birthday bear

I received these cards in the post recently. They are birthday cards that I worked on for Peaceable Kingdom Press last summer, just before Oki turned one - my first paid job since becoming a mum :)

brush brush

Here are some personal pieces I've been working on, inspired by a certain little boy and his daily routine, his impatience, and his likes and dislikes.
After a long break from illustration being a full time mum, I'm now wanting my work to move forward in a slightly different direction, to try a little experimenting with materials, colours, facial expressions etc. This will take some time, and that is the one thing I don't have much of these days, but I feel the need to explore and be excited about making pictures again.

tunnel

I made Oki a tunnel today which seemed to keep him amused for quite some time :) The cut out pieces also made fun puppets and a good puzzle. Who says you need to spend money on toys?

Little egg

We are all sleeping a lot better since we moved Oki into his own room, hooray! We still have the occasional bad day, but at least we're not getting beaten up anymore...
I often find him like this, at the top right corner of his cot, out of his blanket, curled up like a little egg. Very sweet :)