Walkies...

I  walk every morning and use these times to amass feathers, leaves, twigs  and all sorts of things to use for future projects where I need texture.  My ‘find’ this morning was plastic foliage used to disguise a phone mast. Might come in handy...

 I also use my walks as thinking time, it is when I get my ideas for stories, characters or light bulb moments.  It sets me up for the day and I order my thoughts but more importantly it keeps me centred and literally helps to keep me on my ‘path’. When I worked as an illustrator in the 90’s I eventually  lost my vision and creative spark to the point my work didn’t fulfil me. I was busy but I illustrated to order and soon enough my work reflected it, my heart and soul wasn’t in it. Returning to illustration via the MA in Children’s Book Illustration at Cambridge School of Art has put me back on my path, my work feels authentic to myself and I hope it shows! Everyone should walk, town or country – and without our mobiles to distract us.

         John Muir  "In every walk with nature one receives far more than he seeks." 

So apart from walking and I do walk alot!  I have been working on some new illustrations with my continued experiments  combining mono printing, textured rubbings and inks for a story about hide and seek in the woods. Hope you like them! (click on the images to enlarge).