KimbuLand

Aurora Borealis

2011-12-13T23:00:00.005Z

Recently I went to see the northern lights in Iceland. My camera wasn't up to the job of registering what I ended up seeing, so I thought I would try and draw what I saw instead.

Here are a few attempts to remember.

IF - Separation

2011-12-11T00:21:00.003Z

Illustration Friday - 'Separation'

There is so much I could post on this topic right now, having just been through one of the worst periods of my life.

All I will say for now is life has taken a cruel twist and the person I once loved with all my heart, and thought loved me, is no longer mine.

Reverb10 - Vive la resistance!

2010-12-10T22:31:00.006Z

I have been reading the prompts with increasing feelings of unease as the pattern of vomit-inducing positivism seems to get worse and worse. I almost gave up, started to look for other online communities which might offer more varied and challenging subjects. However after a few days I thought - what the hell, give it a bit longer. Maybe can have a little fun with all this. Inspired by reading posts and comments from others who feel equally, if not more so, enraged by the sneaky self-help cod philosophy invoked by the prompt authors, that has become my challenge - turn all this positive energy back around onto itself, and create something more destructive and dark!

Its funny how since I started doing Reverb10 I developed a real hankering after black metal and industrial music, something I haven't really listened to for a long time (mostly been pretty quiet folk music the last few years). Like watching the students stand up for themselves, it kind of takes me back to the good old days, gives me a warm feeling inside. I am feeling strangely energised by the malicious feelings that are being provoked here. For that I can truly thank the organisers of this initiative.

So, with all that off my chest, here are my brief entries for the last few days:

> Community.

Where have you discovered community, online or otherwise, in 2010?
What community would you like to join, create or more deeply connect with in 2011?

Well, I found Reverb10 this year, with all its scary, brainwashing traits. Thankfully there seems to be a kind of growing anti-schmaltz Reverb10 sub-Community out there which I would like to be part of, and see develop into something altogether more evil!
-------------

> Beautifully Different.

Think about what makes you different and what you do that lights people up. Reflect on all the things that make you different – you’ll find they’re what make you beautiful.

OK now this one really made me want to vomit. First reaction was to photoshop a turd. Or maybe this was written by an electrocutioner... now that would make sense. But, wait - oh joy of joys - it seems that the author of the prompt has written a book about all it - to help poor lost souls like myself. Its called 'The Beauty of Different'.

If only it was full of photoshopped turds.

-------------

> Party.

What social gathering rocked your socks off in 2010? Describe the people, music, food, drink, clothes, shenanigans.

Hmmm, I do not seem to recall being invited to any 'social gatherings' this year.

I have been known to 'remove' my socks whilst making a kind of rocking motion from side to side when precariously balanced, when the weather is rather hot, it is sleepy time. However I cannot recall there being other people involved, or any particular music, food or drink.

As for shenanigans, we gave those up a long time ago didn't we dearest?
-------------

> Wisdom.

What was the wisest decision you made this year, and how did it play out?

Not voting Lib Dem.
-------------

Reverb 10 Prompt 4 - Wonder

2010-12-06T23:19:00.002Z

December 4 – Wonder. How did you cultivate a sense of wonder in your life this year? (Author: Jeffrey Davis)

This prompt really got me worried. It seems to imply that we all have to 'cultivate a sense of wonder', all very prescriptive and new agey. I started to think that, after the other therapy-like prompts we have already had, that this Reverb thing might be some marketing scam to sell some kind of hideous self help book by a one a semi-religious con artist guru type.

So I waited a few days.

[admittedly I didn't get much time to write anyway during those days.]

And after reading the later prompts I thought - OK - so maybe not all of the prompts are pure evil, give it a bit longer, see what I can get out of it. So that's what I am doing.

If I don't like a prompt, I will say so or ignore it.

After all, its not as if anyone is actually reading this anyway apart from my partner, so I can pretty much write what I like -

arse
balls
smelly poo face
knob cheese
and
gubbins!

Now that was therapeutic!

.

Arse-gubbins

Reverb 5: Let Go

2010-12-06T22:33:00.004Z

December 5 – Let Go. What (or whom) did you let go of this year? Why?

I haven't let go of anything. I have steadfastly not done anything of any major significance this last year that anyone would be able to term creative or innovative. I have endeavoured not to cast off the shackles and heavy weights which stop me from moving, developing and enjoying life, and have grown to accept and love them for what they are - an integral part of my being.

Indeed I have tried very hard to cling in desperation to the things that mean a lot to me. For example each time I swing my son around by the hands I am petrified I will let him slip. Equally I have tried very hard to hold onto other things such as relationship, friends, job, sanity, and sandwiches.

