looking for the new world

I don't know what's going on with me, but I almost like the work I've been making recently. This, I think, is my all time favourite drawing. By me. Moi. AJ. That's it really. Hope you like it too.

once i thought i saw you

Yeah, this might look familiar. I did something similar, very similar, in a sketchbook some time ago. Yesterday I just wanted to draw. Just draw, from observation. I didn't want to think about what I was drawing. I just wanted to look at what I was drawing. Just look.

I'm also calling this Everyday Matters challenge 164. Which is draw a camera. Obviously.

Buy this drawing HERE.

so may i introduce to you

Ok, I'm pretty excited about this. It is, I have to say, my most favouritest piece of work I've ever come up with. And, there's hardly a drawing in sight! But, if I tell you I am a mad Peter Blake fan it might just explain why I love it SO much.

The response I got to the call for stamps has already stunned me, and they keep on coming in. Originally, I only needed them to fill up this - the inner cover of my travel Moleskine. But I'm loving them so much that I've already started another big mad drawing collage incorporating them. To those who have sent me stamps, if you can't see yours in this one, keep tuned in. Because this could be just the start of a new stamp based obsession.

Thanks for helping me out guys. I knew I could rely on you.

and i can't hold on, through my fingers she's gone

Recently, I read on one of the drawing blogs (sorry, I can't remember whose, but if it's you let me know and I'll link you here) that you never really get to know a subject until you've drawn it 100 times. I can relate to that. I know that confidence you get from drawing a subject over and over.

So, last week, while I was housebound, I decided to tackle a different subject, instead of my usual still life. I drew my cat 130 times in a couple of days. As you do. Just rough quick sketches.

I also conducted a highly sophisticated survey on how my cat spends it's time (it would be too technical for you lot to grasp so I won't go into it here). The results were;

sleeps 90%
washes/grooms 9%
eats 0.5%
goes outside 0.5%

(I was going to draw a pie chart of the results, but then I realised how ridiculous this would be.)

Anyway, back to the drawing project.
I'm really happy with the results. At the beginning the sketches were tentative and a little nervous, this is right out of my comfort zone, but I think you can see the confidence growing throughout. I can definitely say I'm now quite confident at drawing sleeping and washing cats.

I couldn't post all of the sketches. As, it would have been the most gigantic post known to man. So I've just posted some of my favourites. But you can see the full set HERE on Flickr. If, of course, you are interested.

Another note on this recession. I'm finding that I'm so much less wasteful (is that a word?). I used to spend so much money on pens, art supplies, pens and more pens. I have pencil cases full of unused pens. For this project I dug out pens that I'd never even used before. And, an old practice pad that would never have seen the light of day if I wasn't so poor.

Here's that link again to the FLICKR SET.

find yourself waiting just to fly fly fly

Click on drawings to view and read. Actually it's probably better that you don't.
A couple more spreads from my travel themed Moleskine. More nonsense that I find flows quite freely out of my pen. I never read this stuff back. I can't sleep if I'm close to finishing a drawing, and as I put the words in last, it usually means I'm writing them late at night. Very late. Which is why it rarely makes sense. You can see the set, so far, HERE.

i'll be whistling down the street

Click on drawing to view.

There's one thing to be said for swine flu and not being able to leave the house; there's bugger all else to do but draw. Five days it's been now. Five days of having to stay in, and no end in sight yet. And, I'm running out of Nutella.

Still, despite the sore throat, the hacking cough and having no energy to even get out of the chair, I look at what I created here, in a couple of days, and feel quite excited by that prospect.

hanging without a cloud

This drawing was never really going anywhere. So, as I have nothing else to show, I'm posting it half finished. I could have worked on it some more, but I know that it would be a pointless task. I think this is probably the best it's ever going to look. Which ain't great. But, there we go. Win some lose some. It does have one moment that I particularly like, though. The finished key on the left. Hmmm. I kinda like that.