Beautiful Cafe in Palma

I found this peaceful cafe just off one of the main bustling, touristy pedestrian streets. I had a clementine sorbet and espresso and sat for a long time in the cool, dark interior drawing up ideas in my sketchbook. A perfect afternoon!

Buildings, doorways and through shop windows in Palma

I was in Mallorca a few weeks ago for a printmaking course - I'm planning to post examples of work etc relating to the workshop soon - but here are some photos of things that caught my eye in Palma.

Small Illustration for Family Circle

This was for the August issue of Family Circle. It was to illustrate the signs to look for when someone might be having a stroke. The challenge was to fit all the information into a 3inch by 2.5 inch area...but I like challenges...well ones like these!

Mini Book for Peter Pauper Press

I've just found these images on Amazon. It's a mini book of inspirational quotes for Peter Pauper Press which I illustrated last winter.







I can remember the story I was listening to on the radio while I was working on the image above. It was about a man who had left Sweden as a child with his family for Australia and when he returned fifty or so years later - he stayed and married his childhood sweetheart.

Some previous illustration projects featuring dogs

"Talk to your Dog" by Susie Green
I loved working on this project and how it was possible to mix up quite dog-like drawings of dogs with others that were very anthropomorphic. The dog in the egg chair is drinking whiskey and ginger beer.



This was commissioned by a friend who was designing a brochure for the Bite Theatre Season at the Barbican in London. The illustration was to tie in with a circus event in a giant tent in Victoria Park. However the budget was really tight so David persauded me to do it by offering the possibility of drawing dogs rather than people on the trapeze!



I'd forgotten about these and can't remember the name of the book. Just a little step by step on how to wash a dog.



This was for a Barnes and Noble day by day calendar for 2007. The project involved drawing 365 illustrations to go with a quote for each day of the year. This one was, "Being followed by a strange dog is generally considered to be lucky...."

Organic Pet Food Illustration

This was for the May issue of the Canadian based magazine Best Health for a piece about organic pet food and whether dogs can tell the difference.

The top one was the final artwork and below it is one of the roughs.

I often try to slip a dog into my illustrations whenever possible/appropriate but it's even better when I'm specifically commissioned to draw them!

Sketches from Summers Past

I realised at the weekend that for the past three summers I've been on holiday abroad on this week of the year. This prompted me to get out my sketch books from these holidays - and have a mini 'memory holiday' at my desk! Below are some drawings from those trips.

2006: Ferry between Skiathos, Skopelos and Alonissos



An isolated rocky beach on Skopelos




2007 Sketches from the train window on The Golden Pass journey between Montreux and Zweisimmen. As the train climbed the mountain leaving Montreux a woman waved to us as she lay cosy under blankets on her patio. It gave me that lovely feeling children get when a train driver waves or toots his horn!



The cable car down from the Shilthorn and Piz Gloria (the lookout tower where James Bond stays in "On Her Majesty's Secret Service"). It wasn't as exciting as his visit - I just drew, took some photographs, played with the snow that was still up in the mountains, watched a fox and had a hot chocolate in the revolving cafe.



Bears kept in a pit in Berne. This was incedibly distressing to see. I found it hard to believe animals were being kept this way in Switzerland in 2007. There was talk of rehoming them - it couldn't happen soon enough.



Lake Annecy in France



2008 A restaurant in the Tramuntana Mountains in Mallorca
It was set high up in the woods - an old farmhouse I think. It was an incredibly hot day and we swam in the swimming pool before lunch which had a waterfall flowing in to it - mountain water - it was freezing!