As Mentioned A Few Posts Ago, I Took Part In This Year's Fun A Day Dundee, Where Participants Are Encouraged

what i wore today / something a little different

tried something a little different today, technique-wise (largely inspired by miss emma trithart, check out her shiny new website). i really like the textures & the results of haphazardly piecing together individual components. the outcome doesn't feel quite right though, possibly because it's so different to my usual & not entirely what i had in my head beforehand (& i'm not used to not using more black/outlines in my work), but it was fun all the same.

you can see the full image here.

i'd been hoping to sit down & write about this last weekend but the end of january/start of february have been so busy that this is my first "day off" for a few weeks - the main reason being a mural i've been working on for the UK restaurant chain zizzi. after submitting roughs at the end of last year, buying up materials & then spending a good few hours transferring those original ideas from paper to the walls of a corridor, it felt good to step back & see everything completed. the restaurant, found in the building behind GoMA in royal exchange square in glasgow, used to house a bank & telephone exchange; two of the inspirations behind the interior design as well as my wall space. i've posted a few little sneaky snaps on instagram, but if you want to see the whole thing you'll just have to head down there once it opens next weekend.

cape girl + postage update

added a new print to the shop: cape girl is one of my favourite things i've drawn this year, & now she's a three colour screen-print.

speaking of the shop, here's my christmas posting dates. all orders must be in by these dates to allow time for me to package & post them: uk: thu 15 december western europe: sun 11 december eastern europe/usa/canada: wed 7 december elsewhere: thu 1 december (today!)

any orders after these dates will not be guarantee that they'll reach you by 25 december. if you order before these dates (if the postal service is willing to cooperate), you're likely to receive them in time.

one more postage note - all orders made between fri 2 & wed 7 december will be posted out on thu 8 december.

some tiny wild things to hide in your plants. hoping to have new things (& old favourites) in my ceramics shop soon. in the meantime, you'll find some small pots (on sale!) & a palm dish, if you like that sort of thing.

pipeline

finally working on some new things - feels so good! as well as stocking the shop for the festive season, i have a magnificent deadline for making things thanks to a craft fair on 4 december. i've written a to-do list for pretty much every day over the next few weeks.

above you'll find a cat i drew yesterday - possibly the best cat i have ever drawn.

okay, so if you're outside of scotland you actually might have some sunshine today, but after a weekend of glorious weather we're back to rain clouds. that doesn't mean a sweet little discount ain't welcome though, right? in a bid to clear out of a few older items plus raise funds for some new things i'm making, i'm offering 15% off everything in my shop until 1 june with code HELLOSUMMER (enter at checkout). aaaand i'm also going to throw in some freebies to all orders over £13/$20. it's always summer in our hearts u guys. have at it.

shades of grey

one of the items on my list of things to do this year was experiment with colour pallets; specifically, to exercise a little more restraint when it comes to how i work with colour. i always feel a small degree of awe when i visit the websites of people who constantly work with the same limited pallet. when i'm working, i'm more like a child in a sweet shop, grabbing whatever treat feels right/is closest.

i found this beautiful image by adrienne adams via pinterest the other day. i found myself coming up with a snapshot of a narrative in my head, following the torch light through the bushes to that tiny, hidden snake on the ground. lately, i've wanted to spend some time illustrating some sort of narrative, something more than just a snapshot. adams' image reminded me of a short story i wrote when i was twelve (which, due to an overwhelming and elaborate use of adjectives in an attempt to set the scene, i'll spare you of), where i was lost in the huge public park in my hometown at night, afraid of every rustle of bushes & strange shadow (fear not, i found my way out). after spending today wandering around the forest of our new-to-us local country park, & feeling reminded of reading wildwood earlier this year, i came up with this image.

it might not seem much of an experiment, but there were a few changes in direction for me (using only one colour! drawing the outlines last! a hint of a background!). it feels good to try something new.