waiting for this moment to arise

Okay, so page two of the classified ads (above), that will appear in my upcoming zine, is finished Done and dusted. If you have bought some space a big thanks. I hope you like your ad. The last page (below) is almost complete. After fitting in all the ads I have a little space left. Three ad boxes to be precise. If you click on the drawing you can see the space. If you would like to purchase that space then you can; HERE. I will be finishing this drawing in the next day or two so please be quick.

By the way, Wil, don't worry that's not your ad!

what you see sets you apart

I've been meaning to visit A Month of Sundays gallery by Pete McKee since it opened a year, or so, ago.Last Saturday I finally did.

Pete's work was brought to my attention by a series of coincidences which is always the best way to discover something new, I find. I loved it immediately. Whilst our styles are miles apart I think we have a lot in common. Both children of the 1970s housing estates, I relate to his humour and obsession with music.

His work seems to stand alone, it's very distinctive and individual. His little gallery is really very smart. If you are in Sheffield it is well worth a visit.

Before leaving the city I also got time to make this drawing from my car. I would probably have passed this restaurant by without giving it a second look but my car was parked on the hill opposite it. I'd never have noticed it's loveliness. I bet it hasn't changed since the 80s. 70s even. I do like that kind of thing.

As I've said recently, I'm still finding my feet with this on location kind of drawing. Finding my feet in lots of ways. As I get more comfortable with these black pens I am beginning to think about adding colour. I like the results in this one. What do you think?

inbetween tonight and my tomorrow

So, as it says in the drawing, these are the pens that I am currently using in my new sketchy Moleskine.

The second from the left used to be my most favourite pen ever. It's so fine and inky (no, I'm not sure what I meant by that either). Unfortunately my beloved Pilot G-Tec is being relegated to the subs bench these days. A couple of reasons for that a) it is not waterproof and b) it is most definitely not lightproof.

You might remember that I did a huge amount of work with the sepia, or brown, Pilot G-tec. In fact, I dedicated an entire Moleskine to that pen (see it HERE). And, a whole load of my favourite sepia drawings besides. So here's my question; could anyone tell me of an alternative. A brown fine liner that IS light resistant. I'd appreciate it muchly. Cheers.

that is where i'll be

So, here's the first of the advertising pages completely finished. Well, apart from the mysterious secret message, that is. I've loved drawing these pages. Taking your ideas and making them into little adverts has been a whole load of fun.

I'm just putting the finishing touches to the other classifieds, they'll be blogged shortly. Thanks to all who bought their advertising slots. The funds will help towards getting this zine printed. And, as ever, thanks for your patience.

Y'all know the drill by now; click on the image to see it in detail, and to read the (end of the)story that made front page of the Bugle.

see where that road goes

Last Saturday I attended my very first sketch crawl, with the Sheffield sketchrawling group, at the stunning Yorkshire Sculpture Park. Up until quite recently I've been a reluctant public sketcher, but, these days I seem to be losing some of these hang ups. I have begun to, as Dr. Phil would say, 'get over myself'.

I enjoyed the day immensely. It was great to hang out with people who love drawing as much as I do. You know, other nerds (ha!). A highlight of the day was to be out sketching with the brilliant Lynne Chapman, who's work I have followed, online, for a couple of years. Her drawings are as fabulous in the flesh as they are on screen.

A shout out to some of the talented other folk I met too; Sian Hughes, Bryn Hughes (there really was a strong Welsh contingent for a Sheffiled based group), Matthew Midgley and Julie Clay. It's so interesting to see what other people chose to draw, and the different ways that they tackled the subjects. Take a look at their blogs for some other views of the Park.

For me I feel like I'm scratching away at this kind of drawing. It's so new. I feel I'm still looking for my voice (cheesy, I know - I watch a lot of daytime tv). Plus, there other things I'm yet to work out; what kind of pens should I be working with?; what kind of paper should I use and what size should it be?; do I want to add colour or not? It's thrown up loads of new questions. Questions that only I can answer, and I am so looking forward to finding the answers. I cannot wait for our next outing.

Next post; finished Classified Ads. I promise!

oh tonight oh tonight

I'm just rounding up the last couple of drawings for the next zine. I'm looking forward to getting a new one printed. It's been a long time.

The 'classified ads' drawings (see last post) are just about finished and I'll try to post them by the end of the week. So, if you've bought some advertising space come back to see your hand illustrated ads. In the meantime I leave you with this craziness. Who knows what I'm ranting on about in this drawing. It's very late at night, the time of night when you shouldn't really be allowed a pen and paper and a blog.

as the dawn breaks over roof slates

I don't really like to clog up my blog with the same stuff, I like to give you visitors some variety. However, I'm working on a number of labour intensive drawings at the moment, these included. They are almost there. My next post will be the completed versions. So, if you've purchased advertising space, but do not see your ad yet, hang fire. They'll be along shortly.

