in the dead of night

This was going to be a quick simple drawing of all my black shoes. Quick. Simple. My arse.

and the rain came crashing down

Just like cups of tea, when it comes to Moleskines I always have two on the go. The first one is almost finished, and is the one I shamelessly plug by always adding a link. The second doesn't often make an appearance as it is more of an ideas book, full of quotes, doodles, lyrics, thoughts, etc. Now and again, however, a page will start off as a doodle and grow into a finished piece - of sorts. That's what happened here. I drew the figure (that's me, by the way) on a page that already contained some crappy doodles. I don't often draw figures that I am happy with, so as I'd finally drawn one that I liked I wanted to post it. I messed around with what was on the rest of the page. Then messed around some more. I also took inspiration from me old mucker Pete Scully. I love the way he uses text in his drawings.

So, here goes; a shameless plug for a set of drawings from my spare Moleskine. Just one more thing; does my bum look big in this?

foot soldier

Well, this drawing isn't exactly rocking my world but it's one page closer to finishing this Moleskine. I am desperate to finish it and to start the new one. Seriously, desperate. I have an idea, a concept, for the next one but more of that another time.

After creating a highly laboured drawing like the one in the last post(s) I always feel totally wiped out. So it's a good time to do something simple. Basically, a little colouring in. To me it seems like I've spent the last couple of years drawing shoes and socks. Turns out I' haven't actually drawn that many. See the whole set of foot furniture HERE.

in a moment, in a single moment

I'm calling this one done. When I started this drawing, and posting it step by step, I said that I had no idea where it was going. I must admit that was not completely true. I actually believed that what I was doing was taking THIS 'air mail' drawing out of my sketchbook and reworking it onto paper. So throughout, as I was laying down the layers of blue ballpoint, in the back of my mind I was expecting to make the final post the one where I'd change the whole mood of the drawing by adding the red. However, the drawing had a mind of it's own and took me somewhere else completely.

I can't tell you how much I love that. How a drawing, or creative practice in general, makes you the passenger on a journey. I've been wondering at what point this one changed direction, from the original idea. Where it turned down a side street. It could have been the slight turquoise-y colour of one of the ballpoints that changed things. It could have been the mood I was in or the music I was listening to. It could have been the calling card that came through the door or the hair band I found. Of course, it was all those things.

I don't know how I feel about the finished piece. I think it's over worked. I'm really annoyed about the shade of blue that I made the shadow in the bottom right hand corner. But hell, right now I want to post it and move on to the next one. 'Cause right now it's telling me it's done. Finished. Finito.

(I also promise I've finished with the Paul Weller references. Now where's that Joni lyric book....)

the story is still unfolding

So, I did think that the last post was the penultimate stage in the life of this drawing, but I still haven't quite finished. I know it probably looks like it was overdone about three posts ago, but this drawing keeps on going. It's the drawing that just keeps on giving. So if you haven't lost the will to live, and would like to see the finished thing, then come ye back.

push it along

I'm not even sure if you can actually see the difference between this and the last post. It may be subtle, but this is the point where I have to stop the cross hatching. It's the point where I need to start putting the detail in. And, it's the point where I'm starting to think that this is a rubbish drawing and that I shouldn't have done this step by step thingy because now I have to post the final drawing whether I like it or not.

where'er you go

Still not quite sure where the pen is taking me but that's alright. It's really alright.

you made up my mind for me

I hadn't planned to do this work in progress thingy, but there's a time and place for everything. And this is one of those times. I guess that these many layered drawings are just right for showing that step by step process. And, of course, it means I get lots of posts out of the one drawing. Just what you need when you're going through a dry spell. So, you see, my mind was made up for me. So easily.

where i'm heading, i don't know

Drawing is still not coming easily to me. I sit here every night desperately wanting to draw, but feeling unable to pick up my sketchbook. The blank page is so difficult to be with. I've tried riding it out. Tried looking for inspiration. Yesterday, I simply forced myself to put pen on paper. It's a start.

and changes into

I've been trying to get this Moleskine finished before beginning the next one. I know if I don't do it that way I'll never finish it. There are a couple of pages in it that I just couldn't live with. So, I decided to cover them up with a little collage. Collage and drawing, of course. This idea evolved from a drawing that I did in Suzanne's Moleskine for the MoleyX12 group. You can see more about that HERE. And, yes they are REAL stamps. I ain't that good.

(All bugs died of natural causes)

the spider of time

I think I have found the cure for the drawing bug that's been going around. What you need to do is go to the hospital. Really. That's what I did this week. I went to the hospital. Cardiff Children's Hospital to be precise. It is the first, and only, children's hospital in Wales. I donated a couple of drawings, this is one and you can see the other HERE. Just to be a tiny little part of this amazing place makes me feel a whole lot better. Or is that humbled?

desperado

These are a couple of drawings I did a some time back, but decided not to post. Frankly, I wouldn't be posting them now if I had anything else to share. Do you find that sometimes a day, or a week, can have a theme running through it? Today the theme, for me, was books. Books, books, books. Which is another reason for digging out these two old drawings. I started the day clearing out my bookshelves and I'll end it by sharing these two books with you.

cold moments

I don't want to keep harping on about drawing funks, but I've had yet another frustrating week. I have realised what the trouble is. A friend of mine always says that I am 'a bubbling cauldron of creativity', and I have to admit that is a good description of how I feel. Usually the ideas are coming through so thick and fast that I don't always have time to catch them. The ones I do grab are added to a list that's as long as my arm. The last few weeks that hasn't been happening. Even my list looks uninspiring and I wonder whatever made me think they were good ideas in the first place. I am looking at things and willing them to become subjects. Forcing them, in fact.

The good news is, though, last night I lay awake until the early hours (or is that late hours?) as ideas and potential drawings refused to let me sleep. Now I just need to find my butterfly net.

tangerine dream

I still haven't completed a drawing in the last week, I've lost my...erm...*cough*...drawing bug. But, when I was making my last post, and uploading the photos, I remembered this little drawing (above) that I did quite sometime ago. I didn't post it back then because it just looked so small and, er, pathetic (this being less harsh on myself is going very well).

It is one of the colour boxes you can see in the photos from the last post. The orange one. Obviously. I'm also posting the red and green ones -which you may have seen before - so that little orange one doesn't feel so lonely (and pathetic).

These container were all from the Body Shop and once were filled with their gorgeous body butters. From top to bottom; tangerine, pomegranate and avocado. The smell still lingers too, which is a nice surprise when you open the box. I wish this blog was Scratch and Sniff because these drawings smell gorgeous.

that's where you'll find me

Well, there's no new drawing on the horizon so I thought I'd post a few snaps. Yes, basically, I've been buggering around with the camera again. These are my new ready-made Moo cards. I usually spend hours, on the Moo site, uploading and cropping the images. So it was very nice not to have to do that this time.

Ok, so it doesn't quite line up, but it's not bad for a one (shaky) handed photographer. Don't be jealous of my beautifully manicured nails. No, don't.

I have actually drawn those buttons about 3 or 4 times already, and you know what, I ain't finished with them yet. You can see the orange, green and red boxes, that hold collections of tiny orange, green and red things, behind the Moo card. And you thought I made this stuff up, didn't you? Nope, I really am that anal.

Finally, ONE of my pencil cases. The colour ballpoint pencil case. Obviously. Brightens the place up a bit, don't you think? Anyway, you can see the full set of snaps featuring my Moos in all sorts of compromising positions HERE.

You know, the internet is the best thing that's ever happened to recluses.