cat studies

 Recently I've got into the habit of doing a little sketch before bed. I've always been a late night creative, I cannot go to bed if I haven't drawn at least a little something or other. But a theme has emerged, as it so often does.

 I have a little sketchbook that I'd sort of given the theme 'cats and dogs', but, as usual, I'd only filled in a few pages. Then, So I dug it out again and began doing a little drawing of my old cat each night. I wanted to do something that was 'live' (not that you'd notice) instead of still life. I've done more than enough still life, from around my house, in my time.

The old girl is really getting on now (by that I mean she is ancient) and does little but sleep. I wish I'd started this earlier.

 There was a time, back in 2009, when I drew her 100 times in just a couple of days (you can see the results of that project HERE) but since then haven't really taken the time to draw her. Until now.

 So, here she is taking a well earned rest after a gruelling grooming session.

 And, her being annoyed about me putting a sketchbook and camera in her face.

 I've also been playing around with collage, just for shits and giggles, recently. So here she is sleeping in collage.

I love those feet.

And, if you did follow the link to the project I did when she was a lot younger, it turns out that here daily routine wasn't that much different back then. 

thank you

Just wanted to say a quick Thank You to everyone who has bought from my shop recently. And, actually, not so recently. A Thank You to any one who has bought from my shop ever. I guess I don't say it often enough, but I really really appreciate it. It is the difference between me drawing for a living and not.

All the recent orders are now in the mail/post.

Thank you thank you thank you.

Rolling Over

A couple of drawings that I made a little while back.

Originally, I made a similar one for the branding and logo of a yarn shop.

 I think 'yarn' is what the serious knitters call wool.

But, I have no clue. I don't knit.

 I just draw.

 I really enjoyed this subject matter though. That's why I made a couple more drawings when I'd finished the job. There's something quite abstract about these. And calming.

I guess that's what both knitting and drawing does. It calms us down.

They are also both for sale in my shop HERE. Plus, there's 20% OFF all originals and prints until the end of the week.

a thought for Sunday

A thought for Sunday.

Surround yourself with art.

Art that you love.

It doesn't have to be expensive, or high end. Or even high taste.

It may be a load of kitsch you found at a charity shop.

It may be your postcard/flyer/stuff you cut out of a magazine collection.

It doesn't matter.

As long as you like it, that's all that matters

Just surround yourself with it.

Put it up, where you can see it. Put it up everywhere.

Because it'll become part of your own work.

And, I don't mean copy it or even try to emulate it. Don't bother. You don't need to. Just let it be.

Trust that, just by being there, it will seep into your work. Without you knowing, it'll become part of you and your style. Just by being there. I love that. I love knowing that.

how to draw an idle daydream

Here's a little zine bundle I've put together. These three zines are all about the drawing, and are currently on offer.

'How To Draw Like A Barmpot' is from my How to Draw With A Ballpoint Pen series of zines. The first two in the series have now sold out. This one focuses on drawing from your imagination. It includes lots of ideas to get your own imagination working. Limited stock.

 'An Idle Daydream' is a collection of blogposts that is also a little pen guide. I talk about a few of my favourite pens in this zine.

'Molezine 2' is a mini version of one of my sketchbooks. It contains eight of my favourite drawings from my travel themed Moleskine sketchbook. And it's small enough to be popped into the pocket at the back of your own Moleskine sketchbook. Very limited stock.

You can now get all three together, on offer, HERE. Perfect for anyone who loves to draw.
Thanks for visiting my little blog, folks.

urban sketching and beyond

Last year I created the illustrations for a children's book called Towers Falling. My drawings were meant to be the drawings created by one of the main characters, a boy called Ben. Just thought I'd show the process from my urban/observational sketches to the final illustration.

 As soon as I got the brief I knew (in my head) what I wanted the sketchbook pages to look like. I'd spent a good couple of years filling up these small cheap sketchbooks with quick drawings of buildings and people. Mainly people. These pages were my starting point.

I really liked the layout of the one above, with the different size faces.

I also wanted all the people, to be authentic; to be people that I'd sketched from life, on trains, planes and in cafes.

