Saturday, 3 September 2011
News from Hackney
Well, it's not news now. Got off the train at Hackney Central to find my way blocked by a row of HMs finest, telling me I couldn't go down into Mare Street because of a little local disturbance. I found out about it all by following the crowd and their mobes inspecting the riot scene. I caught up with it all (as we all did) later.
Here is an illustration to a J G Ballard short story with a few new tags.
Saturday, 25 June 2011
Saturday, 2 April 2011
And my other shop is open.
What I always had a hankering to do was work on repeat patterns. I'm very pleased to find this site . It allows me to upload my designs and once technically verified, they appear in my space on the website. Below is my design 'smoke' rendered for a tote bag and a pillow.
I have yet to figure out how to create repeat patterns successfully but I am working on it.
Saturday, 26 March 2011
The shop is open
The illustration is of my friends’ sitting room. A warm domestic environment. It will be in my shop very soon.
Saturday, 1 January 2011
like stink on a monkey
Sunday, 12 December 2010
And then there's Paris
I enjoy taking photographs and I enjoy fiddling with them in Photoshop™ to create a sense of atmosphere. The couple of photographs above were of a second hand clothes shop in the Colonnades of the Palais Royale.
On the other hand this watercolour allowed me to reference another popular conception of Paris. I couldn’t draw the line of women I saw in the Rue St Denis one evening about dusk but I think I managed to create a drawing with some atmosphere.
Friday, 10 December 2010
Never read the bloody reviews!
Wandering up and down the archives of the internet, I came across the reviews for some of my books for children. Glad I didn’t read them at the time.....they range from ‘nothing much happens’ to ‘this is lovely for the kids’. Hm.
Here’s some samples:
Minnie & Ginger : “The acute pleasantness of the prim watercolor and pen-and-ink illustrations makes it easy for readers to absorb the many turn-of-the-century details. On the other hand, they clobber readers with unmitigated cuteness. Although the story is a happy one (even World War I works out nicely), Smith's simple mode of expression refines the joy out, leaving it bland and cloying. Minnie and Ginger 's success is limited to its strong expression of the family unity, and its illustrations of period clothing and effects. --Liza Bliss, Leominster Public Library, MA”
Minnie and Ginger is a cute story that explains very simply how two young people in the 1900s meet, fall in love, survive the war, and live happily ever after (most of the time).
This story would be super to kick off a theme about family, home, or years past. It is short and to the point. I love the illustrations. They could portray the story without any explanation from the text. I think it is delightful!
A Child’s Guide to Bad Behaviour.
This week I had a call from a mother asking for a list of "silly" books to share with her two young children. "We need something to make us all laugh!"
An appreciation of humor in children, according to Paul E. McGhee, is directly related to becoming a creative person. Since the ability to perceive humor is a developmental process, providing chances to share humorous experiences at the preschool and primary grade level is important. Incongruity of story and pictures, make believe and language play are all possible through literature. They will be ones that have slapstick events and where the young reader will be in control, knowing what's going to happen when the protagonist doesn't.Since "acting up" and "acting out" are something that children can laugh at, A CHILD'S GUIDE TO BAD BEHAVIOR by Barry Smith (Houghton Mifflin) is a good place to start. If it's mealtime messes, squabbles and shrieking that causes the rowdiness, then this is just right for the ages 2 through 4. Maybe some children will even see themselves in the rambunctious pictures and funny episodes.
Amusing cartoons illustrate well but do not save this `how not to behave'' book from mediocrity. A small, badly behaved child cavorts through the day, doing one naughty thing after another. A clock in the lower left-hand corner illustrates the time at which each behavior is taking place, but as quarter, half, and on the hour are chosen randomly, this addition is confusing. Short, choppy sentences in large type complement the book's attractive layout, but the presentation of one antisocial deed after another reads more like a list than a story and may encourage young readers to do likewise.
The first Voyage of Christopher Columbus 1492 This fictionalized picture book considers Columbus's first voyage from the point of view of a young unnamed sailor who is there solely because he needs a job. As the brief text describes the trip, the sailor's fearful and disgruntled thoughts are heard, with the recurring admission that, `` `I do need the job.' '' Meanwhile, the ink-and-watercolor illustrations filled with cartoonlike figures depict life aboard ship and on land. All are framed with a border of tiny ships and mermaids. A fold-out map shows the complete voyage and parts of North and South America and western Europe. On many of the pages a portion of the map is shown so that readers can identify the location of the ships at that time. On the whole, the paintings are appealing and occasionally humorous, but cannot compensate for the weakness of the text. While historical information is included, the book is primarily fiction, but not much happens.
Grandma Rabbitty's Visit by Barry Smith is a delightful book for toddlers. Its illustrations are vivid and have a variety of vehicles that children love in it. Some of them are a bus, ice cream truck, steam roller, and sports car. The book is also filled with a wide range of sounds that kids like to imitate. Even M was able to do this! It is not a board book, but it has the thick, durable pages that make the book last and last. Grandma Rabbitty's Visit begins with the "bring, bring" of the telephone. Grandma calls to say she's on her way for a visit. The bunny family spends the day listening to the sounds of the cars and trucks passing by wondering if each sound will bring Grandma Rabbitty. The illustrations show the family in their living room with a large window that has a wonderful view of the street and all the vehicles passing. Grandma Rabbitty finally arrives with a "vroom-vroom-vroom"-on a motorcycle! (The book calls it a motorbike.) M has enjoyed this book a great deal, and has requested it time after time. The best part is that my mom does ride (not drive) a motorcycle! How sweet! I've noticed that when books try to not stereotype, it comes off as too strong. Grandma Rabbitty's Visit is a wonderful surprise, but not because it isn't stereotypical, but because it's just plain sweet that Grandma has finally arrived. Even if your child's grandma doesn't tote a motorcycle helmet, this is still a great book for a toddler! Enjoy!
