I've been life drawing a couple of times recently, a little rusty, but a really good 'brain workout'!

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It all started 2 years ago when The Grand Appeal, the Bristol Children's Hospital charity, launched Gromit Unleashed! The public arts trail was sponsored by a host of different business, from small local companies to national corporations. And many well known artists and household names came onboard to design and paint the Gromits, including Sir Quentin Blake, Nick Park, Cath Kidston, and Disney Pixar.

The 80 giant Gromit's were unleashed on Bristol, for the entire summer of 2013, bringing 1.18 million people to the city, and when they finally went under the hammer they raised £2.3 million for charity.

I was very honoured to be included in the event, and painted my Gromit, Bunty, with a Bristol street party theme with plenty of bunting, balloons and boats.

5 foot tall, it took over 2 months to paint, and lots of pots of acrylic paint! I shared a big painting space with lots of other artists, we kept each other company and helped encourage each other too. As you can see it was quite cold, painting in March/April time, wrapped up in a big jumper!

Once he was finished, he was sent away to be lacquered, and then joined the rest of his friends on the harbourside train on the opening day, where I was reunited:
After the big launch day, all the Gromits were sent off to their own spots around Bristol, launching on 1st July (which happened to also be my 30th birthday!) So Bunty spent the summer outside St Mary Redcliffe:

Bunty was sponsored by Unum, who were all very enthusiastic and excited to see their Gromit in situ, coming out to have a big group photo:
Unum were very generous and commissioned me to paint a 'portrait' of Bunty for them to keep, posters of which went on sale through The Grand Appeal, raising yet more funds for charity.
So for the whole of the summer of 2013, the Gromits enjoyed meeting all their visitors, until finally they went under the hammer to be sold and sent to their new homes! I, and many of the other artists, went to the auction together, and cheered each other on when each Gromit came out on stage. The first, Patch, set the ball park and sold for £36,000, and the highest, Gromit Lightyear, sold for £65,000.

I was over the moon to see my Gromit, Bunty, sell for £31,000!
A total of £2.3 million was raised on the night, and a total of £5 million to date for Bristol Children's Hospital, and they're still going strong! Part of the funds which are still providing for the Children's hospital come from the Gromit figurines. Bunty has been in the process of being transformed for 2 years, but it's taken so long because there is so much detail to accurately reproduce! But, finally, the wait is over... 2 years after the trail, my Gromit, Bunty, has been transformed in to a mini figurine! And he's eager to join the rest of the pack. I have one of my very own, at home on my desk, and can honestly say he's a very true reproduction of the original and full of loveable character!
He's made of solid resin, and is 16.5cm high, 12cm wide (ear to ear), and approx. 17cm long, and is available to buy for £35! Take a look in the Grand Appeal shop and on the Grand Appeal website...

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I am so proud to be one of 70 artists to have painted a Shaun for Bristol's 'Shaun in the City'!

My Shaun is called 'A Sheep's Eye View' and is at home outside the Clifton Observatory (my sponsor). He has his own little grassy pen surrounded by a white fence, and some hay bales to keep him happy.

He is inspired by Bristol, with city views around the harbour. There is Temple Meads, the M Shed, SS Great Britain, Tobacco Factory, Ashton Court, the Suspension Bridge wrapped around his tail, and then Clifton, Hotwells and the harbour, and finally Park Street and the Arnolfini (and many more in between!) It's definitely a 'see how many landmarks you can spot' kind of Shaun. I had great fun painting him, and really enjoyed adding as much detail as I could! (I was still painting an hour before they came to pick him up!)

Here are some shots of some of the detail...





I usually paint quite small, in water colour for children's books, so painting something so big is a new thing for me! (Although I did paint a Gromit in 2013) I painted Shaun in my studio, and was good fun sharing the experience with my fellow studio buddies.

www.paulabowles.co.uk


Wallace & Gromit’s Children’s Foundation. Charity no. 1043603

Shaun the Sheep & Shaun in the City ©& ™ Aardman Animations Ltd 2015

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And I can reveal that my Shaun's home, between 6th July - 31st August, will be outside the Clifton Observatory! Such a great spot, be sure to take a look at the Camera Obscurer and go down to the 'Giant's cave' while you're at the Observatory, (and maybe pack a picnic to sit outside and admire the view of the Clifton suspension bridge!)

