A Week Off Of Sorts. We're Journeying To The End Of A Peninsula On The Very West Coast Tomorrow, To Celebrate

moon face

if there had been an award for most impractical costume at the halloween party i went to, i'd undoubtably have won.

earthly delights

if you're anywhere near minneapolis then you should probably do yourself a favour & visit light grey art lab; as well as it sounding like a pretty great place, they've got an exhibition on at the moment featuring a ridiculously good selection of artists & illustrators, including some of my favourites (somehow i snuck in there).

the garden of earthly delights is curated by ms tuesday bassen & mr pete gamlen. it just opened on friday & runs until 13 july. as someone who currently spends twelve hours a week commuting through the scottish countryside on a train, my piece (above) is inspired by about how much i'd prefer to be out in the forests and fields rather that headed towards an office at 70 miles per hour.

new cards in the shop

got a whole bunch of new cards in the shop today. subjects covered include birthdays, babies & bikes. it's been a while since i've made any cards but i wanted to illustrate a range of occasions with more than just the usual text approach i take. i'm pretty happy with how they turned out & hope you like them too.

prints on sale

just a note to say that my new prints were delivered early & are now on sale: botanic I, botanic II, the botanic package & the bison.

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.

TO/NY + others in between

we just returned from what ended up being the best trip i've ever taken. a week in toronto & a week in new york, which also included visits to haliburton, new haven, salem & boston. despite a bout of jet-lag that feels more like a two day hangover, i'm going to attempt to summarise the trip before my terrible memory forgets some of the things that i want to remember.

TO: pre-travel nerves & crappy BA service at edinburgh airport · good films & no sleep thanks to a group of brummies on the flight from london to toronto · meeting our wonderful transatlantic friend at pearson · fighting 22 hours of no sleep/humidity & still triumphing (with beginners luck) at blokus · witnessing alan drive an automatic car on the other side of the road, both for the first time · heading north in a fiat 500 to "halibut town" according to alan's auto correct · CORN (it's awesome) · WE SAW A BEAR · ian's lovely family, a gang of dogs & late evening lake swims · beers & chat around the fire · bugs like biting alan, apparently · canoeing up kennisis river · more swims, grilled corn & beer · paddling back to the cabin down the river & across the lake · jalapeño poppers with fake bacon · beers & board games · back to toronto with naomi behind the wheel · a slow wander around kensington market, with stops at wanda's pie in the sky, last temptation & good egg · ICED CAPP · baseball, soccer baseball & beers in the park · home for some drinks on the deck until the small hours · a caesar = gross, sorry ian · inferior frisbee syndrome (ours didn't light up) · beers, illustration chat & alan falling asleep in the park · delicious french toast for breakfast at the rustic owl · hanlan's point is a nudist beach you guys · spot the scottish person in the sun *wilt* · ferry to toronto island · frisbee & swimming in lake ontario · visiting the church of hockey or something? · a pitcher too many with alan, ian & john · an early morning & a hangover · one last visit to tim hortons · bye TO, hi NY

NY: tiniest plane · OH GOD WHY IS IT SO HOT · finally finding our cute little airbnb apartment in park slope, brooklyn · accidentally trying to get into the upstairs neighbour's place · sampling poutine at last · beer & board-games at skylark · a much needed lie-in · wander through prospect park to get to the brooklyn museum · hanging out with leah, dylan & baby moses · too many beers. just too many · filming alan asleep on the subway & not remembering much of the journey home · hungover. the worst · practically crawling to grand central to get the train to new haven · hello conneticut · hanging with tuesday, yelena, pete & lil' mischka in their beautiful new apartment · first night with no beers, thank goodness · mischka stealing pillow space & kneading alan's face in the night · road trip to massachusetts! · bunghole liquors. oh yes · meeting the lovely elise (& yoshimi the bunny) · life alive & its semi-erotic dish names (anyone for a hot & healthy bachelor?) · train to boston · boston is rainy · seeeeals · elise & tuesday's floating heads · finding out salem has not one but two bunghole liquors · impromptu sleepover at the snow residence · driving back to new haven accompanied by 90's pop music · time to return to ny · checking into our cute little hotel, offloading the bags & heading out into the city · visiting the 9/11 memorial site, which has changed so much throughout all my visits to ny · early night, long sleep · delicious brunch at good enough to eat · wandering around the museum of natural history, learning about forests · oh hey they have tim hortons here too · shopping for comics & graphic novels at jim hanley's universe (have done so on every visit) · vegan korean food at franchia · rooftop bar beers · last minute city wandering on our final day · quick walk across central park in the ridiculous heat · home time. sad face.

so that was pretty long. i'm not expecting anyone to spend their time deciphering the details, but i do want to highlight the people who made our trip way better than we could have by ourselves: ian turner (i love & miss toronto way more than i thought i could thanks to this guy); leah goren & dylan ousley (super talented & lovely people who i'm so happy we got to meet); tuesday bassen, yelena bryksenkova & pete gamlen (new haven got lucky with this bunch); & elise towle snow (rad lady who i've wanted to hang out with for so long! yes!).

i'm picking up a few rolls of film from our trip tomorrow & will share more once i've got them uploaded.

animals that i did not meet #2

a postcard that i sent off to urban graphic last week for their big draw charity postcard auction. as you can see, i played it safe with the topic (a girl! with a plant! woah!) but got out some colouring pencils that i've not used for years, & scribbled with abandon before inking with a brush on top. i also added a little gold to the plant pot, because i just want to add gold to everything lately. gold gold gold. so there's you have it. she ain't nothin' fancy, but i like her. ps. couple more days left of my sale! 15% off until sat 1 june.

currently waiting on a flight in christchurch so thought i'd share this; i've got a couple of things in issue two of sad girls. much thanks to lovely leah goren for having me.

Jen Collins in Sad Girls Issue 2