The Carousel at Scarborough Fair
This tends to get repetitive but eh its a kids book. I have a very bad childhood memory and I actually remember having this book ever since I was little. My grandparents got it for me when they went to London in 1995 and ever since then its been sitting on my book shelf. And you're never to old to read a children's book.
Here’s some samples:
Minnie & Ginger : “The acute pleasantness of the prim watercolor and pen-and-ink illustrations makes it easy for readers to absorb the many turn-of-the-century details. On the other hand, they clobber readers with unmitigated cuteness. Although the story is a happy one (even World War I works out nicely), Smith's simple mode of expression refines the joy out, leaving it bland and cloying. Minnie and Ginger 's success is limited to its strong expression of the family unity, and its illustrations of period clothing and effects. --Liza Bliss, Leominster Public Library, MA”
Minnie and Ginger is a cute story that explains very simply how two young people in the 1900s meet, fall in love, survive the war, and live happily ever after (most of the time).
This story would be super to kick off a theme about family, home, or years past. It is short and to the point. I love the illustrations. They could portray the story without any explanation from the text. I think it is delightful!
A Child’s Guide to Bad Behaviour.
This week I had a call from a mother asking for a list of "silly" books to share with her two young children. "We need something to make us all laugh!"
An appreciation of humor in children, according to Paul E. McGhee, is directly related to becoming a creative person. Since the ability to perceive humor is a developmental process, providing chances to share humorous experiences at the preschool and primary grade level is important. Incongruity of story and pictures, make believe and language play are all possible through literature. They will be ones that have slapstick events and where the young reader will be in control, knowing what's going to happen when the protagonist doesn't.Since "acting up" and "acting out" are something that children can laugh at, A CHILD'S GUIDE TO BAD BEHAVIOR by Barry Smith (Houghton Mifflin) is a good place to start. If it's mealtime messes, squabbles and shrieking that causes the rowdiness, then this is just right for the ages 2 through 4. Maybe some children will even see themselves in the rambunctious pictures and funny episodes.
Amusing cartoons illustrate well but do not save this `how not to behave'' book from mediocrity. A small, badly behaved child cavorts through the day, doing one naughty thing after another. A clock in the lower left-hand corner illustrates the time at which each behavior is taking place, but as quarter, half, and on the hour are chosen randomly, this addition is confusing. Short, choppy sentences in large type complement the book's attractive layout, but the presentation of one antisocial deed after another reads more like a list than a story and may encourage young readers to do likewise.
The first Voyage of Christopher Columbus 1492 This fictionalized picture book considers Columbus's first voyage from the point of view of a young unnamed sailor who is there solely because he needs a job. As the brief text describes the trip, the sailor's fearful and disgruntled thoughts are heard, with the recurring admission that, `` `I do need the job.' '' Meanwhile, the ink-and-watercolor illustrations filled with cartoonlike figures depict life aboard ship and on land. All are framed with a border of tiny ships and mermaids. A fold-out map shows the complete voyage and parts of North and South America and western Europe. On many of the pages a portion of the map is shown so that readers can identify the location of the ships at that time. On the whole, the paintings are appealing and occasionally humorous, but cannot compensate for the weakness of the text. While historical information is included, the book is primarily fiction, but not much happens.
Grandma Rabbitty's Visit by Barry Smith is a delightful book for toddlers. Its illustrations are vivid and have a variety of vehicles that children love in it. Some of them are a bus, ice cream truck, steam roller, and sports car. The book is also filled with a wide range of sounds that kids like to imitate. Even M was able to do this! It is not a board book, but it has the thick, durable pages that make the book last and last. Grandma Rabbitty's Visit begins with the "bring, bring" of the telephone. Grandma calls to say she's on her way for a visit. The bunny family spends the day listening to the sounds of the cars and trucks passing by wondering if each sound will bring Grandma Rabbitty. The illustrations show the family in their living room with a large window that has a wonderful view of the street and all the vehicles passing. Grandma Rabbitty finally arrives with a "vroom-vroom-vroom"-on a motorcycle! (The book calls it a motorbike.) M has enjoyed this book a great deal, and has requested it time after time. The best part is that my mom does ride (not drive) a motorcycle! How sweet! I've noticed that when books try to not stereotype, it comes off as too strong. Grandma Rabbitty's Visit is a wonderful surprise, but not because it isn't stereotypical, but because it's just plain sweet that Grandma has finally arrived. Even if your child's grandma doesn't tote a motorcycle helmet, this is still a great book for a toddler! Enjoy!
The Carousel at Scarborough Fair
This tends to get repetitive but eh its a kids book. I have a very bad childhood memory and I actually remember having this book ever since I was little. My grandparents got it for me when they went to London in 1995 and ever since then its been sitting on my book shelf. And you're never to old to read a children's book.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)