Sketchbook!

Here's my finished sketchbook. I refilled an old hardback that was going to be thrown away, and sort of followed these instructions, which are for reloading a moleskine.

I chose this one because of the handy size and also because I thought it would confuse the rail staff when I am working on the train.

I used some of the original pages for endpapers, and also kept the title page.

The pages are a bit wibbly wobbly, but that doesn't matter for a sketchbook. Well not to me, anyway!

And I end today's broadcast with a quick ink sketch of Poppy, done at my studio with a brush pen and quink. (No pencil, Ladies and Gentlemen! No rubber! No safety net!)

Ooh! An exciting parcel has just arrived from Amazon! I shall resist opening it til my birthday!

Beach time!

Well it was my first day back at the studio today since The Big Hand In. Poppy came with me, and was brilliant. She met the dog of my studio neighbour who did have a quick attempt at raping her...but she forgave him.

It was really strange not to have my speed dating book to do! Anyway I did one of the first things on my list of things to do...I made myself a sketch book! With signatures and everything. Just gotta attach the cover and I'm all ready to fill it up! I took my camera to prove it but forgot the memory card. So instead here is a picture of Poppy's first trip to the beach (that I know of!)

She absolutely loved it and ran for miles and miles - she even paddled in the sea!

Introducing Poppy!

Look who's come to live with us! It's Poppy, an approx 8-month old Bassett cross (they think crossed with a Collie). She came from this rescue centre and was rescued on her last day at the pound before the chop!

She is absolutely adorable and loves people - when you stroke her, she just slides to the floor!

It was a real eye opener looking at the rescue websites. I work for an animal charity and even I had no idea of the sheer number of unwanted dogs in this country. Lots of the dogs from this place are ex-breeders - after seeing all this I'd never buy a puppy. There's just no need to.

Anyway I'm sure I'll do some drawings of her soon.

Wowzer

Well here is it, what you've all been waiting for...and it's even better than we could have hoped.

THE KNITTED BIKINI!!!

And men, guess what, you don't have to feel left out in this fashion bonanza! These two hunks are probably pointing at the sad fools who don't have their genitals cradled with lovingly knitted trunks.

In case the pic won't enlarge, the text says "these trim fitting trunks for a teen-age boy and his elder brother will make a welcome gift." Well I have two teen-age boys....hmm....I wonder, what with summer coming up....

Well all the uni work's been handed in! I can't believe the first year has gone already...it's flown by. Feeling a bit flat now actually. Oh well...if all goes to plan I could have some fab news to tell you on Sunday.

Proper book

Yay! Look what arrived from Blurb this morning...my book, all proper!

I'm really pleased with it. The cover turned out a bit strange but hey - a small price to pay for having to do next to nothing in order to get a nice book.

Under the table in the top picture, you can see our family's World Cup sticker album. I suspect there will also be a wall chart in due course. (There won't be flags, though...what do you think we are - losers or something?)


Oh, and if you have a spare tenner (or any amount of money) and are up for being incandescent with rage, look at this. (Isn't it funny how rage is the only emotion you can be incandescent with?)

Interlude

While I am busy writing an essay, a reflection on my work and a proposal for the next module, I'll leave you to enjoy these high fashion hats.
I hope my friends would put me straight if I were ever tempted to wear anything looking like a cottage loaf on my head.

Belated Response

...to the election result. Brighton - WOOP! WOOP! Rest of the Country - eh?

PS...two of the eggs have hatched!

Did You Know

...that you are allowed to go and cast your vote dressed as a pirate, or wearing your pyjamas - but you are not allowed to wear a giant rosette?

I thought I would tell you now and catch you before you go to the polling station.

No matter how I drew this woman on the way to Cambridge this week, it always looked as though her head was on back to front. I came to the conclusion that it really was, and thought about pointing it out to her, but decided against it.

It was the Big Crit this week so an intense day - but great to see the diversity of everyone's work. Very inspiring. Also got to see John Lawrence! I showed him my new Spitsticker and he tried it out and said it was really good...I am extremely pleased that the first person to use my Spitsticker was the one and only John Lawrence and am now hoping it is enchanted with a bit of his magic!

My scanner and computer apparently fell out with each other in my absence. The computer insisted there was no scanner installed and the scanner said it now worked for someone else. But I turned them both off and on again a few times and they have at least made friends for long enough to scan this woman who had a lovely little dog with her on the way home - who resolutely faced the other way for the whole journey!


Ooh, it's voting day...how exciting. I very much hope I am not going to be extremely disappointed, scared and depressed by this time tomorrow. But I rather think I am just going to be confused.

(It really is voting day, even though the computer says it's Wednesday!)

Sulking

I am sulking. You are the only person I am currently communicating with.

There are, today, three able bodied - in fact, some would say, strapping - young men in my house. There are, in my garden, three broken fence panels and one trellis which has been smashed to smithereens by the wind and my neighbour's kids. I really want the fences and trellises secured. I don't even care too much what they look like and I have offered the deposit on a Bestival ticket (which let's face it will probably end up being the whole ticket) in return for even a bodge job. But the response has been less than enthusiastic. One is watching cricket, one is on his i-phone and the other on is on his PSP. All activities which left unattended can go on for hours, if not days. The consensus is, the fence can't be repaired. Why can't it? I'm too old and tired and busy to mend the fence. I'm not interested in it, I don't want to go and buy things for it. I just want it to be whole. Most people have fences...why is it so hard for me to have one? WHY?

Anyway here are a couple of the photos Charlie helped me take yesterday, of Ophelia. I couldn't borrow a decent camera so I had to use our awful one which shows the tones in reverse and no colours at all.
They turned out pretty well I suppose, considering the taking of them was so awful and involved me barking instructions and screaming.

I have recently been having a bit of a health worry, which is exacerbated by stress. I've been trying not to get stressed about things. Can you tell?

By the way, in all the time it has taken me to write this, no-one has noticed that I am sulking. I think I will go and finish my sulk upstairs. Until Coronation Street starts anyway.