"I wasn't designed to have so much past"

I saw a really lovely Jeffrey Lewis concert last night. The support was a band called The Wave Pictures. I liked them a lot even if their name somehow made me expect little. I note that I'm now old enough to consider earplugs at loud concerts.

Eoin Colfer's going to write a new Hitchiker's Guide To The Galaxy book. The reaction isn't very surprising.
A few months ago I illustrated something a bit short and a bit secret by Eoin.

I've got a crochet Totoro, have you got a crochet Totoro?



These days, when I'm not working on, or panicking about my big secret project, I'm teaching myself to play the melodeon (in fact the two may be linked yet), although it seems to be teaching me as much about how to play my accordion (bigger difference than a person might expect). Look how pretty it is. It is tiny and made of Walnut and has roses on the red bellows.



My grandfather is a pretty ill and my grandmother is battling broken bones, so what with secret projects, music, life, that sort of thing, I think this blog is going to stay pretty quiet. I'll try to post some non-secret sketches. I need to keep that kind of drawing going anyway.

Glitter & Doom

Thanks Dave for this link to Tom Waits in Concert.

Hello you lot

and GET WELL SOON to my gran, I hope you're home soon and able to read this.

I'm posting from a new computer, the setup of which is one of the reasons I've been disappeared (though it's been pretty painless so far). I thoroughly recommend the refurbished macs section of the Apple site. I got a top end macbook pro for nearly £400 less than full price, with all the requisite guarantees etc.

Also I got another lovely toy, but I'll tell you about that some other time. A prize for sending off all the (quite many) changes to Red Ted. I did a cover too. Before that I had a nice few moment's break in Cornwall where I ate really good seafood.



Below are the first non work sketches I've done in months. Most work sketches from now on will be sadly secret because of contractual thingies.

Cornwall

Votes are in and the beard stays for now...

Wrapping Up

I'm sure I had short hair and was clean shaven (and had working feet) when I began this book... Apologies to anyone I owe e-mail, phonecalls, violin recordings. I haven't been much of a person in weeks.
Anyway, the book is done done at last (bar changes, endpapers, and cover but that's always a separate project in itself). I worked all weekend and sent it off yesterday. It's called Red Ted and the Lost Things and is written by Michael Rosen. I'm not sure when it will be published.

Open brackets:

Shall I keep it? Close brackets.

Now I'll take a bit of a rest and then begins work on the tv show. I won't be able to publish much about that here since I have to sign confidentiality papers etc.

In other news: I think I'm going to learn how to make my own wooden-soled shoes in the style of British Clogs, since I've tried every shoe in London and nothing much helps with my foot. Anyone know where I can get some Sycamore logs?



Oh and obviously the violin on this recording of Poor Lazarus by the Jangadeiros has nothing to do with me, and the windy-mountain-top guitar solo nothing to do with Greg Box. Yo Zushi is right out of the picture too.

I'm pretty sure it is me playing the accordion in this video though, and maybe some of the electric guitar? It's my banjo Yo is playing as well. But Zoe gets to do all the running about on the beach...



Online Videos by Veoh.com

Released today

For the sake of history

Re. Earlier post on rubber glove bagpipes:



My dad pointed out that it isn't a new idea.

In other news I worn my feet out even more using irony (searching for shoes to quiz my podiatrist about). Half the keys on my keyboard are suddenly all busted and I'll post some actual drawings/book things soon.

Ooh, ooh look over at Crista's blog at the post about the Beatrix Potter puppet/costume designs. Amazing! They give me all kinds of sneaky ideas for my tv show that are probably quite above my station