An old drawing

Was looking for another drawing in one of my old sketchbooks this evening and stumbled across this one, from a holiday camp in Devon. I remember these 3 really clearly, all ignoring the poor cabaret act and drinking pint upon pint of cheap lager ! I particularly love the guy on the left. Had to share him.

Little but often

I have just bought Michael Nobbs' ebook, Sustainable Creativity , and am trying to apply one of the main principles of the book, which is little and often can add up to big results.

So whenever I have a few moments, I have been making a point of doing some drawings. Sharing them with you is my way of celebrating the progress.

This is an ornate street light in Brighton. Did another drawing, with a much less wonky lamppost, but somehow it lacked the charm of the first drawing. So here is the imperfect version!

Next is a street sign post, aka an urban tree. I love these, with all their messy, torn stickers and multiple signs.

Lastly is a diary drawing I made when I couldn't sleep. I got up to make a cup of tea and noticed all the grapes had fallen off the stalk overnight.

It's titled "Something ugly has happened to the grapes". Felt a very fitting title at that ungodly hour...

In other news, have been doing lots more work on new prints, that will be available through my Etsy shop shortly. Nearly there...

And I cannot wait for White Night in Brighton this weekend. Is such a fantastic, creative event, with so many venues opening and so much to see. I am particularly looking forward to Kabinets of Wonder, with the travelling caravans and their costumed models for life drawing. The only worry is how long I can actually stay awake, as I am much more of a lark than night owl. Hopefully there will be some drawings to come from that.

Coffee and a half hour draw

Had such a busy weekend. Was packed with practical family things that had been ignored for a while and now, just needed getting on with. But this meant there was a negligible amount of time to draw or actually do anything creative. Which is not just frustrating from a progress perspective, but can also really affect my mood.

So, got to late afternoon on Saturday and felt so restless and fed up with everything, took myself off to Moksha in Brighton, which is an independent coffee shop that sells genuinely great coffee. Sat for there for 25mins sipping coffee, watching it get dark and drawing, while half listening to the interesting conversations all around me. Came out in a whole better mood and resolved to do this again. That small window made such a difference to me. This is something Michael Nobbs talks about a his motivating blog http://www.sustainablycreative.net/ , how doing little and often, can achieve great things.

Tonight...

...I would rather be sipping a G&T than drinking a mug of coffee.

Drawing in snatches

Not much time today, just a few snatched moments. This money plant lives in the kitchen. Was bought off a guy who had done a house clearance. He was also selling these amazing, old cacti, that were huge and viciously spiky - too dangerous for our small house, where someone would bound to be spiked. Would have loved those cacti though, so (dreaming...) I could set up an exotic garden like Frida Kahlo.

And some pink things around the kitchen - some more glamorous than others... Good to draw the everyday though. Forces you to look at things in a different way.

Brighton Sketchcrawl, 16 October

Brighton sketchcrawl was a real success. There was a bunch of really friendly people (who were all more than happy to share their work and drawing experiences), good weather and loads to draw. What more could you ask for! I only had time to do 2 of the stops, but next time, will plan to be there for the whole afternoon.

Afterwards I went to see film The Social Network, so had a few mins beforehand to draw the Ben & Jerrys counter.

Bought at the car boot in Swansea, 1960s leather baby's shoes.

I love these. I even love the brown paper stuffing inside them, so they keep their shape. Have put them on display next to my metal shoe lasts.I did originally buy them to sell on, but just can't bring myself to do it. Am going to admire them for a while longer.
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Hours trimming prints & watching Chile mine rescue on BBC News

Just finishing off the range of retro sweet prints that are going into the fab Brighton sweet shop http://www.suckitandsea.com/ at the end of this week. Not sure how well they will sell, as am sure most people popping into a traditional sweetshop for a quarter of their favourites, are not expecting to buy a print as well. But was fun to do all the drawings anyway and have put them up for sale on Etsy too. If you are in Brighton, pop into Suck It & Sea. Is in the heart of the North Laine and has a gorgeous selection of sweets and fudge to tempt you.

So last night was the final finishing off - trimming and mounting all the prints, wrapping in cellophane and pricing. All done in front of the amazing BBC coverage of the Chile mine rescue. I have been transfixed by the story, like millions of others, and found their rescue just amazing to watch. Very life affirming and fantastic example of people working together to achieve the extraordinary.

New blog

This blog is the starting point of a new creative journey for me. Around 6 years ago I was practicing full time as a fine artist, exhibiting regularly and selling large, landscape paintings. Then I stopped painting completely. I felt I no longer wanted to paint these big vistas anymore. They had lost their resonance and didn't have any connection with my life anymore, which revolved around a small city centre home in Brighton. But as I didn't know what else to do creatively, I just stopped.

In the meantime, of course, life kept on going, and there was a period of ill health, bereavements and the surprises family life throws at you. I have now popped out the other side. And whilst I am still enormously proud of all those paintings and what I achieved, I realise that my creative direction is now very different.

What fascinates me today are the small corners of everyday life, the tiny details - the man lost in thought while his expresso goes cold, the rooftops above the discount shops, a jar of kitchen utensils, the lady with her shopping trolley and embroidered jacket. It's these moments I want to capture and celebrate, as a lot of the time it's those details that matter and make me most happy.

I draw all the time, where ever I am, and lots of those drawings go on to develop into prints and paintings. I have have discovered the fun of selling my work online and talking directly to people who are interested in it.

So I hope this blog will share my work and progress and I hope you will enjoy it.