Bramble and Burdock

Long time no see... again! I've had an extended break from painting or drawing, and my skills (such as they are) were getting a little rusty. So, to ease myself back into it I thought I'd have a go at a little practice illustration for this week's Illustration Friday theme of 'Fresh'. I thought about the topic and remembered that I had half a lemon in the fridge, so it's half a still-life! Not too bad for a first go. Actually, the lemon I used wasn't particularly 'fresh' but hopefully I've managed to make it look as if it was...!

The lesser-spotted Squibble. He's not a wading bird, he's just afraid of water...! Long time no post, but I thought I'd pop back with another offering for Illustration Friday , with the theme "Tall". This is a small painting I did a while ago when I was fiddling about with some black acrylic. I used a grey wash, let it dry and then painted over it with undiluted paint on a dry brush. This gives the nice "scratchy" quality to the lines.

Two posts in one day - I'm getting prolific! Anyway, here's a design I did for a greeting card which fits nicely with this week's Illustration Friday topic of "hibernate" (click for a closer look). It's in the same style as my earlier design for the topic "stargazing". There are lots of hazards for a hibernating hedgehog - not least a curious fox! Hedgehogs of course like to curl up inside piles of wood, so remember to check your bonfire before you light it on November 5th!

Searching through the layers of leaves, this little piggy found a new friend! This is a greeting card which I have been making for a work colleague. The card itself is also made up of different layers so that it has a slightly 3D effect, as shown in the photos - so it was perfect for this week's Illustration Friday theme of "layer"! Whilst I was photographing it, another curious piggy came over to investigate...

What with all the snow we've been having, delivering the mail has got more difficult. This is a quick one for IF which was originally an illustration for a calendar. It was drawn in my sketchbook and then digitally coloured. Click here for a larger version.

I was lucky enough to travel on a ship through the bay of Biscay in the summer. The deep waters out over the Continental shelf are inhabited by many different cetacean species. I didn't manage to see any near the surface, but sometimes I wondered if one of those huge mammals was down there, hundreds of meters beneath us... For IF - watercolour on paper.

The immovable mountains... A quick one for IF . Acrylic paint on paper.

For this week's IF Drawn in my sketchbook, then digitally coloured.

You may remember this post way back, involving Karl Marx and... well, Karl Marx. I'm shamelessly bringing it up again not only to illustrate the topic of "Double" for Illustration Friday but also as a way of celebrating my very first batch of printed designs! The lovely people at Moo did a great job with them and I'm really pleased with the results.

Always lick yourself clean after breakfast... A tenuous one for Illustration Friday yet again. This is one of a number of designs for greeting cards that I've been working on recently. Some cats have a habit of getting distracted whilst washing and forgetting to put their tongue away! This is one such cat...

A flock of early birds for IF . The birds' "plumage" are the patterns found on the inside of envelopes.

Some creatures are not always keen to hatch... A quick one for IF

They said it was impossible, they said it was madness, they said it was, frankly, a waste of money... but the naysayers are eating humble pie now (or should that be humble biscuits...?) Yes - the first bourbon* in space! Another IF illo (bit late). *Mmm, my favourite!

Another effort for IF . I made this a while ago hoping to turn it into a T-shirt design, but as usual never got around to it. I was reading a book about Marx and sketched a quick charicature from a photo of him. He's always depicted with that serious look, hence the captions. He had a hard life, but I think he would have had a chuckle now and then - and he'd certainly appreciate all the bloggers who are "rising up" and producing their own content...!

Somewhere in between card-making and sleeping, I found time to do a quick sketch for the topic "Vacant" for this week's Illustration Friday . Sharks always seem to have vacant eyes, which tends to make them seem scarier (that and the fact that a lot of them have huge teeth!), but actually I quite like them! For this illo I took a pic of my drawing (for lack of a scanner) and inverted the colours using GIMP to make it look like it's looming out of the dark.

A silly one for IF . Possible alternate tagline - "Lemon suspected nepotism was the explanation for such a quick promotion..."

"Waiter, waiter! There's a fly in my soup!" "Well sir, don't speak too loudly or everybody will want one...!" Yet another slightly tenuous offering for Illustration Friday . This two-tone style always puts me in mind of those magazine illustrations from the 1950s. The third fly also seems to have turned out a bit Gorey ...

If you open your eyes "wide" at night, you might just see something unexpected... A tenuous effort for Illustration Friday , with apologies to the inimitable Goya.

Seapower! For Illustration Friday