Thank you for tuning in! Please hit the heart ❤️ at the very end if you enjoy. That way I’ll know you visited. If you’re like me, I can’t remember a thing that I’ve done. So as the year of the Dragon comes to a close I scroll through my year of photos and write it up in a blog to keep sane. I surprised myself- it was way busier than I remember. Here we go, maybe make a brew first xxx
This was a good start to the year - I got a certificate in the post . . . I passed Grade 4 drums with distinction !!! WOOHOOO!
For the past year and a half I’ve been working on a 4 book series for a lovely publishers in Slovenia. Time was extremely tight with no breaks so that they could be launched at the Book Fairs where Slovenia was the guest-of-honour-Country 2024. We did it!! and completed the last book in this series in March. I got to illustrate some new characters, an ant, a mole, a centipede, snail, Colorado beetle, grasshopper and hedgehog! I think my work looked a bit different. Have a peek. . .
It was a big celebration finishing the contract and my mission was to go to one of the Book Fairs and meet them. So. . .
I went to Bologna Children’s Book Fair in April to hunt them down and see just how the cogs of the Children’s publishing world worked. Read in my blog here.
Highlights were meeting my publishers, seeing my books there, meeting the brilliant Good Ship Illustration and being in Italy for first time.
A slightly different job to my usual came up, designing a brand for a BBC podcast. “Books that made me” with Lucy Owen. Luckily my messy house provided the inspiration!
In May I held a lovely Sketchbook Workshop at Beth Morris Workshops. It sold out and I had a wonderful bunch of students who made some superdooper work throughout the day. We showed each other our favourites at the end of the session. The weather was boiling!!! Hard to imagine now! See more here.
The very first Picture Book I illustrated with Author Jonathan Emmett was 20 years old this year!! Ruby Flew TOO! We ran a competition and there were 3 winners who got an omnibus edition of the books. Hooray! Read more about it here.
Then I visited Jonathan Emmett at his home and he showed me the lake where he saw a nest and an egg that inspired the story. I was also lucky that there was an authors/illustrators picnic while I was there and I met some lovely new people. We ate snacks and talked shop. I had such lovely time. Thank you Jonathan.
Got to see Blind Boy Podcast LIVE in Cardiff. A great night out in the beautiful Millennium Centre in Cardiff Bay.
This never usually happens but I managed to fit in a few little holidays and breaks this year. Firstly beautiful Pembrokeshire. Always a tonic …
Then Co Kerry in Ireland to visit an old friend. We pampered ourselves in seaweed baths, went on lots of boats and saw dolphins.
Next, London with my oldest baby to see a show about Roald Dahl. Little breaks are magic.
Each year I donate artwork to charities for fundraising. Here’s 2024’s:-
Bookmark Project, Doodle Day/Epilepsy Action, Maggie’s Centre, Children in Read/Children in Need, Faultline Gaza 355
There’s nothing like an online challenge, especially Folktale Week with lovely dark prompts. It can really squeeze something new out of you and improve drawing skills. I only had time to do 3 but so glad I did that. Prompts: Mist, Blight, Trail/Depth/Bone
I took Snow Bunny on a mini tour and painted her on 3 independent bookshop windows in the run up to Christmas. It was great fun. I signed piles of books and had lots of thumbs-up from customers through the glass!
and I ended the year with one last sketchbook workshop and this was at CAVC with 30 BTECH students teaching them my messy way of sketching. They were brave and brilliant.
If you’re still reading - WOW! Thank you! Please hit the heart below if you liked it and I’ll know you’ve been here xxxx