News From Small World

Time Flies Like an Arrow…

…but fruit flies like a banana!

It’s already nearly Christmas!

And sorry for the heading but I love this pun!

It has been an age since I last posted – and that’s because I’ve been very busy, which is good! 🙂 So, a flurry of posts will be incoming shortly, ranging from an inspirational Picture Book Retreat on the Island of Iona, a comic about a disappearing cat, viking god animation workshops and a Christmas Illustration Challenge from the wonderful Orange beak Studio!

If I’m honest, this will happen in the New Year, so in the meantime “Merry Squeakmas! Bring on the Flaming Cheese!”

Wishing everyone a Happy and Peaceful Festive Season

Jane Porter’s Comics Course – Week 2

I totally recommend this course – it’s so much fun, and thought-provoking. Who would’ve thought you could make up a comic round this week’s theme “Getting Dressed”?!

The panes show me as a small kid trying on hand-me-down clothes my Nana used to send. They were all ghastly and too big – Nana got them from another grandmother, whose granddaughter Alison was held up to me as the model of all that was wonderful in little girls. Needless to say I wasn’t a big fan of Alison – her clothes or her reputation – I always felt I must be inferior to her in everything!

However, ten years later history showed otherwise after I sat my ‘O’ levels and did much better than Alison, much to mine and my Nan’s delight! 🙂 Not that O levels prove much, but it made me feel l wasn’t inferior to her in everything after all… (A bit of a life lesson about not comparing yourself negatively to others when you barely know them.)

The first two pictures are pencil roughs, a first version. In the three ink images I’m having a go at adding a bit more “character” to the line – to do this I used indian ink and a bbq stick! (NB I find that if I use a ‘weird’ drawing tool it tends to slow me down and make me think about the line more.)

I’ll post the rest of the ink images when they’re finished 🙂

Jane Porter Comic Course Week 1

This is going to be so much fun!

I’ve been given (given – out of a lucky dip!!!) a place on one of Jane Porter’s fantastic comics courses. The two hours whizzed by and it was so good to meet everyone (from all over because it’s Zoom 🙂 )and see their work – such interesting people, including a wonderful children’s illustrator, whoe drawing is, well, AMAZING.

So I ended up doing some pretty gruesome self portraits (as you can see…) and a comic of my twice monthly walks with Harry the Dog. This scenario happens almost every walk…

He is lovely though.

Here’s the dog himself. He’s waiting for me to throw his ball…

Picturehooks Playing with Watercolours Workshop

This was fab – only an hour, but so relaxing, creative and playful…

David Melling is one of the wittiest, most accomplished British illustrators around, and he works a lot in watercolour – so I immediately signed up when this workshop was announced by Picture Hooks, an organisation specialising in promoting children’s book illustration.

The doggy image was made with water, burnt sienna watercolour and Indian Ink. The way the ink combines with water when you drop it in off your brush is spectacular, and I loved the effects you could create. The bird image is a bit overworked but it is really cool to just paint your subject in water then drop colours in and see what happens… Magical

This could be a future kids’ workshop, I think!

Collaged Birthday Card

It seems to be birthday season in my family!

I’m a huge fan of Manon Gauthier, a Canadian illustrator who makes the most exquisite, but kind of rough and wonky illustrations in painted card collage, so this image is inspired by her work.

Lilo & Stitch Animation Workshop – Surf’s Up!

A busy, fun session at Teignmouth Pavilions last Wednesday with a group of super-creative and focused children making their own spin on the Lilo and Stitch film as a stop-motion animation.

Here’s what they produced – in two hours!

Virtual Recipe Book for Gaza

I’m taking part in an online project called “Virtual Hug for Gaza”. It’s organised by a wonderful illustrator called Yulia Gwylim, and seeks to raise funds for locally-based, Palestinian-run charities providing food and healthcare in Gaza. Each contributor offers an illustrated favourite recipe to the online zine – I’m really looking forward to see what people “serve up”. I’ll post a link when it becomes available.

At this time, the situation in Gaza is dire, and we are presented daily with horrific scenes of starved children, bulletridden bodies and destroyed homes and lives. To not do something to try and help, however small, seems unthinkable.

If you are feeling helpless in the face of the suffering in Gaza maybe you can do one of the following?

Donate to Gazan mutual aid charities, such as thesameerproject

Organise or take part in a fundraiser for Gazan charities including Medical Aid for Palestinians

In the UK you can email your local MP, also the Prime Minister and Foreign Secretary ( fcdo.correspondence@fcdo.gov.uk)

Join a demonstration in your area

Here’s the illustration, plus a couple of process pictures, I made to go with my recipe – it’s a Greek type of frittata called Sfougato Me Lahanika, and the recipe is from Mediterranean Vegetable Cookery by Rena Salaman. It’s delicious, as are many of the other recipes in the book.