Yes, sandwiches. Chip sandwiches. Or chip butties as they are properly called.

You see, even when the bread is a bit old and starts to break up I will always try to get a good bite before the chips start to spill out the side. People say I am mad. They say "Paul, that chip butty is a mess. Throw it away and start a new one." But I try and hold it together for a bit longer, to get the last good bites of vinegary potato bready goodness out of my fist and into my mouth before the whole thing collapses.

Maybe it is foolish of me. Maybe I should move onto something different. Try using wraps. Pitta bread perhaps. If I was so inclined I may just say to hell with it, and just go and eat my bread and chips separately. Who knows - it works for some people. I've seen it with my own eyes. In posh cafes and in other foreign parts. They seem happy enough. But are these people really that much better off than what I is?

Anyway, enough butty talk. If you really must know, here's what I have really let go this last year.

My hair (it just started running away)
My eyesight (bloody computers)
My health (bloody lazy-arsed me)
My sex-life (too many reasons to go into here)

Next year I may well have to add self-respect, what little confidence I have left, job and money to the list.

And if I do ever lose my ability to enjoy a good chip butty - somebody please shoot me.

On the make

2010-12-06T22:05:00.003Z

Reverb10 task for today:

December 6 – Make.

What was the last thing you made? What materials did you use? Is there something you want to make, but you need to clear some time for it?

Easy peasy this one:

I made a salad for me tea
tomatoes, artichokes from a jar, hummus, beetroot, black pitted olives, fake cheeze, a fancy-dan half baguette, a knife, a fork and a plate to put it all on so I could carry it from kitchen to the other room
some nice pasties followed by a massive sponge cake with lots of chocolate cream on the top and down the sides (and maybe in the middle too)

Am guessing this prompt was meant to be a little more 'spititual' than this - particularly given the way the last few seem to have been heading - but then, lets face it, you can't fill your butties with poems.

[Note: At first I thought maybe 'make love' would have been better for number 3, but then its not just about clearing time is it? (in our house you have to clear the toys off the bleedin' floor as well)]

Reverb10 - moment

2010-12-03T22:32:00.003Z

OK this one is about a moment from this year when you felt most alive. Also supposed to add lots of descriptive bits.

Initially I just thought I was just going to be lazy and put a photo up of a time I remember in the summer when we were with Tammy's family, walking back along the seafront after a nice meal out together.

It was one of the most relaxed nights out we'd ever really managed with Jake, particularly for me as he was very well behaved, ate well, but mostly because he was happy to play with other people - not just me for once.

It was still warm when we left, had just got dark and the moon was shining bright and full behind us out to sea.

I was running and playing games with Jake and Alyx (his 12 year old cousin), laughing a lot, feeling like a kid all over again. I remember running backwards so I could watch Jake try to keep up - make sure he didn't fall over and hurt himself. Jake simply beamed with energy and joy (God knows where he got it from - or where my energy came from for that matter - must have been the sea air).

Behind me I would catch glimpses of Tammy walking arm in arm with her brother. I couldn't really see closely, but I like to imagine she was as content that time as I was. Long held plans had finally come together and people seemed to be having a good time. An actual holiday. A time when we could relax a bit. Something we hadn't been able to do for far too long.

It made me feel as if things didn't always have to be the way they were, and that maybe, just maybe, we could live a normal and happy life again some day soon...

.

Couldn't find the photo. I know we had some. I also remember how disappointed I was with how they came out. How they just didn't get anywhere close to capturing the beauty of reflection of the moon against the sea.

Why bother? #Reverb10

2010-12-02T22:43:00.002Z

Prompt: What do you do each day that doesn’t contribute to your writing — and can you eliminate it? (Prompt Author: Leo Babauta)

There is an implication in this prompt I find a little scary - ie that you should live purely for your writing, or turn all you do into creative fodder. That sounds a bit too extreme for me. Maybe that is because I am not a serious writer. Maybe its because I have become cynical over the years. Maybe its because I think that balance is more important.

I go through phases when I feel like I need some kind of creative exercise to stop my mind freezing up. Right now it is this Reverb doohickey. Before it was doing drawings and paintings, and pretending to be a Mexican finger puppet living in a kneepit world of corruption and sadness. Long before that there was music and films.

This creative urge is not daily for me by any means, and since my son was born it is rare that it has even crossed my mind at all.

But I know it is there, somewhere inside me, as it probably is in all of us to some degree, and it feels good to let it loose once in a while.

