.slowly.back.on.track.

So lately I've been focusing more on the book I'm making, it's taking a lot of organising and sorting out as well as putting together and adding information but I'll keep you all updated as it progresses.

In the meantime I've been occasionally having a break from it and adding more and more to a painting I'm doing. It's quiet a big image and will have a lot of detail but I'm only going to give you a small peek of the progress.

.GNOME.Comp.

An idea that I started drawing a while back and I thought would work well as a design for the GNOME 3.0 t-shirt design competition. Being a bit psychedelic and crazy but also fun, I thought it was a good way of representing being able to be creative and fun whilst using the GNOME program to simplify and keep your files safe without any worry.
There are many variations of this design which can be used on different coloured t-shirts, obviously the original design would be the most expensive to make as it has lots of colours but I think it looks just as good in one or two colours. Below are a few examples of the different ways it could look and simplified sections of the design.

.Advice.

..So true. Bur like Alice 'I give myself very good advice, but I very seldom follow it'

...Sparks, Plans and Fire...

Still the days drag on when I have nobody prodding me in the back with a big stick and telling me to get on with stuff. It's very much my own fault for not prodding myself with the big stick, but if I did how would I draw with a hand full of tree?

As my doodles lessen and my blogs become less frequent, I have been thinking over plans that I sparked to life a long while back but are not yet on fire. The end of the year draws closer and I am going to stick by my saying of 'Starting Fresh' on new years day, all the 2010 and before illustrations and work are going on to hard drive never to be seen again unless I am in dire illustration starvation.

One of the bigger plans I am kindling is an almost biographical book of all the illustrations/art I have done before and up to 2010. All sorted in order by date and accompanied on pages by descriptions, explanations and comments of each piece. Once this book is complete (which will take a long time) I will purchase only one which I can then take around and show people as I need to, and make available to anyone who wants a copy.

Then a blank canvas, new page, fresh coat of paint and a mesmerizing, dazzling plain shimmers of new ideas will come flooding in and create a new, better and more productive me in 2011!

Wish me luck in my search for fire!!!!!

.Being.Festive.

Being creative can be difficult sometimes, especially when you try to be creative everyday so today I took a break and made some fragrant tree ornaments for Christmas. They smell gorgeous and are simple to make so try it yourself!

What you will need.

- 1 orange/tangerine/clementine (the smaller the better)

- whole cloves

- cinnamon sticks

What to do.

If the oranges have no stalks, use a needle to thread some cotton/string through parts of the skin to make the hanger, but before you tie the end off also thread it through a small bit of cinnamon stick, tie it off now.

Next stick the whole cloves in to the orange by pushing them through the skin they should stay there by themselves.

Then hang on the tree!

The should last about a week sometimes just over depending on how fresh the oranges are.

They smell gorgeous and add a festive touch to your x-mas tree.