People seem to like these step by step processes, though. In the past I've made a few such posts. To see my other step by steppers take a look HERE. I always think that this set is best viewed on slideshow.

I've said before, coincidentally in my last ballpoint zine, that one of the many things I love about the creative process is the way it surprises you. Sometimes, I feel, I have no idea where an idea comes from, but if you just trust yourself, and your pen, then it seems to unfold in front of your very eyes. I'm loving how these pieces have this bird theme. I have no idea why or how, but I'm loving it.
One last thing, have YOU seen the bird girl? I need to know.

tonight the streets are ours

It's really rubbish when your holiday ends, isn't it?

Here are some of the sketchbook spreads that I made on my recent stay cation. I'm enjoying drawing, in this way, so much at the moment. I was never really interested in journalling before, but I am now hooked. It has surprised me.

I was also surprised by how willing my visitors have been about adding their little drawings to my book. I though they'd put up a fight when I asked them to contribute. But no.

Oh, I don't want to go back to work tomorrow.

climb onto your seahorse

Spot the difference.

I'm still not sure if my extra work on this drawing improved it but I like it all the same. These are my favourite kind of drawings. Getting lost in all the little jewels and treasure. I could have filled the whole page. But, even up to this point, it must have taken over twenty hours. And, I've got other jewels and treasures to find.

This drawing is now for sale on Etsy HERE.

you've found some better place

Well, I guess like most of this country, I feel in shock right now. I'm not even sure how to express that anger, and the sadness, so I'll just keep on drawing.

It's all about the black pen at the moment. I'm finding it difficult to put it down.

This is another drawing from the graphic novel idea I have. The rest of the drawings from that book can be seen HERE. Anyone like to take a guess on what it's about?

turns the flicker to a flame

There is less than a week of my exhibition left, folks. If you are in the area (a long shot, I know) then GO SEE IT!

I feel a little sad that it will be ending, but so happy that I have had my first solo exhibition. It has been nothing but a positive experience, and the response has been amazing. I was there last Friday, doing a 'Meet the Artist' afternoon. While there I got the chance to do a bit of sketching at the Gallery. I'm getting a bit braver about doing that kind of thing these days. It seemed fitting to sketch one of the display cabinets that I'd set up at the exhibition. They are filled, to the brim, with the things that I have drawn over the years - and will continue to draw in the future. Amongst all the bits and pieces I have planted some of my Moleskine sketchbooks. Unfortunately, they can only be open on one page each! These are the ones in this cabinet;

Pens drawn in a Moleskine Diary.

Buttons from my sepia themed Moleskine

And a drawing about the rain, or trying to keep out of the rain, from my Spare Moleskine.

So, if you do happen to be in the area, please pop into the Buxton Museum and Gallery and check out my exhibition.

we took the town to town last night

For the first four years of blogging I was mainly a recluse. Which meant I had a lot of time to draw. But, the last six months have been a lot more hectic on the social front. So, no longer am I just juggling work and drawing, but also trying to fit in invitations to sophisticated soirees like this one.

Click on drawing to view.

it could be

I don't know about you other creative types, but sometimes I have no idea where drawings come from. There are clues and there are all of those things that have been stored away in that long term memory box marked 'for future use'. But, then there are other drawings where you can recall every little road, and side street, you walked down to get to it. This is one of them. This is the story of where this drawing came from;

1970s films - I love a good old 70s film. I don't care what they are about. I'll just watch them for the styling; the clothes, the homes, the decor, the design of the day. As long as they are drenched in corduroy, big flowery prints and bri-nylon I'm happy. I've actually sat through about three series of Man About the House (British 70s sitcom) just to get a better glimpse of the three prints they had on their kitchen wall (one was a green pepper). The other evening I watched a film from the 70s, in which the main character had her own advertising agency. In the background I caught a glimpse of some seed packets that the agency had designed. I immediately felt inspired.

Classic French typography - I love those classic French style fonts; from Bistro signs to wine bottles. I've been doing a bit of research for an invitation I am designing, for an upcoming dinner party, and I've gone down the French route. I ADORE the Metropolitan typography and have been practicing it.

Art Nouveau - I've also been researching (Googling) a lot of Art Nouveau stuff recently. Just for my own amusement. I love everything about it from the architecture, art and, again, the typography.

1960s and 70s recipe books - I've written about my love of these books before. It's the first thing I look for in a charity shop. In fact, I go in charity shops to look for them specifically. I have a rather lovely collection. They are always bought for the drawings although sometimes I'll dig them out for a mung bean and brown rice salad recipe.

Sweetcorn - one of my all time favourite veg. I bought this corn on the cob the other day. As I was choosing it I was thinking about how pretty it was.

So, there's the story of a drawing. And, the story of my life over the last few days.

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.