So to answer the original question - I do lots of things that don't contribute, and many more which make it practically impossible. But within all that I know that if I really want to write, and can start to enjoy it for the sake of it (rather than for the hope that someone somewhere out there will like what I do) then I will make the time somehow.

Right now what I really need to eliminate is the fear that I have nothing worth saying, and my own laziness.

I also need few more good prompts.

After all, we all need a good promting every now and then don't we?

2010 - Gubbins, 2011 - Survival

2010-12-01T20:45:00.003Z

A new challenge, prompted by my other half.

One word that describes last year -

Gubbins

This means its not been great, there has been stress from many sides. Not least having to watch the suffering of someone special to me, from an ever increasing and helpless distance. Thankfully Jake gives us so much energy and purpose that this year has also been one of the most liveable and joyful I can remember.

I chose the word gubbins because it is something Jake increasingly now uses to describe anything out of place around him, and is one of the few things guaranteed to make that person I was telling you about crack one of her incredible smiles.

Next year - I would wish for survival. That should be enough for all of us. One step at a time.

---

Gubbins is a chiefly British and by now old-fashioned slang term that originally meant the fragments of something. It then became used to describe an amount of nondescript (and presumably useless) bits and pieces - "I can't even get into the shed because your father's got all his old gubbins lying around." - and therefore figuratively to mean unimportant nonsense

.............

2010-06-09T22:26:00.004+01:00

Fuck

Jake does a poo

2008-08-08T15:58:00.002+01:00

At least we think that's what he is doing...

Here's what we have been up to lately

2008-08-08T15:36:00.004+01:00

Say hello to baby Jake

Born 23 July 2008 at 8.45am. 3.85 kilos.

The music you hear is Gulag Orkestra lp by Beirut.

Aliens have landed...

2008-01-14T19:48:00.000Z

A little something created recently.

Hope to have it finished in July.

Superstition

2007-11-16T20:31:00.001Z

Bishop Facks: So, Father. Do you ever have any doubts about the religious life? Is your faith ever tested? Anything you would be worried about? Any doubts you've been having about any aspects of belief? Anything like that?

Father Dougal: Well, you know the way God made us all, right? And he's looking down at us from heaven and everything?

Bishop Facks: Uh-huh.
[nods]

Father Dougal: And then his son came down and saved everyone and all that?

Bishop Facks: Yes.

Father Dougal: And when we die we're all going to go to heaven?

Bishop Facks: Yes. What about it?

Father Dougal: Well, that's the bit I have trouble with.

--

God bless father ted

Blues

2007-09-28T20:18:00.000+01:00

When I saw the topic for Illustration Friday this week, I put on some Richard Hawley, ate me a plate of Pablo and conjured me up a sad Mayan woman.

Adios!

Momentum

2007-09-08T21:36:00.001+01:00

This weeks Illustration Friday got me to thinking about how my mum and dad are about to move out of the house I was born and grew up in.

They are both in their seventies and need the extra cash moving to a smaller place would bring to live out their years in some comfort. Besides Dad isn’t so active anymore and can’t keep on looking after the big garden with the chicken coups, vegetables and flowers.

In a few weeks I’ll head on back there for one last look around.

As much as I may have hated the people in the town I grew up in, I always kind of liked the house.

It was always just big enough to hide away in.

Being able to hide is very important when growing up.

---

Anyway, back to momentum – moving on and all that. Ever since I left home back in ‘89 I have lived at nearly 20 different addresses – never staying in one place more than two years.

My parents have lived in their house for almost 50 years.

I feel very scared for them.

Waste not want not

2007-08-19T20:26:00.000+01:00

Was doing a painting for Pablo and found myself with some paint over so did this.

Lunar landscape

2007-07-31T20:43:00.001+01:00

Went to Cappadocia years back.

Was like walking on the moon, so it was.

If pidgeons were really made of clay would lonely dishevelled park women covet crockery instead?

Lottie

2007-07-08T20:47:00.000+01:00

Decided to try doing the same as Tammy for this Zen doohickey.

Apparently I messed up by colouring it in - that's too pretty and not zen like at all.

This is what she looked like without any fur:

I prefer the pretty coloured in one myself - so there evil zen art master people!

A very silly old video...

2007-07-06T17:50:00.001+01:00

Keep watching for the dancing prawn!

Old sea man

2007-07-01T13:44:00.000+01:00

...and I met a gorgeous woman in the water

2007-07-01T13:41:00.000+01:00

... who fortunately had a face in real life.

.. and they took us to this place

2007-07-01T13:40:00.001+01:00

where we swam in river pools and played frisbee...

