All creatures...

My studio has been hit by a mini-plague of flies. For the last three days I have been acting as door-lady to a steady trickle of blow-flies. First thing in the morning they are clustered at the window like anxious commuters at a train station. They are definitely emerging from within, and almost certainly from a crack joining the attic. No smell can be detected, so I think we can rule out any little 'presents' left by one of the cats. They seem to be lessening in number, so hopefully whatever it is - wherever it is - is almost done decomposing.

Out on night time patrol in the rainy back garden, with my old pair of snicker-snacker-scissors. Beware all slugs and snails, my veg seedlings are at your mercy - and you are at mine! With the gentle rain and darkness emerge the worms, swiftly pulling themselves underground as I make my progess through the vegetable patch. And there, behind the soaking tub, is dear Mrs Toad, doing her usual round as she seeks a juicy snail supper. This corner of the yard is littered with the remains of past feasts - as a careless person chucks their Big Mac carton on the floor, so she strews the patio with eviscerated shells. Maybe she needs a little litter basket?




Despite having to give most of my time to my lovely new illustration job, I did finally finish my NFEST challenge - Synthia. (I was going to call her Madame Syn, but thought the reference not quite nice for a needle felt toy, if anyone is old enough to remember the infamous Cynthia Payne). She is the one snail who hasn't come to an unfortunate end, via my scissors or Mrs Toad's voracious appetite. I know she was only curious to discover what thyme smelt like. Now I have her in the shop, along with Rose - (Rose is now sold to a new home).



- I can put my mind to my two orders, not the least of which is an extravaganza of toy making for Stephanie. We went through various designs -




- but eventually I tempted her with a monkey.



We whittled it down to a skinny one, possibly with a few little extras...an embedded music box is a distinct possibility. Steph is brilliant to work with, she is as dotty about vintage toys as I am, and so enthusiastic; between us we hope to create something rather special, and I can take my toy making up to the next level.

(Oh look, another fly. Would you like your coat sir?)

Buttercup

Oooh, it's all gone a bit strange in the toy department. I seem to be going from nice 'nursery' pictures to something rather weird. While I'm in a quiet period, I'm playing about with a new series of paintings, with a view to having a Real Life exhibition - if any gallery will have me. This almost certainly won't happen, as with any luck some proper paying work will come along, but I'm following a theory a friend used to have - if he was waiting for a bus, and it took ages coming he would roll a ciggy, and as soon as he lit up, a bus would appear and he'd have to put it out. So maybe if I plan a batch of oddly shaped toys (mutant doesn't sound very nice does it?) then a juicy publishing job will turn up.
I always struggle with colour. It doesn't come naturally; I can pull it off, but it is the equivalent of a ballerina doing a seemingly effortless set of moves. She seems to float on air, while inside her shoes her feet are bleeding. OK, maybe not that extreme, but I do have to plan carefully or it all goes horribly wrong. With these paintings I want to include more interesting backgrounds and unusual colours. Vintage meets kitsch. This dog was to have a seventies feel, and you can't get more seventies than a nice brown/orange combination. So I did some hunting on the internet for original designs and found some samples. Here is the rough taken into a well known paint programme and rather crudely touched in, using original wallpaper clips to help me.

And here is the final, using similar colours -the actual paper design is my own. Working out the basics on the PC saves a lot of time and grief. I like the wallpaper and the basic dog shape, but I wish I'd stuck to my original plan of having the eye patch a dirty grey, instead of green. What I would like to do is enlarge it and do a really big version. If the bus turns up (as it were) I'll be doing some more of these.

'Buttercup'

Bidding has started on the online auction mentioned below, at Hidden Haven Homestead blog. It's got off to a good start, and there's more to come. Go on, go and have a look...there's a lot of nice things to be found and new things being put up every day.