The Big One Hundred

This is my one hundredth blog post. Slightly shameful as I started this blog back in the mists of 2009. But hey-ho, I've got a lot better at regular blogging since I started, I've learnt so much in that time. Coincidentally, I also recently passed the 100 followers mark. Through the blogging world I have come across so many wonderful people, and seen so many amazing pieces of artwork, not to mention recipes, journals, articles, competitions... the list goes on. Illustration Friday, in particular, is to be thanked for providing me with a stimulus every week to create something, even though I haven't been able to take part every week. I can now honestly list blogging as one of my main hobbies. Having this blog has pushed me to keep drawing, painting, printing and playing, it's been a real lifeline and given me a reason to illustrate when I haven't felt like doing so. My second blog Have A Go Hannah, launched last week, is proving to be tremendous fun too, in such a short space of time.

Big thanks to everyone in the blogosphere, illustrator or otherwise, who has visited either blog and provided support and feedback. :-)

Oh, and the illustration above is for the latest I.F. brief - wings. I'm riding a peacock, as you do.

It’s a myth...

My Illustration Friday piece: this week’s word is Myth. It’s a myth that if you don’t wrap up, you will catch a cold. A cold is a virus, so you can catch one whether you wrap up or not!

Also, I’d like to shyly draw your attention to my new blog for all things slightly off topic for illustration. It’s called Have A Go, Hannah, and I’ll be using it to write about living a more creative life. Please do visit, there isn’t much to see yet but I’m hoping to update it lots.

Thanks!

This one's for Cabin Pressure Fans...

And you know who you are, all of you. Happy Birling Day! (This is a bit late as we've already had episode 2 out on Radio 4, but I really wanted to do this!)

When you are scared...

This started life as a doodle in my sketchbook. I have set myself a 365 challenge this year - to draw something every single day in a sketchbook. I've figured out that if I stick to it, I should fill four sketchbooks in a year.

I've fallen out of love with sketchbooks, ever since college, and I think it's because our sketchbooks were marked. The fact that someone was going to be looking at my work and appraising it ruined the sketchbook experience for me, because I was so busy trying to make each page 'perfect'. I don't blame college for this, there's no getting away from the fact that art work needs to be assessed somehow if you are studying.

Anyway, my friend and fellow illustrator Carly is a really prolific sketcher, she even sketches on the sofa when she comes to visit. She inspired me to start sketching more and get over this odd phobia of sketchbooks. (I usually sketch on loose sheets, much more liberating, but I end up losing them and they find their way into various hiding places in my home, so I can't look back over what I've been doing.)

So far I haven't missed a day, and have ten pages of work. At the start I envisaged filling the book with artwork of all different mediums, pastel, watercolour, pen, pencil, etc... but truth be told I have slid into working with my trusty pens. But that's okay. The important thing is I'm drawing again!

I'll aim to take some pictures of some of the pages and post them here. Ugh, my blog has majorly suffered due to internet issues lately. I'm due to move again in a few months, so there's no point getting it in my flat really. I'll try to make an effort to post more often.