sad eyes

This is the mother of the Russian doll family that my late grandpa bought for me, from a trip to Moscow, many years ago. Unfortunately the rest of her family is a little fractured. Some are half the people they used to be while others have completely lost their heads. Families, eh?

I really didn't want to post this as it's a bit rubbish. I'm in a right old drawing funk at the moment. I've had a very frustrating weekend. Even though I've been drawing and drawing I'm just not happy with any of it. She's the best of a bad bunch.

you've got the moon on your pyjamas...

...and the stars in your eyes.

(Everyday matters challenge #138, draw something soft.)

already one

1 year, 186 posts, 40,000(ish) visits, 7 sketchbooks, 2 Moleskines, 7 Pilot G-tec pens, 40 Everyday Matters challenges, 15 shoes, 12 purses, a squillion buttons and lots and lots of lovely friends. Thanks everyone for making this first year of blogging so amazing. I appreciate each and every visit and comment.

I know this sounds really dramatic but starting this blog, and drawing daily, has changed my life. It's made me focus on what I really want to do with my life and has been the best journey. Sometime ago I won a drawing competition and part of the prize was a signed Quentin Blake book. The final sentence of that book is "But then, when you start drawing you can never be quite sure what is going to happen next, can you?" I love that.

Cheers everyone!

the green green grass of home

Well, finally something to post! Phew, it's been a while. I've had a week of driving, hotels and trains. Yesterday, I had to go to Wales to pick up a picture. Thought I'd get some time to draw on the train. However, I found that I'd picked up my Moleskine diary instead of sketchbook, so I had to use the little paper that was strong enough to take all the hatching I would throw at it. So above is a drawing from the pocket at the back of the book.

Then just a quickie inspired by the views out of the window. The journey seemed to take forever and wasn't helped by me getting on the wrong train - which messed all my connections up. Still, I love this train journey, it cuts right through mid Wales and all the mountains. The colours are just so gorgeous at the moment. A drawing opportunity out of every window.

labelled with love

Oh well, I haven't gone any drawing done over the last few days. I had lots of good intentions but you know how it goes sometimes. Also I'm away for the next few days. So I thought I'd bore you with a couple more of my Moo cards until I get back.

This cat toy card is probably my favourite of all the Moos I've had printed, although my model for the photo was very temperamental! You can see the rest of the set HERE.

nothing's right when you're not here

Bear with me guys while I get these buttons out of my system. I wanted to rework them for an idea I have - tell you more about that some other time.

As well as being a piece of sewing equipment, in the north of England the word 'bobbins' is also used for something that's a bit rubbish. So you could say "that's bobbins, that is" about something you don't like. I hope you don't say it about my drawing though!! Ha!

you own it now

I NEVER expected to post this. I was starting a drawing the other day and my hand was quite shaky. So I did a little 'warming up' exercise which turned into this drawing. I often feel the pressure to make my next drawing 'better' than the last. I know this is pressure that I put on myself. I also know that I love this drawing and that if I saw it on somebody else's blog I would be gushing about it. So I am going to post it. Now. Before I change my mind.

a foggy lullaby

I can't believe that in all this time of blogging I've never drawn, or mentioned, pyjamas. Pyjamas are without doubt my favourite item of clothing. Nothing comes close on my 'favourite item of clothing' list. And, I didn't even know I had a 'favourite item of clothing list' until now. But seriously (?), I'm never happier than when I'm in pyjamas. I've got loads of pairs and so this could very well be the start of a new series.

I'm not happy with the creases, on the sides, in this one. I never noticed them until I uploaded it. Why do things always look so different when you see them on screen? Lots of reasons, of course. Why am I asking stupid questions?

everything must go

A bit of a lazy one. I've got some new colour pencils. Just trying them out. An old (ish) drawing, printed and coloured in.

dans les arbres

How cool is this? Yes, that is the Eiffel tower! My Moos are going global. This fabulous shot was taken by my friend Tim on his recent trip to Gay Paree.

See the rest of my Moo set HERE.

you're missing

Click on drawing to view.

There's a little village, not too far away, that I love to visit. It's a brilliant place to go and draw. Every house is different. Some are hundreds of years old, actually, most are. Some are so tiny you can't imagine how people actually stand up in them. I collected all the items for this drawing from the churchyard in this village. It also has one of the best tea rooms in the whole of the Peak district. Yes, I believe I visited them all.

There is also a little charity shop there which I've never seen open, until last week. It's just a tiny room in a very old stone building. FULL to the brim of stuff. Like some other shops in this area it has the oddest of opening times - every second Tuesday after a full moon from about 9:45 to 11:15am. So I was really excited to finally find it open.

Inside there was enough room for two customers and the lovely old lady that runs it. She told me how she'd raised £95,000 for the charity since she'd started it. How the row of shops had belonged to her family for generations. How her grandparents and great grandparents used to be a butchers and bakers in the village. How that had all changed since supermarkets had taken over the world. How all the old shops were now all being turned into luxury apartments. After about an hour I had to be on my way. I couldn't leave without buying something but there was nothing really calling out to me. I was looking for something to draw but even though I was surrounded by so much stuff I was feeling uninspired. Of course, that was nothing a rummage through an old rusty tin of buttons couldn't fix...

old spice

Click on image to view.

Yes, this probably does look familiar. One of my favourite drawings that I did in my Moleskine, way back whenever, was this spice rack drawing. I've wanted to rework it onto paper and frame it for some time and so Tim's birthday (see last post) gave me a good excuse to do just that. Something to spice up his life - his forty year old life! I like it, although it just lacks some of the spontaneity of the original and, of course, that gorgeous cream colour Moleskine paper.

View my sepia set on Flickr HERE.

his nibs

It's my friend Tim's birthday today - his 40th birthday! So I thought I'd get a little post in even though he's celebrating in Paris. Tim is not just my friend, he's my best friend. I have known him all my life, literally. We grew up in the same street. He lived in number 10 and I lived in number 20. I was hoping to post a drawing that I've been working on, for his birthday present, but didn't get it finished in time. So these are some real oldies from a time when we shared a house in Wordsworth Street (great name for a street). Even back then I was drawing everything in sight.
Here's an old pic of us too. Happy Birthday my friend.

the shadow bag

Why would you let your bag get to the point where it's bursting at the seams? Full of old sweet wrappers, chewy, bits of paper, receipts, letters, vouchers, used train tickets etc? Why would you do that? Why do I do that? Why do I carry all this rubbish around with me? On so many levels.

get miles away

This rear view mirror has been the 'bain marie of my life' over the past few months. It got knocked off the windscreen by somebody trying to shove an Ikea bed in the car (naming no names, Andy) and now refuses to go back on. I've tried to stick it on with all sorts of stuff but it's just not having it. So far I've tried the sticky pads, windscreen mirror glue, masking tape, super glue, parcel tape and now it's got a kind of industrial strength double sided sticky tape. And, it's still on the floor every time I get into the car. If I use a combination of these things I can usually make it stay on for a short journey, but that's it. It can be quite a scary experience when it drops off mid drive. Today it stayed in place, it even posed for this drawing.

By the way, that's Sparrowpit in the distance. Isn't that a great name for a village?