The Cat That Walked By Himself - re-do

Having abandoned digital illustration for a while, I was tidying up my files today and in the process I discovered how much I enjoyed doing it. I found this piece from my (still ongoing and stalled due to time constraints) A-Z in literature project. It's the C entry, The Cat That Walked By Himself by Rudyard Kipling. I re-did the woman as she was getting on my nerves, and made some tweaks with texture, colour and the position of the cat's head. You can see the original here.

S is for Santiago

So, this is the next instalment for my literary alphabet, and in a break from tradition, its not G... its S. S for Santiago from The Old Man And The Sea, by Ernest Hemingway. Its not yet finished and though I like it, there are still tweaks and experiments I want to try. I still really hate my F entry, Fagin, so that will need re-visiting at some point.

I have been working on an ink and brush comic which I should be putting up soon, I have nothing but respect for comic strip writers, laying a story out on a page is hard work!

F is for Fagin ...

I haven't stopped my A-Z  Literary Project but Fagin has been giving me no end of trouble! I'm still not sure how I feel about this piece but here he is anyway, pocketing a trifle from his latest thieving spree, in the dark slums of London.

Moar stuff?!?

I have finally got round to listing new products in my NOTHS shop - my weeks-in-the-making Colouring Book for Grown Ups, a new sympathy card, a congratulations on passing your driving test card, and some lovely black and white illustrated postcards.

I have been delayed somewhat in my entry for F in the literary alphabet I am doing, but here is a preliminary sketch. Can you guess which character it is?

E is for Esther...

Esther Greenwood, sinking into bleak depression in New York, in Sylvia Plath's the Bell Jar.

D is for Dark Lord...

...Trapped in the body of a teenage boy and sent to our world, having to endure indignities such as school, homework and detention. He befriends his complete opposite: a sweet, innocent boy named Christopher who tries to help him regain his terrifying form and return home. I’m a couple of decades out of the target reading age for this book but it didn’t stop me enjoying it. I think what I loved best is how much the two main characters seem to truly care about each other (deep deep down) and rely on each other. Like Harry Potter, this book appears at first glance to be about magic and fantasy, but to me it was equally about friendship. Dark Lord: The Teenage Years by Jamie Thomson

 

C is for Cat

This week’s illustration is of The Cat That Walked By Himself, by Rudyard Kipling. So far this project has made me look around and read new material, or re-read old books I used to love. You’d think that not having a TV would leave me more time to read, but actually I seem to spend a lot of time up in my studio doing art! Which is still great.

I absolutely love cats and it’s surprising they don’t find their way into more of my illustrations. Now that I have a garden I’ve been enjoying the birds visiting, so when I see a cat, my feelings are mixed. But I’ll always be a cat girl...

B is for Bilbo

As part of my A-Z literary alphabet, here is poor Bilbo, running away from Smaug's deadly flames!

A is for Anne

Myself and my good friend and awesome illustrator buddy Carlydraws are currently doing a literary alphabet, with each letter connected to something in literature. My first letter is dedicated to Anne of Green Gables by Lucy Maud Montgomery. I think my alphabet will be largely character based, but we will wait and see.