Longlisted

I may or may not have mentioned that I am on the longlist of The Big Picture Best New Illustrators. The shortlist will be announced in March. Click here for more info.

Also, this week the possibility of my making a televison show has been thrown into the already mixey mix. All in all I feel a bit overwhelmed!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY GILLA!!

Drowning a bit, waving a bit

My, I'm so busy this week my brain is spinning. Tomorrow I'll be doing a couple of events to promote me and the things I make (Addis Berner Bear Forgets mainly). The events will be at both Tales On Moon Lane bookshops.

Otherwise I am mostly busy with drawing for Tree Soup, and a certain amount of fish welfare management...

Informative

If a person is riding a bicycle (say, returning from a day spent sketching in the sun outside cafes and recording music in lofts) and they are carrying a trombone, or a guitar, or a serpent, or even a tuba on their back, I don't expect that people in the street often shout out to inform them exactly what instrument it is they are carrying; "Trombo-o-one!" With me, however, it's different:

"Banjo-o-o!"

I don't mind, of course, though they should be careful just in case I do. A person might well have a big sharp saw in the bag, too.

Madame Tutli-Putli

Tutli-Putli, A film that some friends-faraway made, is up for an academy award ('made' seems a very small word for the kind of effort that went into it). You might notice some of its influence on something I did recently...

Crocs & Crocks

Oh, some of those irritating tax things got a sight more irritating, and they haven't stopped yet (UK stuff: simple. US stuff: Kafkaesque, not even a slight exaggeration). Thanks to Gary Smith for being amazingly helpful yesterday.

Today I made a clay crocodile as reference for something, but didn't finish painting it, and began drawing the interior illustrations for Tree Soup.

Tax Soup

I sent in the third (is it third?) draft of Tree Soup today, and drank rum (there's a pirate in) and made stew (there's stew in, as well as soup) to celebrate. Also I prepared some batter (it's pancake day tomorrow, as well as a day that I have to spend sorting complicated and irritating tax things).

Pennies from Heaven

I keep finding five-pound notes in the street (two yesterday, in different spots), and honestly the world is treating me even ever so much better than that.

There is a nice review of Addis Berner Bear Forgets here.