Illo_advent 'Mr Squirrel and Little Mouse'

Each day up until the 25th I've been joining in with illo_advent. I thought I'd use each day to build a story. Here's the story so far…

Mr Squirrel came home from foraging nuts one day to find a man had cut down his home.

He didn't know what to do.

Little mouse saw Mr Squirrel left out in the cold, so gave him a woolly hat and scarf to warm him up.

But Little mouse wanted to help poor Mr Squirrel some more, so off he went.

So he rummaged through bins to see if there was anything he could use

He worked through the night  

Mrs Mouse saw Little Mouse working out in the cold, so brought him a cup of hot chocolate.

She offered to help Little Mouse.

Meanwhile, poor Mr Squirrel was sleeping in the snow.

To be continued...

From pencil to paint

Dinosaurs Swinging

Sketching is so important when designing. The more you sketch, the more things change, they sometimes become what you didn't originally anticipate. Being an illustrator, a lot of time is spent indoors, by myself, with only the radio for company. The glorious part of sketching is that it's so mobile, you can do it anywhere. The world is your studio!

Daddy painter and little helper

"Daddy painter and little helper"

Sometimes it's nice to help our folks out from time to time. Learn the art of what they do so we can appreciate and learn the skills they have.  I shadowed my Mom at work when I was younger, I realised then just how hard she worked to put food on our table and a roof over our heads. My Dad would work even on his days off, and took pride in every job he did. I learnt a lot form my parents work ethic, I like to think I take pride in everything I do today because of them. I learnt that if you always do your best, you will never be unhappy with what you've done. If you are unhappy with what you've done, it's not a problem, just brush yourself down and try try again! 

Hels and the Pig

Hels and the Pig

My friend Hels claimed to be an un-creative person, but when it came to drawing pigs, hers were legendary. She would dig out her finest highlighter pens and draw a masterpiece fit for the fridge. Some would say it resembled a fox, but the twirly tail was a complete give away, it was clearly a pig! Once, this work of art mysteriously disappeared from the fridge, so Hels kindly replicated the original curio. She was a regular Andy Warhol, art for all! 

Hels and her Pig

The Pig

Little Ted's Summer Holiday Daydream

Teds holiday daydream

We've just got back home from our summer holiday in America, and I've already begun to daydream about our next adventure in the sun. Especially on a drizzly, cold and gloomy day like today. As the rain patters against the window,  I think of laying on a sun bed, drink in hand, unable to move as the sand is too hot. The sound of people splashing about and having fun in the water (sigh). Looks like Ted is daydreaming about a similar memory too!

Colour pallet

Whenever I've completed a painting, I always find the paint markings I've tested in the corner of the paper sometimes more interesting than the painting itself. A mini abstract of the original. Once I've completed my next book, I intend to put all the little tests pieces together, they tell a story of their own. They are the underlying thoughts behind the finished illustration.

Scary Walking Trees

My husband and I have just moved into a new house in beautiful Bath. It really is lovely. But being in a new home takes some getting used to. At night, as it gets closer to bed time, my imagination begins playing tricks on me. Each creak is something frightening, every shadow is something terrible. Outside, the trees come alive (no part of my brain will let me believe that it's just the wind), walking closer to the house, they're out to get me! 

Of course, in the morning, when there's little birds sitting on the branches singing away, I shake my head. What a silly billy I can be, I love trees, they're beautiful. But as night falls, it all happens again...

Walking Trees, from "The Not-So-Haunted House"