2015!

Happy 2015. This is going to be a very productive year. My first deadline is in ten days when I deliver the finished illustrations to Two Fearsome Fairy Tale From France, retold by Adele Geras and published by Christmas Press. I think it is coming out in May.

I am working hard on a novel for YA audience which will be out of my usual fantasy, however, possibly classified as sci fi. I have to finish it and see if a publisher wants it, but at least I will be writing.

My toy shop, Granny Fi's Toy Cupboard is moving from Uralla, NSW, Australia, to Armidale (all of twenty kms away). The grand opening is the 23rd January.

And I would really, really like to do some painting. The picture above is from the early 90s. I dug it out of a folder last year I think and actually quite like it.

And thank you everyone who makes these lovely comments about my work. I'm sorry I don't et round to publishing it sooner. 

Another pen drawing

The night before last I began another detailed pen drawing. I'm only working on this at night just before bed. It has Melusine in it again. I don't know where the narrative is going, but isn't that just like a novel?

What I would like to do is a huge pen drawing, perhaps next year.

Finished new drawing

Here she is. Melusine. HAs anyone thought who the mystery man behind the curtain might be?

Melusine update and emergence of mystery man

I was working on Melusine last night at bedtime. As I was blocking in the left hand curtain I noticed the shadowy figure of a man in a bowler hat emerging. His appearance is surprising and a bit disturbing, I'm not sure if he is a sinister presence or friendly.

If you have any ideas, please let me know.

New Drawing of Melusine reading, work in progress

Have I done any of the 101 things I was supposed to be doing this weekend?
Um, no.
But I did spend a lot of time working on a new pen drawing of my crab-clawed mermaid Melusine. I love the work of Edward Gorey and decided to do a full out, detailed piece inspired by his style.

Hoping to waste more time on it when I get home this afternoon.

A pastel drawing from last year and a soft sculpture cow

More pictures

Sleep that knits up the ravelled sleeve of care. This was a sletch for an idea of a child asleep with doll images crossing the floor in front of her, you can see the idea for the composition in the top of the picture.

I just love Rookwood cemetery. I haven't been there for years. I did this sketch years ago and based a large painting on it. It fitted in well with some short stories I was writing.

The pencil drawing for Melusine.

Bird in the Afternoon- another narrative without text, or rather to accompany text but not directly linked to that text. Would love to do a narrative in text and pictures where the drawings are part of the narrative, not just an accompaniment.