Jessie Lilac Blog

I get seduced by colour and what better way to spoil myself than to indulge in a bit of colour play! People with a weak stomach for out-of-control-watercolour-cauliflowering, please look away now. Myself, I love the mess and splash!

I did these today, working on one while another was drying, but now they're finished I couldn't decide which one to put in for Illustration friday so you've got all three!

Here it is, this week's submission for Illustration Friday !

The great thing about drawing is that you can make anything do whatever you want it to do. I wouldn't really want a cat to be gettting drunk on cider in real life but I felt it was just what the article needed!

Inspiration for a drawing can come from anything that I see. The one above was triggered by seeing someone's hair on the X Factor! I wanted to draw some hats which gave me an excuse to play with colour. I can find lots of excuses for that! I'm still working on the magazine illustration that I mentioned before here. It's quite a simple drawing but the watercolour seems to be taking ages to dry today and I don't like using the hairdrier because I get in such a mess with the washes running. I've also got an idea for Illustration Friday which will involve splashy watercolour, so I'm not sure how long this is all going to take but I'll post as soon as it's done!

The local life drawing sessions started back today, hooray! I've been looking forward to this and it was great to be back. It's called 'Drop in and Draw' and that's what it is really, you just turn up with your drawing or painting materials and pay as you go. We started with a 5 minute pose (above). Then a longer one, I think this one was 15 minutes, I couldn't get her face right so had another go. Hmmm. I'm out of practice, but really enjoyed it. I hope to be able to go every friday and get back into the swing of it!

I've been illustrating an article for this magazine for the last 3 issues and have just started working on the next one. It's been a steep learning curve for me, having never drawn a motorbike in my life! This next one is to accompany an article about moving house so I don't need to draw yet another bike this time, I'm thinking more along the lines of a cat...and there might be cider involved (drawing it, not drinking it!) I shall say no more for now! Here's one I did earlier!

Remember the bunny family from the last post? Well here they are again welcoming you into their home!

Yesterday, feeling very tired I was sat outside in the sun with my sketchbook and this family of rabbits appeared on my page.

I was so tired last night and do you know? I couldn't get to sleep and so today I feel even more tired. Why on earth does this happen? It almost feels as though I'll never sleep again no matter how long I stay in bed!

I've just listed some more paintings on Ebay and these will be up for auction ending on sunday 20th September if you'd like to have a peep! Click HERE and HERE and HERE to see! :)

Ooo it's been a while since I've managed to do an Illustration Friday picture isn't it? Well it was difficult getting the old brain into gear again too! I thought of muscles, things holding other things up, then after sketching a stork carrying a baby, (see below) I came up with the trapeze idea! Here's the sketch I did beforehand: Quite often the subconcious is at work isn't it? A friend's daughter is expecting her baby any day and it must have on my mind more than I thought! Oh yes, and frogs.

I suppose I'm going to have to admit that summer is closing and autumn is almost here. My Virginia Creeper is looking different today, more red than green I think... The sweet peas are still growing, maybe I planted them later than usual? But you can't argue with my weather stick! See how it's not sticking up for fine weather any more? Click here to see how it looked in the early summer, a very different story! Lots of trimming and weeding to do...and talking of things to do, I'm off now to tackle this week's Illustration Friday. See ya later! :)

I love to read about illustration and come across very useful tips from time to time. This particular list (below) I copied from the book by Michael Fleishman and pasted in in my sketchbook as a good reminder to myself to keep things moving. I'm very adept at procrastinating! Words by Michael Fleishman...frogs by me! :)

Now my family's gone back to school today I thought I'd give Ebay another go and list some of my illustrations! These three are all of a similar theme and I think loosely based on memories of when my children were small. I had no time then, to paint or draw very much but so many years of different experiences are still lodged in my mind and so it's now time to 'draw' them out! They're all painted with good quality materials and are ready to frame, so if you'd like more details, please CLICK HERE ! Thank you for looking! :)

I'm feeling under the weather and I've no appetite today (which let me tell you is very unusual for me!),... so why I drew a creature that turned into a cupcake I've no idea! but it's a start isn't it?!

September today and I'm actually at my desk doing stuff! I've been very lucky this summer, spending a lot of time at the sea-side, enjoying time with family, friends, going to see live music and of course my daughter's wedding day. It's raining outside as I write this so it feels like a time of change, a step away from sunny days with lots of people around. I am looking forward to having my quiet days back but a teeny bit scared that it's going to be so quiet.