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This week I took my first professional opportunity to come out of not living in Cornwall, & popped along to the  London Book Fair with my folio.  I have to admit, I was honestly terrified on the way up there.  I'm not very shouty about my work, I love it & I need it, but I'm always apprehensive about showing it to 'professionals,' in case maybe they see I'm not an illustrator I'm actually a very immature woman with a lot of art materials.  So even deciding to go was quite a step!  What a wally I am, though, because I met some lovely inspiring illustrators & had some very positive feedback from agents & publishers!  By the end of the day I'd smiled so much my face hurt. So now I've rekindled the fire under my bum for drawing things, & with some good advice from people at the LBF I'm hoping to move my freelance work forward.  So just in time for the sunshine to be hitting the UK, I've sworn an oath to my studio & banished myself to working weekends.  Seeing the sun through my window excites me more for my work though, so it's a happy exile, believe me.

New drawing!




Probably a more 'personal' piece than my personal work usually is, I guess.  I'm (still) reading 'Women who Run with the Wolves' by Clarissa Pinkola Estes, which is generally a very affecting book but at the moment something there is particularly poignant.  So I'm searching for pieces of my wildish self, & reading & drawing & thinking a lot.  It's not a particularly tidy job, but it's worth it. 

And I really like drawing organs, despite the minefield that is googling up references.

xxx

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I did an Illustration Friday image for the word prompt, "Eye-Glasses" and posted it on my blog, then thought I'd rework it just a bit and post over here. Please check out the rest of the images posted on Illustration Friday. Good stuff, y'all!

Paula's Blog
Paula's Website

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Thought I'd put up some Easter-related items here, since we are into March. This is part of a licensing package I've been working on.

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Just like Claire (below) and the others, I created an image to represent my work for our latest postcard promotional. We chose a Valentine's Day theme so you will see lots of love and hearts and pinks and reds in our images.

Please take a look at our bio's here and visit our personal sites to see more about us! Thanks for visiting!

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My contribution to this week’s Illustration Friday prompt, “Glow”. The coloring is messy and ugly, but the idea was fun to try and pull off quickly.

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A reworking of an image/card from two years ago. This one is on my December promo postcard. Sure is a lot of fun to change this up from time to time and add new angels and animals, etc. My personal favorites are the dog-angel, cat-angel and mouse-angel!

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Hi everybody! This is one of the images I used on my Christmas card this year. It was the outworking of an image I did for Illustration Friday. I can't tell you how many changes this went through to become this, but it was a lot!

I wish you all a very Merry Christmas! Thanks for visiting our IFK site and blog!

Paula's website
Paula's blog

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This is the final iteration of a piece I did for Illustration Friday a few weeks back, using the word-prompt “tree”. It went from a boy and dog in a tree, kids in a tree, SNOWmen in a tree, and now back to the first idea. And when I thought THAT was done, I added the boxes, bulbs, and ribbons. I think it’s finished. I have not had the urge to fix or change anything. A good sign! And now I’m using it for one of my Christmas cards this year. Merry Christmas!

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Not feeling all that able to draw today. This is kind of what it looks like outside presently, minus the fox.

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My warm-up drawing for the day turned into a cookbook cover. I consider it a rough, mock-up. I could tweak, change and alter this thing forever, if I let myself.

…And now I think I need my own cookie fix… : )

 

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An  illustration for Illustration Friday’s word prompt, “Stretch”. These guys are playing some sort snowman’s version of Badminton, me thinks.

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A few days ago, I posted a caption challenge on my Facebook wall. Lots of great suggestions, and I ended picking Paul Carroll's caption. :-)

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gingerlandcomics:

The Boat

Sam Alden

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I dunno. I did this last week but never finished/posted it. These peas are identical LOOKING, but not so identical when it comes to personalities.

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Summer is my favorite season, as I enjoy being outdoors as much as I can. The above is my image for our IFK summer promo postcard, which had the summer theme of "beach". I did several prior to this one, finally opting for a looser, devil-may-care style with heavier ink. And I liked the idea of a poodle in a polka-dot bikini, lying on the beach. I was also doing dogs on a beach-scene for my own summer promo, below, so these kind of went together.

Have a good rest of your summer, everybody!

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“Refresh” is the word prompt for Illustration Friday this week. I drew a quick one. It’s a good time of year to watch birds doing a little sun bathing, yes? Playing/sitting/standing in/sitting next to/etc. water is always refreshing to me.

 

Illustration Friday got a face lift this week! (It looks great, Penelope!) Check it out–along with all the other creative entries. And don’t forget to enter an illustration yourself. It’s fun!

 

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I’m working on a couple of dog-themed illustrations lately and thought I’d carry it on over to Illustration Friday. This week’s topic is “suspend”. I liked the idea of doggy acrobats.

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I had to do something on LOST for this Illustration Friday. It goes along with this posting I did back in 2010, before LOST was over. Whether you loved or hated the ending, it was still quite a show.

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Just a little guy I’m working on for something.

Though I grew up in a beach town, I’m not that much of a beach person. On a hot summer day, though, I can see it’s attraction!

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During a walk by the water yesterday, I stopped to watch the various birds search for their evening grub. A tall, slim heron, was idling along in the shallow waters on his own, while nearby were ducks and gulls in pairs or groups. And the ducks and gulls were often intermingled with each other. So I imagined what the plight of this heron would be if he were to join in.  He would certainly have some struggles to interact, as he towered at least a foot above the other birds. And so I figured it might be a lonely experience, to be in the midst of a group where you towered over everyone else.

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Later this month, Toon Books releases the above easy-to-read comic reader Maya Makes a Mess. Written and illustrated by Rutu Modan, this is something I would have loved to read as an emerging reader.
I love this dynamic spread (and that flowing line of spaghetti!) Rutu Modan is masterful at capturing so many big expressions with spare lines and flat color.

Pop on over to the Maya Makes a Mess Messy Eater contest page for a chance to win your own copy. Just submit a picture of YOUR messy eater. That's my messy little one, on a typical morning I might add - I think Maya would approve of her methods.

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