who do you love

This is the final page of my first ever Moleskine (the sepia one) finished. This drawing felt like going over old ground and was a real struggle. But, no surprises there. I'd put a few circles on the page a long time ago, and then left it at that. So, I was forced into continuing the badge theme. I always knew that the final page was going to be a real battle. I have issues with ending things.

Only one of these badges is a real actual badge from my actual badge collection. The rest are from my imaginary badge collection.

I have one more page of this Moleskine to share with you, and then I'm hoping to do a little something to celebrate fnishing it. More on that in the not too distant future.

some might say

Right guys, I promise, I PROMISE, this is the last you'll see of this drawing. I have no choice in the matter anyway, the the doodles are the only thing holding the paper together.

To anyone who fancies completing one of these step by step drawings, before the eyes of the world, it's really simple. Just follow these twelve easy steps;

Step one. I think I'll start a step by step drawing.
Step Two. Yeah, that's a good idea.
Step Three. Yes, I'm loving this.

Step four. I knew it was a good idea.

Step Five. Of course, now I'm committed to this.

Step Six. I couldn't just give it up now.

Step Seven. How long exactly have I been doing this?

Step Eight. Seriously.

Step Nine. I AM getting rather irritable now.

Step Ten. I'm losing the will to live.

Step Eleven. I'm considering murder.

Step Twelve. Finished. Thank f**k for that.

I have noticed that Illustration Friday's theme this week is 'Opinion'. So, as I finished this yesterday, I'm calling this my contribution. Some might say I should have given up on this drawing a long time ago. But as you can see I'm of the opinion - I mean the naughty kid who drew on desk is of the opinion -that it's better to burn out than fade away. Me and this drawing. Totally burnt out. Never again.

hung up

Finally. This print. Available. On Etsy. Find it HERE.

aware of the muse

Regular visitors may have noticed that I don't draw too many people. I find it quite a challenge. I am never happy with what turns up on the page. I do practice at it, though. Behind the scenes. I just don't share. But what the hell. So, here's John and Paul. Lennon and Weller, that is.

I have just finished the first sketchbook. These a couple of the better ones (I know, imagine the worse!). I know that when it comes to drawing people, photo realism is definitely not for me. So I tried out a technique I heard of on Danny Gregory's blog, some time ago. It's the one where you draw the portraits upside down. Not me, I wasn't upside down, silly. You turn the photo, that you are copying, upside down. It's really really good fun. So, even when the drawings turn out crap, at least you've had a good time.

out of the blue

From this;

To this;

For this;

You are probably sick to the back teeth of me drawing school desks, I know I am. But, I thought I'd share this with you. I was invited to contribute to this Urban Art exhibition by creating a piece of work on a piece of cardboard. It's all in aid of Cardboardshelter, a charity that raises funds for The Big Issue.

Drawing on cardboard was something of a revelation to me. I have only ever drawn on white or cream paper before. I loved using the brownish background, it has opened up host of possibilities, and is something I will do more of.

Oh, this is my 300th post! Surely, that can't be right?

hey hey my my

This weeks sees a couple of projects come to fruition for me. This is one I am particularly chuffed about. Yes, it's my drawings, on Moleskines! That can mean only one thing; I have joined the AMAZINGLY cool group of artists at the TOTALLY awesome (I've never actually said that word aloud. I am British, after all. It would sound ridiculous.) Modofly.

If you've never had the pleasure of visiting Modofly's site, and especially if you are a sketchbook or Moleskine junkie, I highly recommend you take a look around. There is some truly gorgeous work on there. And, if you are a regular on the drawing blog circuit, I'm sure you'll recognize some of the other artists.

Unfortunately, I was also going to begin budgeting this week. As, you can imagine, that has gone out of the window. I mean, my very own drawings on Moleskines. It's too much excitement to bear. Check 'em out HERE.

room for a little one

It's been one of those weeks where life just gets in the way of art. It's kind of depressing. In fact, all of the news, these days, seems so damn depressing. You can get really dragged down in all that. Especially if you are a glass half empty kind of person, like me.

I was thinking about this stuff yesterday, before settling down to Neil Young night on BBC4. Five hours of Neil. Documentary, film and, of course, music. I love Neil Young. He's a true artist. Yes, Neil Young makes me happy. Music makes me happy. BBC4 makes me happy (surely the greatest tv channel). The crackling fire on a chilly night and the cat curled up on my lap both make me happy. So it's not all that bad.

Moleskines make me happy too. As does a Japanese Moleskine dropping onto my doormat. It makes me happy that Gabi's little Moley fitted perfectly on the top of this composition. And, that there's still room for growth. Of course, the glorious work of MoleyX12 group makes me very happy. Drawing. Art. Art makes me very very happy.

So I'm now feeling much more cheerful just thinking about all of those things. Now I'm going to have to think of some sad stuff. 'Cos I'm only ever truly happy when I'm feeling blue.