life drawing

 Attended the @thegoodshipillo/@yoillo/@theaoi blenddrink&draw on Tuesday. Haven't done any life drawing in an age, but was quite pleased with these quick ones. We drew from what was around us, and these sum up my two life obsessions nicely plants and kylo ren

Illustrators Fair at House of Illustration!

Popped to the House of Illustration Illustrators fair this Sunday! Bumped into the lovely Rob Barret of Yoillo whilst we were there too :) Caught the end of some CSM graduates animations and I nearly put a bid down in the silent auction there at Illustration House HQ, but I wouldn't have been able to pick it up at half five and I'll never know whose artwork it was as I couldn't read the signature on the print! Wah! Anyway it was

lovely to chat and see a few twitter friends! Here's Hannah Wheeler...

...and Sarah Horne :)

and Tor Freeman!

Bagged a bargain priced print too! I've been after this fruity number since my birthday! It always makes me chuckle! :)

And lastly Chris Haughton too! The toy Georges were amazing! Didn't have enough money to buy one!

And as it was a gorgeous Sunday me and Amberin took ourselves off to Southbank BFI bar and then onto the George Inn for the rest of the afternoon!

Hope the fairs a yearly thing, it was really fab. Made me wish I had actually applied for a stand now! Superb to see a mix of established illustrators and upcoming ones too. Well done House of Illustration!

Oliver Jeffers talk at the Southbank

Last night I went to a talk by Oliver Jeffers hosted by the AOI, where he spoke about his childrens books and his art. It was incredibly interesting and he was very funny! I also got a couple of books signed by him too!

There were also a lot of yoillo faces there too which was brilliant! Me, Amberin, Sarah and Alice met up after and had a little night cap :)

Day two and three at London Book Fair!

Well, again, didn't get many photographs! But I did have an amazing time there. I have had the best amazing useful feedback in which to carry on with in a clearer direction.
Here is my trusty partner in illustration crime Amberin!

(helpfully pointing towards her name!)

A well earned whisky and coke and gin and lemonade. *It's exhausting stuff book fairs!*

Day 3 was all about the Illustrators afternoon. We arrived at midday to get a good spot at the front and in with a definite chance of meeting the speakers that afternoon, Nick May Orion, Mike Phipps Igloo Books and Strawberrie Donnelly Little Tiger Press.

 I first spoke to Nick May, but I very luckily managed to sneak in at the end and see Strawberrie who I was desperate to talk too, but I have to say London Book Fair, the afternoon was poorly organised. A lot of disappointed illustrators were not able to talk to the editor who was right for them. Some sort of ticketing online and for which editor beforehand would have been a better way of doing it perhaps, as the majority of the illustrators in my queue knew they weren't right for Orion and wanted to see Igloo or Tiger.

I also bumped into a few twitter and yoillo folk which was brilliant! David Stevenson, Sarah Underwood and Emily Rose Lambert, Jane Heinrichs and I spied Grace Sandford too :)

I also met Amberin's chum from uni Cathy Hookey. Good times all round, especially the quick gin at the pub after the fair!  

Anyways, that aside it's been a wonderful time. I can not recommend enough that you go. It is so good to talk to people in person about your work and where you should be heading. 

L-R Nick May, Strawberrie Donnelly and Mike Phipps.

Amberin and David :)

So then after a quick drink I hotfooted it across to Shepards Bush Empire to watch British Sea Power!! My faves! They did a mellow set first in which they played my fave fave fave song Blackout and then the support band Toy were up who were very good, (although maybe a bit indulgent towards the end!) but they looked so very cool, how you'd want to be if you were a band. And then BSP did their main set. Opened up with Remember me! The Great Skua was probably the best bit, absolute magic.

Here are some crummy mobile phone photos! 

Toy

BSP

Go listen to The Great Skua here :) 

Happy New Year! Long overdue post!

Hope you all had a lovely winter holidays time! Just before xmas, I was selling my xmas cards at the first Yoillo! market stall.  Here is the guy behind it, Rob Barrett displaying the wares!

Hopefully there'll be more over the year. It was good fun setting up the stall.

In other news, remember the doodles in the first book I did with Philip Weeks? Well there's now a second book all about Painful Bladder Syndrome!
 Here's a few snaps. I wish I was allowed to do the covers on these things :)