lots of work in progress

busy and loving it :) making a wee zine about mornings and working on my birds ballet for the ceramic tiles i've been planning.

spring always gets me going and inspired.
off to the cinema this evening. we have seen some really great films lately on our weekly cinema date. last week we saw 'The girl with the dragon tattoo', a swedish picture. it was excellent. have you seen any good films recently?
ok, gotta go now. laters!

welcome monday!

the start of a new week is always a good feeling.
many thanks for the great feedback on the last post, we'll all find out who made the mark when the animation is ready!
i wish you a fab week :)

who goes, who stays...

the last few days, Lesley and i have been working on those characters for this little animation brief we are collaborating on. the title is going to be 'seven' and it'll explore imagination through weather patterns :) not all of these will make it to the final though... only seven, so right now they're auditioning X-Factor style. as Lesley put it: 'now we shall put them all in a big row and start the process of elimination! (evil laugh)' ohhh we're having so much fun! which ones would you put through, i wonder...

make a start

a quick contribution for Cut-Click zine :)
busy drawing characters and other elements for the animation project. will show some sketches tomorrow.
happy thursday!

new prints

i've finally got to finish these, good news for those who missed out on the tiny neighbourhood zine/book :) i created the new houses and teapots on the prints for an animation i'm working/ collaborating with Lesley Barnes, i'm so excited about this project. so now you can also give them a home even before the animation is out ::: some of them should also feature on the ceramic tiles i'm still working on... yes, i'm on a 'finishing off projects mode' at the moment and it feels great!
both prints are now available for purchase in my shop now and the first 10 buyers of any of those prints will get one of my two of hearts postcard free of charge. yay!

...

how does it feel to be 'a work in progress'? that was the question that bugged my head all day today... well, i've always liked the idea of being 'a work in progress' but mondays have become tricky for me as it's normally the day i have to confront all the messy unfinished stuff from the previous weeks and make decisions. the fact is: i have too many unfinished projects and need to focus on concluding one at a time rather than chasing every wild idea that comes into my head and making a start and not finishing them... high doses of procrastination comes to mind. sweep it under the carpet, it's what some little creatures who inhabit my head whisper. today i'm not listening to them though, i'm making some decisions and i hope i WILL stick and progress with them. how do you deal with the unfinished? i'd love to hear your thoughts on this.
++ wishing us all a progressively productive week :)

+ i ♥ Amisgonstro !

this week's randoms

the light is starting to get better and i can smell spring... lovely feeling, isn't it? and my pegs collection just grows with it. have a fab weekend, wherever you are :)
ohh first photo is a rusty vintage sign i found in a charity shop and could not resist bringing it home... it reminds me of something out of Tom's diner by Suzanne Vega ♫

twitter at its best // part 1

i've been meaning to finish these off for a while, i think they'll become a postcard set. ohhh the joys of twitter... yes, i'm addicted :)
by the way, i quite enjoyed Alice. it could've been better if Burton hadn't made it into an action movie... entertaining nevertheless and the visuals... stunning.

a tiny bear

found in an old moleskine. -happy wednesday, he says.
i'm off to see Alice this evening with very low expectations as all the reviews from fellow illustrators have classed it as disappointing, to say the least... have you seen it yet?

postcards ♥

the sun is shining in London and this morning i spent half an hour with my postcard collection. it was so nice to add some new ones to it. 7 came from Jen with the gift she gave me last sunday and my favorite of hers is 'only dead fish go with the flow' something that i very much agree with :) and a new one arrived on the post today from Lesley. thanks girls!

++ Dee made a lovely post about the goodies she purchased from my shop

+ got to go and finish off a little contribution to Cut + Click now. it'll also be available as a print. will show it soon.

what are you up to today?

a perfect blind date

this afternoon i went to the west end to meet the lovely and super talented Jen Collins who's in London for the weekend all the way from Scotland. we had a nice and relaxing walk about, then tea and hot chocolate and i got the most beautiful gift package full of goodies! will show better pictures of them soon. it was so cool to browse through her moleskine and our foxes got on really well. awww they instantly became friends! thank you Jen for such a treat, you made my sunday a much nicer one and it was ace to meet you in person :)

new moleskine

to me there are only a few things better in my working life than the feel and smell of a fresh brand new moleskine :) i customized mine with sticker artwork, a gift by d'lovely Mia Christopher. hope your weekend is a wonderful one!

seven teapots

i've been drawing teapots all afternoon, work in progress... next week i'll start working on the ceramic tiles.
those babies would like to wish you all a very nice friday evening!

we are a happy family

hello, hello!! these are my final cards for a children's card game entitled 'we are a happy family' to be published in spain soon. a collective project organized by Esti, it includes works by the following talents :: Sarajo Frieden, Alexandra Hedberg, Estibaliz Hernandez, Lotte Andkilde, Aris Moore, Kimberley Di Laurenti and Lady Desidia. see above some of their cards too :: + all the proceedings are going to the childrens charity Doctors without Borders. how cool is that?!
you can have a sneak peek of all of Sarajo's cards here + Alexandra's here

will show you the whole pack + info on how to get yours soon :) happy thursday to you all!

the value of imagination & distractions

today i've been enjoying the 'value of imagination' i bought from a charity shop, playing with ceramics decals :: am also making some wall tiles to add to my shop soon:: and sketching on my moleskines. errr where's the focus? note to self: structure your day and stick to one project at a time... maybe i should time how long i spend on each project and limit my twitter, blog /flickr browsing and other little distractions to a maximum of 1 hour a day? yes, i do reckon i currently spend more than that... i'm welcoming any advice on how to reduce the distraction levels...
+ there's only one Tiny Neighbourhood left in my shop. i'm happy they've all gone to nice homes :)

++ i love Brown Paper Bag and to my surprise my work has already been featured there

+++ ohh and i almost forgot, another tiny collaboration with Lesley

uberkraaft collaboration

i've finally started playing with this piece the super talented Matt Williams aka Uberkraaft sent me for a collaboration. a bit of a nerve wracking process as i obviously don't want to spoil his initial drawing... i'm not sure it's finished yet, i shall get back to it tomorrow and see if or what i should add anything else. what do you think?
i hope your week is a radiant one :)

happy weekend!

having worked all day today, i'm ready for a last half of a lazy weekend now :) top picture is from monday, we went to see Avatar for the second time, at the Imax this time. an incredibly exciting visual experience! looking forward to seeing Alice now.

++ Kickcan & Conkers is celebrating its 500th post with an ace write up about my work.

happy weekend peeps!

tiny neighbourhood // released

i've finally finished the tiny neighbourhood, although i'm not sure what to call it : a book? a zine? a cut up fold up concertina thingy? oh well, it doesn't matter, one can call it whatever they like :) there are only 15 of them and i won't be making anymore... they're in my shop now! hope you're having a good thursday.
an Ace in the pack is Lesley's new adventure. being such a sucker for playing cards, i'm loving it!

update ::: thank you so much for your thoughtful comments and e mails, especially to those who purchased the tiny neighbourhood. there are only 2 left and i'm happy that 13 of them have flown over to Germany, Slovenia, USA, Holland, Sweden, etc :)