Week 21 Stripes**

Two images

This week started off with a 'does what it says on the tin' illustration. I needed something bright and colourful after last week's sombre theme.
Simply stripes of watercolour on watercolour paper. The paper is white, but I had trouble brightening the white without losing the colour of the paint.
I haven't given it a title, but I was thinking about the sun rising behind trees in a wood.

The second offering is taken from a photo I took a couple of years ago at Whipsnade Zoo of a group of lemurs. I love how their very stripy tails are fanned out. I always intended to paint the photo at some point but at least this sketch is step in the right direction.
Pencil and fine liner on plain, copier paper.

I have also noticed a great white, untouched patch on the foremost lemur, oops!

I can hardly believe it, both my illustrations were picked this week! 

Feeling a little emotional tbh.

Week 20 Melancholy*

Two images

Brace yourselves - it's very sad looking week!

I always intended to do a portrait for this challenge.  I didn't think it would be a self portrait, but as luck would have it I had a little bit of bad news this week and it was enough to enable me to pose for a selfie and then paint it. 

For my first picture this week I started with one of my little round doodle people hiding under a table with a teddy. I used oil pastels -  I have no idea how most people use these, but I am learning they don't layer well and certainly don't cope with lighter colours on top of darker ones.

Oh yes - this week I mostly had trouble with noses.

Up date: my self portrait was chosen to be in this weeks picks. My heart skipped a beat when I saw it was included. See the whole list:
Melancholy Picks on 52 week illustration blog

Week 19 food

Two images
The subject was easy this week. It is spring and there are newly hatched birds all around us at the moment being fed by their parents. Here is a moorhen chick being fed by a parent.

Inktense pencils on cartridge paper

I also couldn't get the rhyme about the old lady who swallowed a fly out of my head - but how to illustrate it?
Somehow or other I came up with the idea of drawing a horse fly - I would love a wittier caption, but this will do for now.
The rough and ready look belies the may attempts I took to design a horse fly!

Pencil on plain paper

Week 18 Art Deco*

Oh my goodness, what a lot of time I spent thinking about what to do for this challenge!
Art Deco is all about planning, form, structure and clean lines. Although I am still finding my way with different media and subjects, one thing is clear. My images tend to develop organically and often the final outcome is done pretty swiftly.
I needed a twist. I settled on turning one of my doodled characters into an aspiring Art Deco lady. She isn't all tall and thin and willowy, but she tries.

* Update! This is one of the picks on the challenge blog :)
Art Deco picks #illo52weeks blog

Drawn with pencil and colour added using Pixlr

The original line drawing

I then wanted to play with patterns a bit more and was taken with how the structure of an iris is like Art Deco. I'm afraid my concentration lapsed by the time I got to the eye lashes, and perhaps the patterns in the iris could have been large for more impact.

Inktense pencils on cartridge paper.

(I had trouble lightening this one)

Week 17 fluffy

One image

Fluffy dandelion seeds
from a macro photo in my garden, I should weed more often.
oil pastel, enhanced with pixlr

Week 16 Structure

Two images

Chemical structures re-conceived as constellations - digital - pixlr

 A ruined abbey - acrylic sketch