Illustration Friday :"Swarm"

"Melissa"

Another resolution for this year - take part in Illustration Friday more regularly. A quick sketch in response to their creative prompt is great to stop me becoming over absorbed in current projects!

Time to choose

Time for a long overdue 'Illustration Friday' submission, as my current piece fits this weeks theme.

Last week I finished a painting, of the Fox and Magpie, the bones of whose story has been rattling around in my head for a while. The story is not quite there yet - each time I throw the bones, the pattern comes out a little clearer, but in the meantime the images are shrieking to be given life on paper.
So, I painted them. But I wasn't happy with the result, so I decided to 'reverse' the composition and try again. I like todays painting much better. Curiously,in the studio, everyone else disagreed and preferred the first.
I'm not telling you which is which, but I'd be interested to know which you like best!

*** Thankyou to everyone who gave their opinion :) The bottom picture was the first one painted, and it was the top one which I preferred. Interestingly the majority of you agreed with that, but of the people who have compared them 'in the flesh' so to speak, it has been the lower one which was liked better. I'm wondering if this is simply due to the way I scanned them and uploaded the images. *****

Illustration Friday ' Confined '

"Confined"
Indian ink and watercolour
approx 11 x 8 inches (A4)
For Sale £50.
As always, email me if you would like to purchase this, otherwise it will go on sale in my Etsy shop next week, at a slightly higher price to cover fees. Price includes UK shipping, but international shipping will be extra.

I had meant to say so much more this week, but life tripped me up good and proper at the beginning of the week, and so work has been the last thing on my mind. So I'm posting this, a very belated submission for the Illustration Friday theme 'Confined'. I sketched it out two weeks ago, but it wasn't till yesterday that I got a chance to finish it.

What I want to write about most is the overwhelming and heartwarming response to posting my textile piece 'Long Lugs' up here on the blog, but I have so much to say about that, and so many people I want to mention, that it must wait a day or so. So please, bear with me while I just get things straight at home.

Thankyou, all who came, and commented, and I'm sorry if I haven't yet had time to visit you back. I will do very soon!

Illustration friday "strong"

Here is a little cartoon style illustration for this weeks Illustration Friday topic "Strong". It is A5 sized, on watercolour board and was a chance for me to play with my NEW paints! It is really a working sketch for a larger piece I am toying with.
So, to mark the start of me getting back into the swing of things, and especially, as a 'thankyou' to all my readers who have stuck with me through the summer holidays, despite blog posts that have consisted mainly of "too busy to talk now, having fun!", I have decided to put this sketch up for grabs.

So, anyone who is interested needs to leave a comment after THIS post, saying something along the lines of 'enter me'. You can still comment of course, if you wish, even if you don't want the painting! I will only enter those who ask to be put in the draw. I will close the entries next Tuesday ( 9 pm Uk time) and draw the winner at random. Obviously, if you want to be entered, you need to be contactable, so anonymous commenters need to leave an email address please.

Illustration Friday "Idle"

The school holidays are well and truly here! My house seems to be bursting with children, my sofa's are in danger of collapsing from the amount of jumping on them that occurred while it pours with rain, and my studio has been commandeered by my middle daughter - I can barely get through the door because of her creative explosion. So I huddled myself on a stool in the kitchen, between the phone and the washing up, and got out my smallest set of paints. There wasn't space to work on anything but miniatures, so here are a pair of ACEO's. They are my submission for this week's illustration Friday topic : "Idle"
A rather loose association, I admit, but the wish to avoid being idle is what prompted it!

If a man devotes himself to art, much evil is avoided that happens otherwise if one is idle.
Albrecht Durer

Illustration friday "Theatre"

Hare Girl

Hmmm, I grant you this is a rather tenuous link to the IF topic this week, but still, Theatre is all about taking on another persona, and becoming someone else, albeit temporarily!

I really can't scan this one properly - it is far more contrasty than the original, but after an hour of trying to adjust it I've given up. My scanner is usually pretty good, but it just doesn't seem to cope with this combination of green and rusty red.

Don't forget, the draw for the Sepia Hare painting doesn't close until the end of the day, so there is still time to sign up if you fancy it! Sign up here.

Illustration Friday " Intricate"

"Crow and Peas"
ink and watercolour
8 x 11 inches

I've been working on this illustration all week, and it fits perfectly with the theme for this week - Intricate. In fact it is so intricate that it made my eyes hurt working on the detailed border. Think I might need to go and get my sight tested!

And also, a quick apology to my readers for being very slack in blogging recently, or in replying to comments. There is a reason for this, although it's a rather lame one - my mouse is not working properly, it refuses to slide to the right ( yes, I have opened it up and cleaned it out). This means it takes me hours to navigate a page, and I end up giving up. I promise I'll get a new one next time I go in to town, and then will be back up to full speed!

Illustration Friday 'Instinct'

Our animal instincts are only just below the surface. What animal guides you?
These two paintings, just finished today, are the last ones for my exhibition. I couldn't resist returning to themes of transformation, and I'm pleased with these girls! Unfortunately, the scanner hasn't picked up the facial details very well - it's all a bit washed out. But I will get some better scans done so that I can make prints.
These, along with the other Fox and Crow paintings, and the Sky Pirates, will be on exhibition at The Courtyard Cafe, Chagford, from the first of March, and then offered for sale.

Illustration Friday " Celebrate"

Hooray!! I have internet access again! Just in time for Illustration Friday, so 'Celebrate ' is a fitting topic. This week's entry is an illustration I did for a greetings card last summer.


And here are the beginnings of the latest painting in the series of fox and crow illustrations. This one is huge ( for me) approx 14 x 20 inches. I was really pleased with the start, but it's reached that awkward 2/3rds of the way through stage, where paintings always look awful! They always do this though, so I shan't panic till it's nearly finished - and then I will panic if it still looks awful!