The brief here, was to illustrate a couple of Ben's sketchbook spreads, that he'd made of commuters on the subway. I chose this girl, above, to begin with - mainly because it was one of my favourite observational sketches. It's so much easier when they're asleep.

Starting with her, I then worked in the other characters around her, filling up Ben's sketchbooks with characters from my own (get's confusing, doesn't it?).

 A few friends, and people I sketch with, ended up becoming people on the subway too. And, I squashed another girl, from one of my favourite train sketches, below, in on the bottom left. Sure, it's not exactly like her, but that's why we have our artistic licenses.

I love how these random people have made their way into the story. I find myself creating whole new characters for them, as I draw them commuting on the New York subway. They take on a whole new life, out there in the world.

Urban sketching, observational drawing, whatever you want to call it is something I do to improve my skills. I don't associate myself, or my work, with a specific genre or group. I don't consider myself as an 'Urban Sketcher', it's just something I do a lot of. But, it's just a part of my work. I like the way I've embroidered it into my book illustrations here. I like taking it a step further.
Dunno why. Just do.

why i went missing

I've been spending a lot of time here recently. It was why I went missing, from this blog, for a few months earlier in the year. I've been at The Links. It's an apartment block in New York. On Lexington Avenue to be precise. The tenants are so damn weird. And intriguing. And that's why I couldn't leave. I've been sat in Apartment 24 studying them all. I'll tell you more about them some day.

the reasons i love ink

The reasons I love ink (part 1)

This

This

 This

Oh, and this

And all of this.

late at night, when the world is dreaming

No matter how much I try to change (and believe me, I've tried everything) I'll always be a night owl. I just love working at that time of night/morning. It seems that at any given time, I'll have a million and one ideas, never focusing on one and seeing it through, swimming through my head too. In last night's midnight creativity session I was playing around with the idea of making a pop-up sketchbook filled with upside-down portraits of women who have left their mark on this world and on me. I know, I know, it's just so predictable. Everyone, and their mother, is at the pop-up-sketchbook-of-upside-down-drawings-of-inspirational-creative-women thing, right?  Erm, oh, just me then?

For the love of Tove

No. No. No cat. Not on my drawing of Tove Jansson.

Oh, you are.

a new affair

Recently I've had this urge. An itch to scratch. I just cannot get enough of colour. Specifically watercolour. It coincided with the landscape stuff I've been doing (in my last couple of posts), and has pretty much taken over all of my work.

 I've always known that urge would come knocking on my door one day. My watercolour set has been patiently sat there, like a book that you're really excited to read, that's been in the pile of books by the side of your bed, just waiting for it's time to come.

 I'm not impatient about stuff like that. I totally believe that you shouldn't try something because it's the thing to do, or cos everyone else is doing it or because it's there. I wait.

 Until I really really want to do it. Until I have no choice in the matter.

 Now, you see, I LOVE ink. I am head over heels with it, but lets face it, ink is a pain in the ass. It's a pain to take out. It's high maintenance. I'm not talking about just taking out one colour, that's fine, but if you want a full palette it's just an impractical pain in the butt. And, believe me I tried to make it work.

 So, after a year of juggling dip pens and three or four bottles of ink on a street corner, or scrubbing the table at your regular café because you'd spilled the bulletproof black ink, again, the watercolour set caught my eye.

 Sure it isn't quite as dramatic as Mr Ink, he's more subtle, but, you know, more reliable. True, he's not as intense either, but, you get twelve colours in one set and he doesn't leak all over your bag. And, anyway, I'm kinda enjoying his subtle flatter tones. Plus, it doesn't show you up in your local café.

Yes, I have started falling for watercolours.

 I haven't got a clue what I'm doing yet, but I don't care. The fun bit is finding out where this new affair will go. And, if that turns out to be nowhere that's okay too. I'll have new stuff in my locker.

I've always loved monochrome drawings but it feels liberating to not be tied to that black line.

Prints of my new landscapes now in my Etsy shop

(sorry to be peddling my wares but I have bills to pay. Lots of bills).