I-F: Island

Hopefully this guy is heading towards an island or some other solid ground! This is an illustration for the cover of the latest Teachers Learning Network journal, which I design and sometimes do illustrations for. The title is Riding the Waves of Innovation. The inspiration for this is pretty obviously Hakusai, and was a lot of fun to add collage to.

I have some good news to tell about my last book Surprise! once i get a moment, and am happy to report that I am almost finished the roughs for my book series - hurrah!

I-F: Clutter & 9x5

This puddytat probably thinks he's clearing out some of the "clutter"! (Or should that be "dinner"?)

This is my submission for the Illustrators Australia annual 9x5 exhibition where the theme is "Year of the Rat" (my title: Year of the rat (crossed out) CAT). Oh, did I mention I am on the committee with IA? Um, oh yeah, did I mention I'm the VP this year? It's but a name really, but I do enjoy being part of an association like that. This year I helped set up the inaugural mentorship program, which has been in the wings for a long time. (I would have liked to set up a mentorship program for ME!)

Anyway, the 9x5 is an annual exhibition where IA members are sent a piece of wood that is 9x5 in dimension to paint, and then they get auctioned off on one fun and exciting night - October 2nd this year, so if you are in the area do come along! It is also part of the Melbourne Fringe festival this year, and you can find out more about it here.

The seasonal unfurl

Today is the first day I feel myself standing a bit taller, breathing a bit deeper, unfurling from hunkering down through winter. It is such a good feeling. Bring on spring!

That said, I have been nose to the grindstone lately. I’m working madly on my book series every chance I get. I love it! One thing I’ve discovered: elephants are fun to draw. I must admit I was a bit worried about how to logistically place trunks in a composition so that they are not in the way, but I’ve found that they actually lend so much more emotion and expression. They are up in the air when all is well, drooping down in sadness, intertwining to show a connection between two characters, etc.


In between that and the rest of life, I have also taken on the task of painting our living room. It’s not as easy as I thought it would be! I was woefully unprepared for the endless scraping of cracks and sanding of walls in our 1950’s gem. (the painting part will be easy when we finally get to it!) Every time I start talking about this though I see people’s eyes start to glaze over so I think I’ll stop my whinging there! It will get done... One day... And it will be beautiful :-)

In other news, the author of my last book Surprise!, Karen, had a little talk at the Melbourne Writers Festival last week (you can see some videos of it on her blog, if you like). I went along and also got to see a positional proof of the book. Nothing to write home about really, I didn't get to see the printing proof unfortunately. Anyway, the good news is that they are due back end of September! Hooray! Get ready for some giveaways when that happens!