Angela Smyth I

 

Elegant and wonderful, 'Eat Around Me' by Angela Smyth.

Eleonora Arroyo

 

 The wandering song by Ruben Darius illustrated by Eleonora Arroyo.

David Litchfield

 

A beautiful and thoughtful poem written by Anne Booth ,illustrated by David Litchfield is released today as the picture book; 'A shelter for Sadness', by Templer Publishing. 

                                    "Sadness has come to live with me

                                     and I am building it a shelter.

                                     I am building a shelter for my sadness

                                     and welcoming it inside."

David Litchfield has created a wonderfully scribbly sadness, one not easily contained, but also not a daunting or frightening sadness, it is approachable in its messiness. 

This book is all about making room for sadness, nuturing it, not shutting it out, but welcoming it so that in time happiness can be made welcome to. 

Yael Frankel

 

Yael Frankel's character concerned for a cold bird. 

Leeches and Viruses

I have been in a grove, a non-productive brooding grove, unlike me. 

I am eaten up not only by covid doom, but by the monstrous corruption in the UK, along with trying to survive on zero income and keep my family happy and healthy.

Weirdly and completely unrelated to this creation when joking with a friend last week, leeches came up and I was thinking of how I would love to illustrate them with rosy cheeks and blood-red lipstick and then during the night, this idea appeared and grew and I worked on it and it grew some more. 

I wanted to get Boris Johnstone's ties in it, the fish one he wore to meet with the EU made me seeth with rage at his childish, arrogant, rudeness. I also wanted to get choice Latin phrases in, as Boris ignorantly peppers hs speaches and statements with these, and 'errrms' and other nonsence. 

The ongoing traumatically awful missmanagement of; public health, the vaccination program and the horrific amounts of public monies squirreled away by cronies for no public service or detrimental public service. 

The ongoing, never ending lies the corruption, the croniesm, the scapegoating and removal of laws to protect us, the enviroment and workers. 

Well you get it, a parade of hell, all seasoned with awful news from arround the world. 

 

Good to process all that anger into some smiley leeches and covid viruses, communicate my frustration and try to move on. 

서수연 Seo Soo IV

 

서수연 Seo Soo I like this illustration it is intriguing to interpret, the open book on the back of the figure's head, the two windows to the mind, one monochrome one bright and verdant like a spring woodland walk. Are these the thoughts from the book or the moods of the reader. Seo Soo has used paint, mixed media, oil pastel and pencil.

Kei Mogari

 

A cheerful spacious illustration by Kei Mogari today about a bear losing his glasses, Happy Sunday.

Norman Kirkham I

Norman Kirkham ( 1936-2021) was a Glaswegian artist who had incredible skills at capturing character. Here are two of his market scenes, above: 'Junk and Disorderly, The Barrows Glasgow' and below: Paddy's Market.  

Karen Coull

 

Pure joy from Karen Coull.

Matías Prado

 

Let's see some nice crowds, let's people watch with Chilian artist Matías Prado

I am very interested in drawing people: seeing how they move and talk, looking at their clothes, looking at them in their day to day life. I like observation, looking, creating imaginary dialogues and in that way put in paper something closer to people so that someone can stop to look at my drawings and even feel identified in some way.’ Matías Prado

Jesus Cisneros V

 

I feel, probably like many people just now a flatness and sadness, so looking at pages of Jesus Cisneros's new publication of ‘SIX/SEIS’, brings me joy in it's colour, lightness, the mix of media, subject and composition.  

           

Gosia Herba and Mikołaj Pasiński

 

Wonderful elegant illustrations by Gosia Herba and Mikołaj Pasiński's illustrations for “Raz, dwa, trzy, zaśnij ty!” a book of poems for children written by a Polish writer Dorota Kassjanowicz.

Japanese Box Toy, Carp

 

The dark winter is at its worst at the beginning of the year and lockdown makes it even harder. So I have designed an easy kids activity which s to make a box toy that can be raced on a smooth floor surface.  I hope you have fun with them. Below is the plan for how to make one and the youtube link is at the bottom of this post.

Anna Llenas I

 

Anna Llenas's 'The Colour Monster' a story about a confused and unhappy monster who is all mixed up and his colours are all mixed up.                                                                                                            Luckily he has a friend that helps him understand that the colours are his feelings and he can sort them out by identifying each separately and seeing how each one makes him feel. This is a book that helps children to discuss and explore how they are feeling. There is a new book in this series ' The Colour Monster Goes To School'. I love Anna's bold loose style and use of chunky cardboard collage.