Hello Internet. I Hope You Like Lions.

red cat tote

after pretty swiftly selling out of blue cat totes last december, i finally got back into the print studio to make some more, this time in red. due to the unpredictable nature of screen-printing (& the fact that my arms are weak, weeeak), there's a pretty limited number of these kitties available. however, i also stumbled upon a happy accident; i'll reveal more next weekend...

on a somewhat related note, i'm almost at the milestone of 500 sales in my shop. that's kind of incredible. there'll be a small heap of extras going out to whoever lands on five-oh-oh.

makin' some thank you cards. i have some available here should you need some too.

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.

a little more positive reinforcement available in the shop in the form of a brand new* nice advice postcard set. pretty sure i make these things for myself as much as anyone else. *after almost four years, the old style is on it's way out! get 'em while you still can.

season's greetings

december! where did you go? this month ended up being busy in the best way possible: a successful craft fair at the start of the month, an exciting & large scale opportunity to plan for, little adventures & seeing friends in edinburgh, dundee & london plus, of course, getting ready to hang with my family over christmas & tie up a bunch of loose ends before the new year hits.

have a lovely holiday season, whatever, wherever & however you celebrate.

sacrilege

we took some time out over the past couple of days to take advantage of this year's glasgow international festival of visual art. as you'd expect i've seen some things i've like & some i haven't, but jeremy deller's sacrilege - a huge, blow-up replica of stonehenge - was an unadulterated, no-frills source of FUN. just like the druids wanted.

teapots & paper

today was spent cleaning out my old flat; mainly our spare room, the studio. after two trips to the recycling centre to offload paper that i've had for at least four years, my paper-hoarding problem was finally brought to light. i found scraps of paper that "might come in handy", & paper that i've used for uni projects but then kept the remnants because i didn't want to bin them. at least my younger self saw this coming; i found a folder of paper titled nice paper to keep even though i'll probably never use it. & what do you know - i found it under a pile of paper that i haven't touched in about two years.

i was justly rewarded for my ruthlessness today. along with the recycling, i took several bags of clothing, kitchenware & art materials to a charity shop, where i found this beautiful teapot. clear-out-karma. joy.

twenty-six

as of yesterday. if this one's as good as previous ages then i'm one lucky lady.

on a side note, this image served as a reminder that i am not ambidextrous. if i ever lose my right hand, i am screwed.

sometimes i think about how bodies want to be sweaty & smelly & hairy & oily, & about how some of our daily routines try to achieve the opposite.

botanic

after a slight break from drawing, i started inking this morning with a bit of a shaky hand. turns out this was in my favour however, & i took the opportunity to loosen up a bit. we visited glasgow's botanic gardens yesterday & now i just want to draw a whole lot of plants.

in other news, my website got a bit of an update last week. there are a couple of new things still to be added already, but this'll do for now.