Happy Christmas!

Wishing you a lovely Christmas and a Happy New Year!

etching

I took part in an "Introduction to etching" class at City Lit recently, which I really really enjoyed :) It was great to do something a little different, and to learn new things.
Our tutor Cath was brilliant, and crammed so much in over the course of 2 days. 
I did do a bit of etching when I was studying for my BA, but that was over 10 years ago so I was a little bit rusty. I particularly enjoyed Chine-colle, which was something I'd never done before - a process quite similar to collage, and a great way to add colour and texture. I loved the unpredictability of it all, not knowing the result until you peeled the paper off the plate. Very exciting!

three bears

Two of them have been added to my shop :)

in my shop!...

...some Thank you postcards...

...and some more felt toys...

I will be adding a few more bits and pieces to my Etsy shop soon :)

in my shop!

I've added a couple of things to my Etsy shop - limited edition Giclee prints of "Autumn Bunny" and a set of Christmas cards.
More things to come soon, including felt toys and more limited edition prints :)

what I wore today

I haven't done these in a while..."What I wore today". 
I had a lovely weekend with friends and in-laws, bulking up with lots and lots of layers and yummy food :)
Since then, I've been mostly cooped up in the flat, wrapped up in a blanket and attached to the radiator. It is so very cold...brrrrrrrrr!

Just a few more...

Here's the rest of the "Thank you" cards I've been working on :)
One thing ticked off my list...now onto my Christmas cards.

Thank you cards

Suddenly it's November!
I've been working on some cards recently...some "Thank you" cards and I'm finally starting to work on my Christmas cards for this year - bit late as per usual, but I hope I get them printed in time!! 
More to come soon...

Exhibition pics from Berlin :)

Thank you Olesya for some great photos from the Ohrannik Spravok ne daet exhibition which took place in Berlin at the beginning of last month. I can see my shrimp on a bike!

Exhibition next week!

I will be exhibiting some work at Hankyu department store in Osaka, Japan between 10th-16th November. It's a group show with a selection of Japanese artists who have taken part in the Bologna Illustrators Exhibition over the years. In addition to the pieces I exhibited at 14th Moon Galerie Centennial earlier on this year (which you can see here, here and here), I will have some small bird paintings and a selection of limited edition prints for sale.
Unfortunately I won't be able to make it, but please tell all your friends and family if they are in the area! And ask them to take photos too :)

fun fun Japanese books :)

I picked up a couple of great picture books at the book shop in Japan Town, in San Francisco.

The first is by Colobockle, and it is all about "sound". The Japanese language is really rich in onomatopoeic and mimetic words. They're hard to translate, but I've always found it fascinating how you can describe the way rain falls or the sound of laughter in so many different ways.

The second book is by brilliantly funny Yoshifumi Hasegawa. Here, he makes puns with the name of each prefecture in Japan, and illustrates it with great humour. It made me laugh out loud reading it in the book shop! 

A couple of stops

We made a couple of stops along the way to Santa Monica; the first in Santa Cruz, where we stretched our legs in the strangely deserted amusement park, then onto Carmel-by-the-sea, where we spent a lovely evening relaxing :)

Big Sur

We left San Francisco and drove along the Big Sur in a Big Car! We followed windy narrow roads with a steep drop to the ocean through heavy mist, it was quite thrilling! It felt like we were in the clouds at times, and then suddenly we found ourselves above the clouds...!