Feminist comics residence, part 2 (the text version)

  What does a feminist comics residence involve, anyway? I’ve already covered much of what I found in Helsinki in the comic I shared recently: the unique surroundings; the friendly participants who all had so much in common; the food, for which we didn’t have to raise a finger or pay a cent; and theContinue reading “Feminist comics residence, part 2 (the text version)”

My daughter’s 2017 stocking

It’s become my own personal tradition that each year, I draw my daughter’s Christmas stocking: a record of all those gifts of chocolate, stationery and small toys that Santa brings. He’s a clever man, that Santa: each year, his choices seem to accord directly with my daughter’s changing fads and preferences. In this, her 13thContinue reading “My daughter’s 2017 stocking”

2017 – a year in drawing

No matter how much time and energy I put in, I never feel like I’m doing quite enough drawing, so it’s always good to look back over the year and realise quite how much paper (and pixels) I’ve stacked up! Here’s a quick run-through of how 2017 looked. February On the 1st, I took theContinue reading “2017 – a year in drawing”

Ladies of the Lakes, part 1

As long-time readers will know, I often record holidays in the form of a sketch diary. Now, my trip up to the town of Kendal in the Lake District last October wasn’t exactly a holiday; I was there for the Lakes International Comic Art Festival, selling comics. Nonetheless, so much happened in the 4 daysContinue reading “Ladies of the Lakes, part 1”

Totnes & Lyme Regis holiday diary, part 6: in which we break everything and go home

This is the very final episode in our Totnes and Lyme Regis holiday. If this is the first page you’ve seen, you probably want to start at part 1, actually.   Ha! I only wrote that page (above) out a few days ago, and several new things have happened in politics. It’s as if someoneContinue reading “Totnes & Lyme Regis holiday diary, part 6: in which we break everything and go home”

Totnes and Lyme Regis holiday sketch diary, part 5: Beatrix Potter’s windswept hair

This is part 5 of our holiday in Totnes and Lyme Regis. If you haven’t seen prior episodes, you’ll want to begin from the beginning, so start here. We’re nearly at the end of the holiday now: just one more installment after this. As before, click on any image and then click again to seeContinue reading “Totnes and Lyme Regis holiday sketch diary, part 5: Beatrix Potter’s windswept hair”

Totnes and Lyme Regis holiday sketch diary, part 4: cows, worms, moles & other animals

The image at the top of this post is a happy accident which happened on Photoshop, as I was trying to clean up the picture of the bookshop that appears in the third page below. I like it better than the actual painting, so here it is as a header. Part 1 is here, partContinue reading “Totnes and Lyme Regis holiday sketch diary, part 4: cows, worms, moles & other animals”

My complete Hourly Comic Day 2016

So – was it more difficult completing Hourly Comic Day on a working day? You bet it was. There’s not very much of visual interest to draw, and it means you have to do a full day’s work and then put in several hours drawing into the night. I saw a few canny people shiftedContinue reading “My complete Hourly Comic Day 2016”

Can I be a mother and a successful artist? Hmm, let’s see

This piece of graffiti is a fairly new addition to an underpass on one of my running routes. I enjoy graffiti and street art well enough, but my goodness, I don’t think I’ve ever seen a piece of it that spoke so directly to my own concerns. I’d like to meet whoever scrawled this andContinue reading “Can I be a mother and a successful artist? Hmm, let’s see”

Illustration for a petting party invitation

Sorry – you’re not actually invited, which is why I’ve deleted the time, date and venue details from this image (you’ll have to imagine how they are in the same lettering, to her right). I just wanted to show you the most recent results of my favourite annual job: designing invitations for my daughter’s birthdayContinue reading “Illustration for a petting party invitation”

A week in Barcelona, final part: rainbows, closed doors and iconic pavements

Here’s the final pages of my Barcelona sketch diary. You can see part 1 here. Part 2 is here. Part 3 is here. And part 4 is here. As always, click and click again to see each page at a larger size. Now read on…