all the people at these parties

I am fiercely competitive at boardgames.

all that is mine is in my hands

I have shaky hands. People often say to me when they see my work "you must have a steady hand" when in fact the opposite is true. I have to warm up when I start drawing. I have wondered whether this is where my cross-hatching techniques come from; because drawing a clean line is not always easy I tend to go over the line a few times to correct it. Of course, there are drawings that I have created that are quite clean and simple - my cats, umbrella and Birkenstocks come to mind - but they are rare. I was really nervous when I made those drawings. One shake in the wrong place and it could have ruined them.

in my life

I always feel like I am looking for the key.

Literally and metaphorically.

i'll have a cup of tea and tell you of my dreaming

I am a tea addict. I drink anything between ten and twenty cups of tea a day. Sometimes more. I start the day with a cup or two of black tea. Then go on to something kick-ass like green tea with earl grey or jasmine. In the afternoon I switch to more refreshing teas, especially citrus flavours, such as green tea with lemon or rose hip tea. Then in the evening I move on to more chill-out teas like mint or chamomile or licorice. When I'm at home I always have two cups on the go - one I'm drinking and another brewing. Basically, I chain drink tea.

So to reiterate; I quite like tea.

chasing dreams across the fields in the shadow of the sun

I was recently tagged by Nina, Nick and Juj. I thought I'd take it as a challenge. A drawing challenge. So here's number 1. During my twenties I spent a lot of time travelling and fruit picking to fund my travels. I have picked all these fruits and veggies at some point. In some place.

I always remember one evening, when I was working on an organic farm in stunning Camarthenshire, Wales. We were riding back to the yard on the back of a tractor as the sun was going down over the fields and hills. I had just been cutting or weeding a field of cabbages, working alongside some lovely people. I remember thinking this was the best job in the world. I still do.

This is the first time I've used some colour on a drawing in my Moleskine. I'm not sure that I like it actually.

can you tell what it is yet?

I take it that this is obvious? Sometimes you wonder. It's obvious to me -but then it would be. Does everybody see what you see? Does anybody see what I see? Hmmmm.

(night time is) the right time...

..for drawing cloves. Sorry, that was terrible. I was listening to Ray Charles whilst drawing it AND it did go on way into the night. Yes, it took hours. And hours. Still not sure about the composition. I can see areas where I could add a few more cloves but when do you stop?

I created this for Moleskine China's first birthday. I'm not sure how well it fits the birthday theme, but I like to think there's a party going on on the page. You'll need to click on the drawing to view it better. Excuse the hair on the scan - at least that's what I hope it is!

time off for good behaviour

I've been spending time drawing things I wouldn't normally draw. Here's another in my portraits of psychologists series. Still can't say I'm comfortable with this subject, but I'm enjoying the challenge. There is also something very interesting about drawing psychologists.

This is B.F.Skinner. He is of the behaviourist school of psychology. And HERE are a few photos of the man himself.

you wind me up, I'm a radio

A small wind-up radio from my bathroom.
My Moleskine (so far) HERE.

birthday boy

Here's a little drawing from one of my two children's books that are ready and waiting for a publisher. I'll post more on this later in the week, for there are more important matters at hand. Happy Birthday to my nephew Griff!! Hope you have a wonderful day lovely boy. I just wish I could be with you.

(The photo, above, is detail from the cutest card ever that I got for Griff. Unfortunately, I didn't draw it. It's by Petra Boase, I think I'm her new biggest fan.)

born to potter

I pottered around the house all day today - like I had nothing else to do! I would actually love to spend all my time pottering. I can't think of anything better. Apart from draw, that is. Drawing and pottering. A good day. Anyway, one of these drawings took around 15 minutes the other took considerably longer. Take a guess which is which.

Part of the pottering plan was I to have a clear out in the kitchen. Go through the cupboards. Throw out some of the herbs and stuff that were out of date. I found that that was about 95% of them. I reconsidered and decided that actually most of them may 'come in useful in the future'. Take these porcini, for example, I'll get at least one more drawing out of them.

"To me that's what art is about...

...when you don't really have any control over your desires to do it. " Noah Taylor.

To be frank I have no idea who Noah Taylor is. I was over at Ryan's place the other day and I saw this quote and I liked it. I was right in the middle of this drawing at the time and it just seemed to fit perfectly. I had no control over this drawing. I saw something completely different in my mind before I started it. This was not what it was meant to look like - but that's OK as I am happy with how it came out.

Diolch blaidd.

Dr. Freud, I presume?

Renewed respect for all portrait artists. It's the most difficult subject matter in the world! This is from a project that I've been working on (well, struggling with actually) and it's right out of my comfort zone. I gave up trying to do realistic and went for the old line-drawing-stylized type of thing. I still feel unsure about posting it especially as there are such great portrait artists out there. I feel like a bit of an impostor. This is a subject (portraits, not Freud) that I would really love to get better at. However I choose to draw inanimate objects as opposed to living breathing beings. I wonder what Dr. Freud would have to say about that.

right back at you sister!

A little while ago the brilliant France Belleville made a post that claimed I'd inspired her to draw her old Converse - after she'd seen a drawing of mine. Well, right back at you sister! I was inspired to draw my Birkenstocks after seeing this amazing pencil drawing of hers. Take a look at it here.

picture of guilt

I am really happy with the colours I've achieved in this drawing. However, I'm not sure about the composition. I drew around the purse to get the shape down onto the paper and now I wish I'd pushed the side in first. Damn.

I bought this purse specifically to draw. It was very very cheap. This kind of purchase always causes me a moral dilemma. Whilst I adore a bargain the guilt always creeps in. How can they make these things so cheap? Where was it made and by whom? Adult? child? How much were they paid? Were they paid? What were the conditions like? How much damage to the environment was caused just so I can get a bargain like this? Am I a bad person? Welcome to my world.