Aardman’s internationally-acclaimed character Shaun the Sheep is appearing in two ewe-nique arts trails this year! Over 100 giant sculptures of Shaun the Sheep created by artists, celebrities and designers have been placed in iconic locations and beautiful green spaces across London and are flocking to Bristol this summer, before going to auction to raise money for children in hospitals across the UK.

Shaun in the City is brought to you by the team that created the award-winning Gromit Unleashed which saw Aardman’s loveable canine sidekick Gromit raise £2.3 million for Bristol Children’s Hospital.

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Read all about it! I'm taking part in this exciting group exhibition coming up in May:

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I make 'Custom Name Art Prints' for babies and young children. I can make any name you like, especially for you.

These are fade resistant 'giclee' prints, on acid free watercolour paper. Size A4 - A3 depending on size of name. £35 unframed. £45 framed.

Just drop me a line to make enquiries: [email protected]

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Little Lou and the Woolly Mammoth have taken up residence in the window of Playfull Toyshop! (Gloucester Rd, Bristol). I will be reading my book and signing copies here on Sat. 7th March, from 11.30am. Children can also decorate their own woolly mammoth too! Come and hi!

Read a lovely review here to learn more

• Publisher: Bloomsbury Childrens (8 May 2014)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1408839660
• ISBN-13: 978-1408839669

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I was interviewed on BBC Radio Bristol this week, about my books and about libraries, as part of their lead up to 'National Libraries Day'. It was my first time on the radio and I was a little nervous, but managed to get some words out in the right order and not make too much of a fool of myself!

It is available to listen again until the end of February, just click HERE I'm introduced around 47mins 30sec. (Just after the lovely George Ezra). Enjoy!

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Myself and Bristol illustrators, aka Brillustration, created a Christmas mural at The Barn Gallery, Wiltshire. All in a few hours! (With the help of mince pies and delicious mulled wine courtesy of the gallery).

It was a lovely day out and good to spend time together creating art just for fun and giggles!

Mark Sperring, children's author from Blackwells, Bristol, brought along all our published books, and sold many a Christmas present with plenty of personalized book signing!

Fairy by June Goulding

Bear and owl by Sean Jullian

Everyone drew a penguin! Guess who's?

Brillustrators from left to right: Laura Elliot, Me, Mark Sperring, Lauren Tobia, Sean Julian and June Goulding.

We were also featured on BBC Wiltshire! Broadcast in the afternoon and on their facebook page :)

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I've been sketching lots of kids and doggies! I think I'm in a puppy cuddle kind of mood...

Giant doggy!

"Hello Autumn"

Snuggles

Cuddle!

Books

Circus pyjamas

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I joined Bristol Illustrators (aka Brillustration) at The Affordable Art Fair last weekend. I ran a workshop on the Saturday with Sean Julian, teaching little kids and big kids how to draw characters including bears, dinosaurs, woolly mammoths and robots.

Brillustration: Affordable Art Fair Take Over!

And on Sunday, Brillustrators joined in 'en mass' and drew all over the walls, inviting the public to draw with us, we soon had a busy crowd of artists.

My tiger!

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I was invited to read my new book 'Little Lou and the Woolly Mammoth' at Hayesdown school in Frome recently. I had such a lovely time! The event was organised by Hunting Raven Books, I read my book to 2 classes and signed some copies too. I also left behind some woolly mammoth activity sheets for the classes to decorate.

I'm really enjoying reading my book aloud to children and seeing their reactions to the mammoth and little lou. And chatting to them about what else Little Lou could find at the end of a woolly thread, and their own favourite cuddly toys.

Thank you to Hayesdown first for having me and to Hunting Raven for organising the event. It was brilliant! And I hope the children feel inspired to draw their own woolly creatures :)

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I just love this cute review at Muff and Teacake,

"At the moment the bedtime routine with my daughter frequently seems to be spent in the company of a very cute squiggly mammoth! My daughter loves her latest book, Little Lou and the Woolly Mammoth by Paula Bowles.  I must admit to being just a little captivated too… "


And Nayu's Reading Corner

"Lou rarely sits still, both the story and the illustrations have a sense of activity and moving about which readers might want to act out. Lou's expressions match a child's innocent curiosity as she follows the wool. I joined her in being scared of he mammoth, but not for long because something happens to make it utterly adorable and had me squeeing with delight. I want a woolly mammoth like it is at the end! And I'd like a book 2 which is sort of hinted at on the last page."


