Just before Christmas I was working on a competition to create illustrations for Angela Carter's 'The Bloody Chamber'. And here are the results! I found it quite a challenge, working from a very different text but I'm quite pleased with the results (even though I didn't win!)

This week Moli the Unlost cat has become Siggi, a cat who really likes fish!

Still very much a work in progress, but here's the 1st draft of the text along with two example pages:


Siggi loves fish.

He has fish for breakfast, fish for lunch and fish for dinner. He would have fish for elevenses, fish for afternoon tea and fish for supper as well, but he’s not allowed.

Siggi had heard that outside there were thousands of fish, much tastier than the fish he had at home. In the outside there were no breakfasts, lunches or dinners, you could just eat all day long.

So Siggi went to the outside to get some fish.

Along the way he met a kingfisher “I can show you a place where there are lots of fish” he said.

So Siggi followed the kingfisher.

After a very long time they reached the kingfisher’s place. Siggi could see lots of fish, moving very quickly. The kingfisher swooped and soared using his beak to pull up fish after fish.

But when Siggi tried to catch a fish he got very wet. Siggi did not like getting wet. This was not the place for Siggi to get fish.

A duck standing nearby said “I know a place where the water is not so wet and there are lots of fish.”

So Siggi followed the duck.

After a very very long time they reached the duck’s place. Siggi could see hundreds of fish, and when he put his paw out he didn’t get wet, but he couldn’t catch any fish either. It was also very cold. Siggi did not like being cold. This was not the place for Siggi to get fish.

A passing pigeon said “I’ve seen even bigger fish in a place which isn’t wet or cold.”

So Siggi followed the pigeon.

After a very very very long time they reached the pigeon’s place. Siggi could see thousands of fish here and he wasn’t wet or cold. But one of the fish looked like it wanted to eat Siggi! This was not the place for Siggi to get fish.

Siggi was very tired. He had travelled a long way, and had eaten no fish at all. He had even missed breakfast, lunch and dinner. He stopped for a rest.

Suddenly, something fell on his head! He started to shake it off when he realised it was fish! Lots of tasty fish. This was the place for Siggi to get fish!

Every day from then on, after breakfast, but before lunch, Siggi goes straight to his favourite spot in town where the fish are tasty and not too wet or too cold or very likely to eat him.

And this is the project I have been working on for Putney this week. The brief was to create a story about a journey. Somehow I've arrived at a story about an Icelandic cat who gets a bit lost.... Its all in the early stages, and as always I can't quite work out how to end it (but I'm sure all will become clearer after discussing it tomorrow!) The character of Moli isn't quite worked out yet, still playing around with how to draw her. But here you are, the story so far!

Well hello! And finally the new card idea which I have been working on for a while is available to buy - a swirling circle of birds.

Friday saw my first day back at school, I've started a class at Putney Art School one morning a week in Book Illustration. So far, so exciting! Seems a good mix of people and has left me with lots of new ideas, thoughts, challenges and quite a bit of homework! Which will, of course, be posted on here.

I've got a few new products on their way and lots of ideas. But for the moment, I'm heading back to a spreadsheet to do a bit more organising!

At the moment I am working on some ideas based on a lovely little story by the excellent Michelle Thomas www.michellethomasthisisaplace.blogspot.com

Its called 'The Little Girl Who Worried' and this is the first incarnation of the worry monster! 

I am also using my thoroughly non-technological brain to battle photoshop in order to get my other books into sample form and sent away in a hopeful fashion to some publishers.... 

Wow, its the 11th January already! The last few weeks have been mainly taken up with Christmas, going to Paris and getting engaged :D

However, I have been working on a few things. I sent in my entry to the  BBC Wildlife Artist competition (the ruddy shelduck here).


And there's a new card for sale for any new babies in the world!


So here's to 2012 and writing endless lists of things to do, make and achieve!

And this is what I made yesterday, a duck-shaped nut roast!

More usefully (perhaps!) I have been making notebooks, researching and generally realising how soon Christmas is :)

New card designs up on the site.  Fruit hearts for Valentines, anniversaries and when you just need to use an orange or a cucumber to tell someone you quite like them :)

I've also made a duck-cake for all the birthdays there ever are!

There'll be more designs up soon, and I'm working on getting some prints organised.

Lots of lovely comments about the website, thank you! Its a bit of a scary thing putting all the work (which I'm generally not very good at showing to people) out into the big wide world.

Today I submitted my entry for a competition run by the House of Illustration! 3 full page illustrations and a cover design for Angela Carter 'The Bloody Chamber'.  Its been a challenging one, and very different from the sweet children's stories I had been working with. Bit of a relief to click 'send' and be able to not think about it for a little while.

Less interestingly, I completed my tax return today - ugh. 

Here is one of my earlier attempts at book writing and illustration, a novella created for my Dad in 1995! It runs to 28 pages of written text. It turns out my stories were all mainly concerned with kidnap and food. 

Well, here we are, I have a website up and running! And my first ever blog post. After working away in my flat for the last couple of months - and turning into a bit of a hermit - here is what I've been up to (with hundreds more ideas which are still inside my brain and haven't made it to paper form just yet).

Hope you enjoy having a look around the site, I'm sure there'll be a lot of changes as I work everything out, all suggestions welcome :)