2015 in summation, adventures, makings, illumastrations. PART TWO

PART TWO guys ok, if you missed it part ONE is here, in which I summarated my activities, on and off the drawing board from January to April 2015

Ways in which I've become a grown up in 2015:

I've drunk Lemsip with no sugar or even honey in it, I've worn eyebrow pencil on a day other than a wedding, gone running (voluntarily!), acquired a mortgage, learnt how to spell the word 'receive' correctly, graduated as a Master of Arts, bought a bottle of gin not specifically for a party but just to, you know, have some gin in.

Me with my Daddy, graduationing. 

However I know I am not a real grown up yet because:

I still do not like olives. Or whiskey. 

Also I'm still really bad at the eyebrow pencil thing.

And now.... the story continues.

With May.

In May last year I began a new stint of market stalling at Blackhorse Workshop in Walthamstow, a brilliant little corner of making and meeting that I was to revisit on most first Saturdays of the 2015 months that followed. 

As I obliquely mentioned in the first part of this yearly round up, Alex and I were flat hunting, and our grand plan was to buy a little place in Walthamstow. It's nice there. And was still relatively (for London) affordable. 

Trying to buy property in London is a little like engaging in a very high stakes game of chinese whispers with a group of overworked and undertrained goldfish, some of whom are actively looking for opportunities to screw you over. 

But we are truly lucky to have been in a position to even contemplate buying in London. And we like Walthamstow. And it was looking actually quite likely we were going to move there, so I thought I should insert myself in the local art scene. Thus the market. 

Here's a picture of me at Blackhorse Workshop drawing Olive. I don't actually know which month it's from. I found it on Google image search. It's a funny world we live in where it's easier for me to find a photo by Googling it than looking through my own files.

I've drawn lots of Walthamstow's younger residents now. And some of the less young ones too. 

Spoiler: we didn't move to Walthamstow.

In early to mid May I also attended the wedding of the lovely Rosemary and Andy, and went to an exhibition at the IOE where there was a tent full of UV crocheted jelly fish. That was good.

On the 18th June and I attended the Big Draw Awards ceremony at Painters Hall to receive (i before e except after c) our runners up award for the events we organised in 2014. I have written about it ad nauseum and pimped it to the nines, but in case you have missed all of that there's a write up here. 

It was really cool at one point I stood next to Bob and Roberta Smith and did not talk to him because he seemed busy. 

The very next day I was back in the limelight speaking at a Symposium at Birkbeck University and debating on the subject of Artist's Identity with various interesting people including this woman with a bag over her head.

I was going to blog the manuscript of my talk, and then I wasn't because I was going to rewrite it as an academic paper, but then I didn't do that, but I did write a piece on similar themes instead which you can read here if you like. It has a toaster in it, and a teddy bear dressed as a pope.

In May I also rode a singing speedboat down the River Thames, took my mother to the Magnificent Obsessions exhibition at the Barbican where I drew a pangolin, and went to see my sister sing in a concert, here's some drawings from that.

I also did this logo design for Zib at Adapt Events. 

In June, I went on a short adventure to Southampton, my place of university attendance. 

For dinosaurs and dancing. 

I only drew 3 Real TV Wisdom drawings in 2015, one of them was in June, of Ian (Ida) Board.

Because I am really good at continuing projects that I start for years and years and years, just really, really slowly. Ask me about the graphic novel I'm writing some time. 

It was also around this time that I started collaborating with Jen over at Little Carousel Gallery. 

A relationship which has gone some very exciting typographic places, but began with this piece

At the end of June, I went to Harry Potter World (also for some reason known as Warner Bros. Studio Tour London) with my sister and cousin Julia (who is a LOT better at eyebrow pencil than me). 

It is AMAZING! If you haven't been I recommend you go. 

I did some drawings while I was there:

And fell in love with the cabinet of graphic design.

I also completed my first ever 5k race for life, which is quite a big deal for someone who has been saying she hates running for as long as I have (basically my whole life). But after turning 30, you have to start doing war against your body because if you don't no-one else will. And your muscles will calcify. And your flab will engulf continents. And also because if there is something I hate more than running it is paying actual money for exercise. Also, because Cancer can suck my inappropriate. Or something. 

Plus I drew these birds on maps. On blocks of wood. They were cool. They're sold now. 

