Change of Plan

I've made a decision to concentrate on blogging on my web site and Facebook - simply because I have an awful lot to do (which is wonderful & I'm very pleased about it). So please click on the picture below & it will take you to my web site so you can find out what I'm getting up to.

Snowy Stuff

I found a couple of links to my books today. The first is a list of books for taking to the Arctic & Snow Bear gets a mention. Click on the picture if you're interested &/or planning a visit to the Arctic. Lucky you, if you are.

And the other is a link to my re-vamped (in glorious colour/color) Christmas Doodles Book - although I think it's only sold in the U.S.A. I hope it makes it to Britain. We deserve a bit of colour too! (Although I am delighted that my two-headed snowman made it onto the cover.)

Personalised Framed Pictures

A new venture for me - personalised framed pictures for anyone who would like a proper unique gift. Drawn in ink and painted in watercolours - I even paint the frames!

I'm happy to paint almost anything you want and you can order them at:

Pine-Oakio
72 Market Street
Ulverston
Cumbria
Tel: 0752 593 2847

Oops!

Well, here's the new style - except it isn't. It's an early experiment at a possible new style that I decided not to continue; but it isn't what I was thinking of when I posted my last news.

Unfortunately it seems that I have only drawn and coloured the new style pictures in my head - I'm blaming my stinking cold! I've just spent an hour hunting for all the pictures that, I now realise, do not exist. I do have piles of sketches but I can't figure them out at the moment - hopefully it's just the cold & my scrawls will make sense once again. I think the moral of all this is not to do anything when you have a cold except wrap up in a blanket, eat chocolate & watch cheesy films.

New Style

I haven't written for over a month & the reason is because I'm working on a new picture style. It's been fun, interesting, hard work & taken at a lot of my free time (which is why I haven't blogged for ages) but I'm getting there. Will show you what I've been getting up to ASAP.

Ancient Historical & Architectural Pictures

I'm currently approaching some non-fiction publishers to find out if they are interested in using me as an illustrator. If I haven't mentioned before (& I probably have) I love ancient history & architecture so I'm emailing publishers who do this sort of thing. This is a new thing for me as I normally work on picture books for children. Here's a line drawing that I've been working on of a Greek temple:

Comic Strip Experiment

I've been experimenting with a comic strip book for children recently & it's given me even more respect for the writers & illustrators of this format. There's so much that you have to be aware of - page layout alone is a bit of a headache. And then there's the actual pictures, writing, etc.

The strip is based on a story that I've been working on for the last few years & this is a trial picture to see if it works or not. I can't help wondering if I laid on the murky atmosphere a bit too much & perhaps a bit more colour would help. But, on the other hand, it does let me play around with lighting and shadows.

Aesop's Fables Cover Design - Continued

This is the latest version of my cover design for Aesop's Fables. Also slightly re-working my web site so please forgive any weird spacings & other strange bits.

Aesop's Fables Cover Design

Thought that I'd play around with a cover design for a book about Aesop's Fables today. I absolutely adore Aesop - probably because they're often about animals (which I love) & also have morals. Much as I'd like to think that I have a decadent streak, I get ridiculously indignant over the smallest things. Aesop makes me feel better about this.

I thought that it might be a good idea to work with a limited range of colours - similar to those used in ancient Greek pottery - as it seemed appropriate. I even used an old font used in classical times. This is the second version:

But I can't help feeling the first one is better (or funnier). Please note the title change.

Baron Bears Web Site Continued

I'm currently busy working on a secret project which I will tell you about as soon as I can. But I can't at the moment so will distract you with the news that Sam (of Baron Bears) let slip that she actually quite liked the rough version of the teddy bear I drew for her web site. This one:

What can you say to that! Thankfully she's a good friend & I have managed to change her mind.