The sum of somethings

Some development and finished pieces for a sudden project that I'll explain some time:







Some werewolves:





Some complaining:

Pooh, there's a stripe in my scanner, which means I'll have to order a new one... It only takes one dead diode and suddenly it's just a useless lump of plastic and glass (for proper reproduction purposes at least).

Something nice:

At the weekend I went to the seaside and burnt my nose nicely.

Some more songs:

Late last night & the night before.

From last night:



From the night before:





(More of these soon).

Square eyes

The organisation www.savekidstv.org.uk is pretty interesting to someone like me, who may well be embarking on the making of a show later in the year. The arguments and reasoning behind the british government's reducing advertising revenue for children's television are a bit greyer than they are painted in some of the organisation's recent viral video campaigning. But I think the petition is worth signing.

Age guidance for Children's Books

I'm not sure what I think about this.

It includes my own books, and as someone who makes books with a very hazy age range I don't think I like it.

Listen to me with the elitist complaining today...

Minor places, major faces

Two books arrived for me in the post last week. Thanks to Owen for my copy of his new picture book, and thanks to me dad for my replacement tune book.



My friend Rowan, who is studying folk music and fiddle-playing in Sweden at the moment, has made some really really beautiful recordings recently. You can listen to them here.

This evening I will likely be making a couple of small saw and banjo appearances with Yo Zushi and Curtis Eller at the 12 Bar club.

On sunday I took advantage of being left all alone, and played my own fiddle and banjo until my hand hurt... (the other week, in a daring whirl of DIY, I replaced the fingerboard on my fiddle, and it plays much more evenly and very lovely now. Well, very lovely for me).



In the morning I had been distressed by a TV show about British folk music, and the advertisements in between. -It's nice that British "traditional" music of many kinds has such a public face at the moment, and there are lots of people around who I think are good, like Rachel Unthank, Alasdair Roberts, Jackie Oates... but aside from them Radio 2 in particular seems most intent on promoting horrible, blandest common denominator, TV friendly, almost nashville equivalent rot... naming no names. It's inevitable, I guess... End of rant.-

Does anyone know if anything similar to this amazing site exists for British or European films?

Diary Dates

On sunday night I played saw for a lovely Yo Zushi set, short notice at a poetry night in Angel. Next monday I should hopefully be playing something or other for both him and Curtis Eller at their gig at the 12 Bar club in the West End. Scroll down to monday the 21st under the link here for more details. I wanted to play saw for Curtis last week at the Wilmington but I was too sick. Also Yo and some friends and I are (at the vague beginnings of) plotting our own folk night somewhere. Watch this space for that.

Tuesday the 22nd will be the opening of the Big Picture Ten Best Illustrators exhibition at The Illustration Cupboard.

Now Mr Matthew Robins is on his way over to record some music on the piano in my studio, while I do some work...

Coming back to life . . .

Today I've fixed and made a better page for www.stanleywells.net.

Notes from the horizontal plane

So begins my third day in bed with flu.

My major experience with the freak snowfall on sunday was to be assaulted by ruffians on the streets of Dalston, so perhaps my weak constitution combined with a snowball to the head was the cause of my affliction, or possibly it was some very ridiculous work and contracts faff that I have since been trying, unsuccessfully, to ignore from my sickbed.

But somebody lovely brought me acres of food and painkillers (well, just the one pack of painkillers) and I hope to be recovered upon the morrow. Goodness, but I really am quite bad at stopping work, even though I spend a lot of a working day thinking I should be doing more...

To bed!

Oh, I'm already there.

News and noise

I'm just about to go out and post more than 100 interior illustrations for Tree Soup to the designer, and then to deliver some original pieces from Addis Berner Bear Forgets to John Huddy at The Illustration Cupboard for their Big Picture Ten Best Illustrators exhibition. The exhibition begins on the 17th. I note from the Illustration Cupboard website that there is a Classic FM show with an interview with John about the exhibition and award (John was one of the judges). You can listen to it here, (scroll down to sunday the 30th of march's entry).



My weekend spent in the recording studio was cut short by a producer with food poisoning (don't have the chicken). Here is a (more) lo-fi recording that Yo Zushi and I made at my house on sunday with instruments that weren't trapped at the recording place. It features Yo on Parlour Guitar and an old Scottish song off the internet, and me on electric guitar, organ, and piano:

Annie Laurie.mp3

New news on the best new illustrators

I recently mentioned that I couldn't mention that I am one of the Big Picture's Best New Illustrators. Now I'm allowed to mention it. Here is a thing that mentions it too.