In July, I went to Scotland for the first time ever, to celebrate my friend Andrew's thirtieth. Most specifically we went to the Isle of Arran. Which is an area of outstanding natural beauty which puts the Isle of White to shame (sorry Ned). 

I did lots of colourful portraits at a small children's costume party in Regent's Park, and also started a semi-regular live portrait session relationship with The Big Chill bars.

This kids are so East London that twice as many boys asked for pink as girls.

As I've spent more and more time this year doing live portraits at bars and events, I've developed a good radar for the 'Golden Window' - the period when people are not too sober to say yes to a drawing, and not too drunk to stay even remotely still. This is at different times at different bars, and indeed on different days of the week, and can sometimes occur before lunchtime. At weddings this window is significantly smaller. But there is so much good will at weddings no-one even cares. 

Alex and I also went on more London wandering adventures in the summer months, including some canals, Columbia Road Flower Market, the Geffrye Museum, St John's Gate tour, and Trent Park.

Yes this photo was taken somewhere you can get to on a TUBE TRAIN. 

That is a whole three more months of 2015 stuff so I'm going to post this now as instalment two and keep you waiting (on tiptoes and tentahooks I'm sure) for my August adventures onward.

Understated apologies for the delay in getting these to you. I would like to say it's because I've been doing my tax return. But it's not. It's because I've been watching Downton Abbey. 

Up to date Update date up. Purge.

I have been going through some old work, trying to have a bit of a purge because (fingers crossed) we should be moving soon. Imminent crash sale of old prints and originals on Etsy planned. Watch the media that is social. Anyway. I just found this collage in a sketchbook from 2008/9, which I had really wanted to include in my last post all about what may or may not be called "Art"

wouldn't it have been perfect? I remembered making it but I had no idea where it was. This is why one should scan everything before putting it in boxes in the loft. 

In other news, you can read all about the Big Draw Awards ceremony at Painters Hall that June and I attended to receive our runners up award here. It was good, we got lots of people looking and drawing, and we got to see Bob and Roberta Smith and Mike Leigh give inspirational speeches. 

I was too scared to talk to those illustrious gentlemen, but I did meet lots of other brilliant and interesting people. 

I've also been doing more live portrait events, the most fun of which was this children's fancy dress picnic where I got to draw dozens of small ones in bright colours, can't think of many better ways to spend an afternoon. 

Some of these kids were really good at sitting still. Others really not so much. But that's all good, I like a challenge. 

I also did a portrait session at Blackhorse Workshop, and one at The Big Chill House in King's Cross last week, both great venues with decidedly different crowds. The woman bottom right didn't really have blue lips, but it was her request and came out awesome. 

If you have an event you're organising that you think would benefit from me drawing people at it, why not pop me an email to see if I'm free? 

I have a two page found text poetry comic in the upcoming SideKick Books Poetry Comics Anthology, Over the Line. which I am not allowed to show you. But I can show you this other one page piece I submitted that didn't get in. Boom etc. It's a sort of sketchbook collage love letter type thing. To be said in a deep voice. 

The speech bubble outlines come from the Christmas card designs I made in 2012. So that should give you an idea of the levels of hoarding instinct I am battling with this purge. But also, using offcuts and serendipitous leftovers to make new work that would never have been inspired without them is sexy and cool. Although I really should throw away some of these dozens of damaged prints of work that is not very good. 

It's a BALANCE people. 

I love popcorn though. There's been a renaissance in supermarket popcorn. If you haven't been indulging, where have you been? The economy cannot sustain this level of diversity. Try all the weird flavours now before half the companies go bust. 

I've been on lots of summertime adventures recently, I went to Harry Potter World (which for some reason, pretends it's called something else, like Warner Brothers Studio something or other)

I very recommend it, the models and the displays of the design work are amazing.

I also went to the Isle of Arran in Scotland for my friend Andrew's 30th celebration. This was my first time north of the wall and it was awesome. We walked to a cave on the beach and burnt stuff in it. And ate and drank a lot. It is beautiful there too.

I was too busy socialising to do much drawing, but I did draw this boat and three pieces of popcorn.

Also I made this birthday card while I was on the train. There was an amusing and embarrassing adventure with the train. Ask me about it sometime. 

Andrew likes Meat. Two veg to follow. 

Also I dressed up as a cowboy for another friend's 30th (Paul's). This is the year of the 30th for me. For obvious reasons. The moustache suits me a bit too well.