And Read it Daddy

We won't spoil the twist in this yarn-entwined tale but it's rather lovely, in fact the whole book has that warm fuzzy cuddly feeling about it - a bit like a gigantic woolly mammoth in fact. Just never feed it dustballs otherwise you'll never get rid of it :)
Charlotte's best bit: The mammoth first appears, and he's HUGE! Eek! A little bit daunting for a little girl 

Daddy's Favourite bit: Warm, fuzzy, charming and funny - and celebrates a child's endless curiosity perfectly 

Thanks guys for the kind words, glad you're all enjoying Little Lou and the Woolly Mammoth :)

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Had a lovely time at my studio's open day at the weekend. I read my stories and did a craft session with the little ones, 'Make your own Mammoth'. They coloured and decorated their own woolly mammoths, I love them! I also took blank sheets of paper for them to make their own woolly creations....

This is a conceptual piece by an imaginative 4 year old, titled 'The Sea'.

Another imaginative piece, titled 'Kite'.

Some masterpieces there, I think you'll agree!?

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I've made a woolly mammoth colouring sheet  Free download, print and scribble/colour/decorate/stick wool and create your very own cuddly mammoth!

Just click on the image above and print it from your computer. It will print on a 'landscape' A4 page.

Would love to see your creations, so send me your photos and I'll add them to a gallery on my facebook page!

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A lovely day was had at Hunting Raven Bookshop on Thursday. Celebrating the launch of my new book by decorating their window as part of Bloomsbury's 'Illustrated Windows' project. Little Lou and the Woolly Mammoth are officially 'on the loose'!

Me with BIG Little Lou

The inspiration behind some of Little Lou's toys and their illustrated counterparts.

Stars and bunting!

Cupcakes made by my mum.

Lots and lots of wool...

All done! Outside with some of the ladies who work at Hunting Raven Books.

Format: Hardback/Paperback 

Pages:

32 

Publisher:

Bloomsbury Publishing PLC 

Publication Date:

08 May 2014 

Category:

Picture Books 

ISBN:

9781408839652 

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My first book in the UK is published tomorrow! To celebrate I am decorating the window of 'Hunting Raven Books' as part of Bloomsbury's 'Illustrated windows' project.

My shared studio have written a lovely blog post, read all about it here

Available in all good bookshops and online. If buying online, why not try Hive who give a percentage of sales to a local bookshop of your choice.

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3 more sleeps until my book, Little Lou and the Woolly Mammoth is published! To celebrate I'm decorating the window of Hunting Raven Books on Thurs 8th May, as part of Bloomsbury's 'Illustrated Windows' project. For more info click here

Available online here

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I had the pleasure of painting one of the giant Gromits seen around Bristol last summer as part of Gromit Unleashed. Mine is called 'Bunty' and was covered in scenes of Bristol and plenty of bunting! It was inspired by the colourful, summery, street party culture of the city:

My sponsor, Unum, commissioned me to paint a 'portrait' of Bunty to remember him by. They now have the original A2 sized painting in their office, but there are A3 digital prints available to buy through the Gromit Unleashed website and in their Bristol shop:

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A lovely parcel from Bloomsbury arrived in the post today...

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Being a big fan of jazz dancing (swing dance/'lindy hop') myself, I was delighted to listen to this short interview with one of my favourite illustrators, Shirley Hughes, talk about her love of dancing during WWII. BBC Radio 4 - A Last Excuse Me Dance

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I went to see 'The Book Hive', in Bristol's central library this weekend. The library is celebrating it's 400 year anniversary, so there are 400 books to mark the occasion. It is an interactive installation, the books flap and tease you with their contents, before snapping shut. And then taking a peek again. Some were more shy than others, and some were more lively! Real characters :-) Created by 'Rusty Squid'.

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Here's me reading one of my books at Sticky Stories this week. It was so nice to read to a crowd of little ones (and bigger ones!) Little Lou and the Woolly Mammoth seemed to go down very well too :-)

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I'm very excited to have been invited to read my stories at 'Sticky Stories' in Bristol! I will be reading Scary Mary, What Goes Up, and the world premier of 'Little Lou and the Woolly Mammoth'.

The event is at Bristol's Create Centre, Hotwells, on Weds 26th Feb.

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