, antique or vintage. You can see the rest of my Everyday Matters set HERE.

in a foreign land

Hey, folkies. Back from my trip. It's late and I'm very very tired. I just wanted to say Hi. I'll wade through all the photos I've taken (lots of photos) and fill you in on all the news over the next couple of days. And, I shall endeavour to reply to all the comments and emails. Thanks for all the encouraging words.

As I, myself, have not got around to any drawing, I thought I'd post this piece of gorgeousness. (I'm talking about the drawing not the model!). It's me, by the way. Me, by the amazingly talented illustrator, and friend of mine, Miguel Herranz.

like some kind of magic

Well, guys, I'm going to shut up shop for a week. I had been hoping to squeeze a cheeky one in(drawing, that is) before leaving for the Bologna Chilren's Book Fair, but that isn't going to happen. In fact I don't think I've drawn since finding out I'd been selected! I'm so excited about this trip. In fact, I feel really excited about things in general right now. It feels like something is happening, I don't know what. Some kind of shift.

My very favourite illustrated children's book is called The Red Tree by Shaun Tan. I've bought so many copies of this book for people (never for a child, though!) over the years. There cannot be another person on this planet who has bought as many copies of this book than me. It's beautiful and perfect. I can't recommend it enough.

Anyway, the reason I'm telling you this because when I was perusing the list of selected illustrators for Bologna 2009, for the millionth time, whose name do you think I found? Yeah. Shaun Tan. Only Shaun Tan. Me and Shaun Tan on the same list. My life is complete.

Some years ago, before I began blogging and drawing daily, I entered a drawing into a competition at the Sheffield Book Festival. You had to draw a character from a children's book. I won the competition, and amongst the prizes was a signed Quentin Blake book. The book is called Angel Pavement and is about a drawing competition! The book ends with this line, that never ever fails to make me feel totally utterly warm and fuzzy inside;

You can't though, can you?

Bye, folks. I'll try and post some photos from Bologna over the next week. And, maybe, I'll draw soon, too. Cheerio, my ducks.

all the weaving of my dreams

Well, sorry to leave you hanging like that. I've been a little busy. And, I've been struggling with this drawing. It's been a love hate relationship. I've given up on it a couple of times, then I've given in and worked on it some more, then finally, after a couple of weeks, I finished it. It's another drawing from, erm, 'my book' (!). Which is another reason I've been away for so long - getting ready for Bologna. Yikes, folks, it's getting close.

So, click on the drawing to get a better view. Go on, stick your beaks in.

a song for you

I've always thought that this drawing would make a good Father's Day card. Or, a card, in general, for dads. Doesn't have to be a specific occasion. I just think it's an appropriate image. Which I'm sure many of us can relate to.

Happy Birthday, Dad.