For these Grahams Up the Tree drawings I used a Pilot Custom 823 with FA nib. This pen is legendary. It has a very soft nib and a giant vacuum filled tank of ink so you can write and draw for days.
Cowboy portrait from one of my old sketchbooks. I did more pencil sketching in the past, but eventually moved into ink and watercolor. I like to experiment with different styles and mediums.
Fineliner scribblings on a back ground of paper... . . . ... . . . . . . ..... . ... . . . . . ...... ... . . A rabble of sozzled birds on a tightrope of joy heading towards the puppet master up above. . . .... . . ... . .... .. .... .. ... . . . . Prints are available (16 out of 20 at the time of going to press) . ..............................
For my 5.th upcoming colouringbook, fashion and pattern colouring. This I coloured myself, just to see if it’s a good cover, but I used another illustration and less colour.
"Her cricket kids traipse in to wash their hands." Cricket is a popular bat-and-ball game in Australia where the winning team gets to eat crickets at the end of a match.
My sketchbook spread. This is actually a moleskin watercolor album which I'm mostly using to draw from life. This is sharp and spiky versus soft and fluffy. The models were the two of my house plants, and aim was a texture and light study.
A quick sketch of a man holding a cup of coffee. This was drawn from a reference photo. Lately I've been practicing portraits. Trying to limit myself to 20 mins or so and just draw the basic form as best I can. Otherwise I'll fiddle with the details and spend hours trying to adjust things. Sketching in ink helps also since I can't erase. Need to get more comfortable sketching faster, but I like the way this turned out.
"At 6 o'clock the window squeaks and mum calls time" from Graham's Up the Tree. It must have been strange for mbpardy to see his his story interpreted through my illustrations... but page by page these characters came to life, with both of our contributions somehow adding up to something bigger.