i get away

Some more pages from this new Moleskine sketchbook, in which I am teaching myself to draw. It's really hard to get out of some habits, right? To leave your comfort zone and all of those other cliches. The drawings above are from the first full spread in this book. I couldn't give up on the those things I'm always drawing. Little things; the buttons, the tags, the scissors, the stamp.

But, I'm not learning from that. So, I'll keep on pushing myself in other directions. Cos that is the point of this sketchbook; no pencils, no perfect neat drawings, no same old same old.

And as each page goes by I feel I am letting go a little. As I become a bit more confident of drawing things that scare me. And there's a real sense of achievement in drawing something you would have previously avoided and it turning out okay.

Yeah, there are some that turn out pretty rubbish, but they always seem to be the ones I've overthunk.

my deep shade

So, when I made the colour ballpoint pen drawing for the Pen Addicts pen review, a few days ago, I knew I hadn't finished with them. I made my first drawing of colour pens 4 and a half years ago. I'm surprised that I haven't revisited this subject since then. Yeah, I've drawn loads of pens but not the colour ballpoints. Yet, they are the most delectable of subject matter. And, I am still not finished. In this drawing, I really like the parts where two pens, and two colours, meet. I want to continue playing with that and pushing to see where it can take me. And my pens.

This drawing is for sale HERE.

looking from a window above

Damn, it's good to be working in a Moleskine again. Most of my Moleys are in the display cabinets at my exhibition, but I kept a couple aside. I knew that I couldn't go three months without feeling that gorgeous cream paper, smelling those covers and (oh yeah) drawing in them.

This is another spread from the graphic novel idea that I'm working on. I have the story and now I'm just trying to bring those ideas to life through drawings. I'm most excited about this idea (I can't think of another word for 'idea'), hopefully, one day a publisher will be too. There's a couple more drawings from this story HERE.

ringing home so true

Here's a little something I've been working on, and meaning to do, for some time now. I've put a pen review on the Pen Addict's fabulous site. When it came to it there was only one way for me to do a pen review - draw it!

Check out my ballpoint review HERE and don't forget to bookmark that wonderful site (I say 'bookmark it' like I know what that means). I hope this will be the first of many reviews I do for the Pen Addict. I already have the next one penned (sorry) out in my mind.

I must say that it seems that pens have become my new shoes; in that I seem to be drawing lots and lots of them. I ADORED doing this drawing. I just loved drawing these pens, so I'm most definitely finished with them yet. It's also for sale HERE.

they're all wasted

A new oldie up for sale on Etsy. Take a look HERE.

It seems crazy that I made this drawing four years ago. I remember drawing it so vividly. I remember I was watching The Who at Glastonbury and wishing I was there. I love looking at a drawing and seeing all those memories.

rollin' over

Thought I'd give you a little update on the Jane Austen book that I illustrated last year, as I'm often asked about it. Jack and Alice is currently being printed in Portuguese by a Brazilian publisher. I'll update again when it is released. Unfortunately, no news on an English version yet, which is crazy to me. Because, with all those Andrea Joseph fans out there I'm sure it would sell. I believe Jane Austen has a few fans herself, too!

some of them like to tell a story that is long and old

I thought that I'd finished this drawing about three days ago, but I added a little more today. I say that I added a 'little more' when, in fact, what I actually mean is that I've spent probably another five or six hours on it. Believe it or not it had started out as quite a minimalist piece!

Plus, now that I see it on screen I can see a couple of places where I'd like to add something else. To make the composition flow more freely. But, for tonight, I am putting it down. And giving my mince pies a rest.

please be kind if i'm a mess

Some of the black and red ballpoints I am currently using. Simple as that, really.
You know the drill; click on the drawing to read all the nonsense that was going through my head while creating this one. Actually, I haven't actually read it myself. Now that's a worry.

This drawing is also for sale. You can buy it HERE.
Cheers, my dears.

in between tonight and my tomorrows

A few posts ago I told you about how I'd swapped the childish purse I'd been carrying around for the ever so grown up owl purse on the left. The childish purse in question was the cat one on the right. When my friend saw my new purse she said "so now you've had an owl and a pussycat". Then we both looked at each other and said "now, THAT would be a good drawing".

I don't know if it's any good, but I do know that these pair are the most delicious of subjects to draw. I love all the patterns and textures. And, I'm not sure that I've finished with them yet.

this is the modern world

There's always something, isn't there? You feel like you are just catching up, you are getting somewhere, then BAM! something else breaks down or leaks or cracks and you have another bill to fork out for. Today a tyre on my car went. It's irreparable so I have to scratch around for more pennies, and as I've already retrieved all the money down the back of the sofa it's back to the drawing box.
September 2007

July 2011

Whilst rummaging through the box I found these two drawings. I made them about three or four years ago. Oh, er, yep, that would be September 2007 to be precise (yeah, funnily enough, I am blonde). Back then I hadn't yet found my drawing 'voice'. I was still looking. I hadn't worked out how to get the most out of my tools, in this case colour pencils and ballpoints. I didn't know how to achieve the textures that I now can. So seeing these drawings again, with time between us, I could not resist playing around with them; touching them up and giving them the AJ 2011 treatment.
September 2007

July 2011

And, yes, I am putting them up for sale. The 2011 versions. You can buy them, and contribute to a new tyre, HERE.