Illustration friday "Pale"

"Pale Fox"

One of my New Year's Resolutions was to start stepping out of my comfort zone with my artwork, so I thought this weeks Illustration Friday topic was a good place to start. It was hard! I am so used to planning my paintings carefully, and being very much in control. This was very different, and cutting and sticking is so not my thing! It felt like I had gone back to school again, and I find it so hard to deal with the end result not looking how I had imagined it in my minds eye. This looks so very clumsy. I think the vision in my minds eye might have been better achieved with photoshop! Still, it was a fun way to spend a couple of hours this evening :)

Sky Pirates!

Ok, here it is, as promised! All finished.
Now I am racing away with the second one, which has the underwashes in place already. Like an idiot, I didn't note down the colours used to make the sky in the first one, as I was certain I would remember. So, for the second painting I dived right in with my gamboge, naples yellow, and crimson alizarin. Now that it has dried, and I can compare the two, I think I must have added one of the cadmiums to the first one. The second one has slightly softer colouring. I'll have to add some in the next wash. Still, skies change from one minute to the next, so I don't think they have to be absolutely identical.

I have a really bold and scary plan for a textile / fibre art illustration to follow this one. It's been a long while since I did one of those, but I have an image forming in my head, and I am really excited at the thought of trying it. Hmmm, may have to wait a few weeks though, as I have an exhibition starting the first of March, for which I need to do some new, large, work for. In September last year, I thought I had masses of time to do it, and now I find it is only 6 weeks away, and I haven't got any closer to putting those ideas on paper. So if I disappear for a while, that is what I am working on!

Illustration Friday 'Rambunctious Goat'

"Nanny appreciates a well - dressed tree"

Approx 5 inches x 5 inches

Original Indian Ink and Watercolour Painting

available here.

-x-

Goats are the most rambunctious creatures I know. Of all the words that could be used to describe a goat, 'rambunctious' is probably the most appropriate. Closely followed by 'endearing' and 'infuriating' depending on the mood you are in when the goat is encountered! I love goats, and would dearly like to own one. My husband hates them and threatens to leave if I ever so much as THINK of taking one on!

Illustration Friday - Balloon

Eeek! It's Thursday evening, and I can see I've no chance of finishing this illustration in time! I knew it was a bit ambitious when I began - rain, mud, and the sudden advance of Christmas have just completely finished me this week. So I thought I had better post it as it is.

Illustration friday 'Pretend'

Lets pretend ...... that the woods at the bottom of the lane are enchanted! Imagine that the little copse is actually a magical forest, and deep in its protected heart a winged horse has given birth to a foal.

I am going to give away a print of this, "The First Light of Dawn" printed at approximately 6 x 8 inches. To enter, all you have to do is leave your name in the comments section of this post, and I will draw a name out of the hat on Sunday 23rd November, at about 9 o'clock in the evening, UK time.

Illustration friday - Repair

"Painstakingly The Watchmender completed his Task"

I finally managed another submission for Illustration Friday, so I'm feeling pretty smug! This is pretty foolish of me actually, as the only reason I have it done is because I completely omitted to do the things I SHOULD have been doing. Such as ... making a start on two comissions with deadlines, altering a pair of curtains for a friend, which I promised to finish a week ago, taking the dog for a big walk ( she did get a little one, but it was hailing , and I just woosed out), planting winter salads in the green house, and a multitude of other houseworky sort of jobs. This original is for sale here, and I will list prints on Etsy.

I did at least manage to bring the remainder of my pumpkin harvest indoors, out of reach of the frost. This is a good harvest for us, and I'm going to show you a picture. ( All you pumpkin growers from the US, look away now, lest you laugh at the miserly size of my crop!)

They look pretty good in the kitchen alcove in front of the Tree of Life . The two pictures on the side are two of my favourite Arthur Rackham crow prints,and the central one above the alcove, the owlwoman, is a print by a friend , Virginia Lee.

Illustration Friday - LATE

Mavis was bicycling along the lane to the Post Office, when a small bird suddenly flew out in front of her, causing her to swerve, and spill her packages in the road. By the time she had picked them all up, and adjusted her shopping basket, she was too late for the morning post.

I originally had bigger plans for this weeks Illustration Friday , but then reality set in, and I had to acknowledge the fact that I have deadlines and commissions waiting, and must stop procrastinating. So, I just did a little bit of procrastinating , and came up with this mini illustration, entitled " Mavis was startled on her way to the Post Office "

And another offering, a little gothic portrait to get you in the mood for halloween, called "The Haunting of Mrs Wilkins". Mrs Wilkins could always hear the voices behind her, the incessant whispering of her husbands two previous wives - constantly speculating on the likely manner of the 3rd Mrs Wilkins demise. Both are for sale on Etsy :)

Illustration Friday - Sugary

The sort of cake my children dream of while they munch through wholemeal carrot and banana cake!

Illustration Friday "Packed"

I didn't think I was going to have time to do some work for submission this week, but then all of a sudden last night I had to do the swimming run for the kids and their friends. An hour spent sitting on the poolside drinking coffee and talking about our kids achievements, or an hour sat in the car overlooking the valley with my sketchbook? No contest! So here it is, a pencil and watercolour sketch for this week, showing the rookery, a few small trees jam-packed with large birds!

Illustration Friday - Clique

" Five for Silver, Six for Gold"
Here is a quick painting for Illustration Friday, the theme of which is 'clique' this week.
This has scanned a bit darker than the original, and all my tweaking couldn't get it exactly right. I dream of having some decent software one day, but until then I'll have to carry on doing all my adjustments with my scanner program :(