I have been working purely digitally for a while, which I love - but I always end up with a hankering for the human presence of the hand, and the alchemy of materials. Above is a watercolour from one of my sketchbooks, with wax resist and simple, free pen lines, which I made a while ago. I am very interested in designing patterns which could contain this freedom, I haven't figured it out yet, but it's something which has been going on in the background of my mind for over a year. Also, I haven't a clue which pen I used to worked on wax! It has bonded perfectly with the resist - experiments required (and possibly a lot of spoilt pens).

Above is a set of six little monotypes from the same sketchbook. I have always loved making monotype drawings. Using a glass plate rolled with printing ink or oil paint, paper is placed over the plate and I draw on the paper. It means when the paper is peeled away from the plate it reveals a mirror image of the drawing plus accidental smudges and textures. These surprises are exciting, and I use the technique both for illustration and in my Heather Eliza drawings.

This week I began to isolate sketches from my book (I did write about getting my jugs out and working with them, but NO, that's SO wrong!! Raised a few laughs on Instagram, though) . Here is a rudimentary something I put together as an experiment. The original monotype drawing was made on hand-made bark paper which supplies the lovely colour and texture for the fuzzy ink lines, cut out and placed over a digitally created linen-weave background. It may take a while, but I'll see where I go with this.

PS: I decided not to do Inktober on Instagram this year, I just have too many pots on the boil at the moment. I was tempted, but focus is required.

I have been studying and drawing my collection of gypsy purses from time to time since the mid 1990s, perhaps to try and work out why I love them so much. The gouache paintings pictured here pasted into a scrapbook were made back then (long before the days of iPad and Procreate).

I painted details of Indian bags and a black papier mâché bowl also from India, bought in the same shop in Cirencester as some of the gypsy purses; and the crackle glaze decoration on a flask which looks Greek - a thrift-shop find in North London, possibly brought to England by a holiday maker, which makes me think of red wine from sun-soaked country vineyards served in a bistro alongside all the colourful, fragrant foods of the Mediterranean.

I began working on drawings in Procreate this week, based on and inspired by my collection of gypsy purses. I must have started the collection in or around 1995, when I used to go camping in the Cotswolds to get out of London, and discovered a wonderful shop called Cargo in Cirencester. It was filled polished wooden floor to white ceiling with Indian artefacts and textiles, with a special basket of colourful embroidered, woven and appliqué purses. I had developed an obsession with Indian artefacts years before as a student in Edinburgh, combing Cockburn Street Market for Mysore soap, embroidered cushion covers, cheesecloth blouses and batik printed maxi skirts (I can still smell the fragrances now) - so this wonder of a shop in Cirencester became a treasure trove for me.
I have a very deep affection for my little purses which I hope to convey in the drawings, with attention to details such as tiny stitches and unexpected decorative motifs.

Thanks for visiting, see you next week!

A version of the pattern from the sketchbook pages I showed here last week, placed against a mossy background.
A real quickie today because I am full steam ahead and getting near to finishing the children's book illustrations!

​Thanks for visiting, see you next week!

This is one of my digital sketchbooks. I am full-on with the children's book illustrations at the moment so there isn't much time for anything else, but occasionally I like a little light relief. Throwing together a simple pattern is great fun, and sketchbooks like these make it easy. Each image is drawn in Procreate on its own layer, so I can easily copy, paste, and rearrange different elements to play with different patterns. The sludge-green background is so I can spot any unwanted marks and tidy edges nicely.

Thanks for visiting, see you next week!

Another pattern this week for my Redbubble Store - birds and potted plants gardening, inspired by the fact that I have been doing a lot of gardening recently. I was delighted to launch this one on the full range of 'kids' clothing' as well as home décor, adult apparel, accessories - and of course, socks! I do love the socks.