... they have a cute cat called Padma

2007-07-01T13:39:00.001+01:00

A week not in Gubbio

2007-07-01T13:34:00.001+01:00

We just spent a week in Italy with friends who drove us about round these beautiful hills and fields of sunflowers and then kept trying to make us eat fresh apricots (the swines).

Twist of fate

2007-06-30T17:39:00.001+01:00

Sometimes I find meself up shit creek.

With a paddle.

--

Yup - it's one of them thar metaphysical do-diddlys this week, courtesy of some fella called Quint Buchholz.

A Fistful of BAFTAs

2007-06-21T18:50:00.000+01:00

Went on a tedious work awayday at BAFTA's offices the other day.

They gave us this notepaper to help us formulate our thoughts and better contribute towards future team success!

Just about managed to get through the day without vomiting, falling asleep or hitting someone by playing silly word games and doodling.

As a result the day was indeed a marvellous success. Just look at the fine collection of BAFTAs I came away with.

Hurrah!

If , like me, you ever feel despair at work events, then you will probably find the following site useful:

http://despair.com/demotivation.html

If you love your boss and company - then you possibly need enlightenment through Bob. Try this lovely video for starters. Then try this one.

Have fun!

Red

2007-06-16T20:32:00.000+01:00

This here is something I just did for The Heartfel' Challenge. Not sure why but the Monday Artday and Illustration Friday topics just haven't been grabbin' me of late, so thought I'd try something new. Or maybe its just I've been being lazy of late. Dunno.

Anyway this is a painting inspired by the sculptures by Subodh Kerkar, we saw back at the end of 2005 in the Kerkar Art Complex in Goa, India.

Completely obsessed by ladies netherregions, so he was.

IF - Rejection

2007-06-16T20:26:00.001+01:00

This here is a painting what I just did of an old sculpture we spied outside the Museum of Modern Art in Chahultepec, Mexico City.

Thought it kind of looked neglected, sad. Guess I felt sorry for the poor fella, lying there.

Birthday suit

2007-06-08T19:47:00.001+01:00

Lookie here folks -

its an arse!

Cars

2007-05-26T09:09:00.000+01:00

An oldie

a couple of lives ago
looking through a wing mirror
the passenger seat of a rental car
doing that US road trip thang

Signs attempt #2

2007-05-19T18:06:00.000+01:00

The Trattoria was one of those special places.

You know the kind, just the right kind of quiet, not too cheap and not to pricey, a select clientele of a certain class and style.

The girls just loved it. They would meet there every week and chat about work, relationships, life, shrubbery...

Signs attempt #1

2007-05-19T17:50:00.000+01:00

Love is blind.

Penny should really have seen the signs.

Like why were all his ex's stalking her?

And how come they all 'just happened' to be rotting corpses?

still life stuff

2007-05-06T18:56:00.000+01:00

Had a go at doing one of my partner's painting exercises (she's doing one of them correspondence art class thingummyjigs).

We were supposed to be painting the spaces in between the objects, whatever the hell that meant. Course I quickly got bored with that and started colouring in.

Still, I enjoyed doing this, and it came out better that I thought it would.

First time using big paper too!

more bloomin' flowers

2007-05-06T18:53:00.000+01:00

Catching up on blogging some stuff I bin doing. Been having fun playing with paint. Did this in the garden recently.

Current Neighbours

2007-05-06T18:48:00.000+01:00

Here's about as much as we ever see of our current neighbour. Occasionally the little window opens.

That's how we know she's still alive.

Weird neighbours

2007-05-06T18:33:00.000+01:00

Yup, sure had some weird folks livin' next door over the years.

This 'un used to play banjo every Thursday, and smoke them funny cee-gars. Went by the name o' Nobert. I kind a liked his hair.

.

This fella seemed right friendly enough, until he moved the gerbils in.

This fella kept himself to himself. Never said a word to nobody. One day we found him in our garden, strokin' nettles, hummin' church songs. We jus' let him be.

Green thing

2007-04-06T17:55:00.000+01:00

spotted this green flying thing outside...

Snapshot

2007-04-01T13:38:00.000+01:00

Here's a snap of the artiste at work. Probably drawing one of them darn puss cats.

I spy.. a tulip

2007-03-23T21:27:00.000Z

T bought a whole bunch of these the other day. So I thought I'd give it a go. Y'know, try and capture its beauty before it withers and dies...

See my other stuff here

Jakey and Lotty

2007-03-20T20:57:00.000Z

Yep. We got us company!

How do you say "I am innocent" in squirrel?

2007-02-24T19:07:00.000Z

They had the suspect cornered and were heading straight for his nuts.

---

When taking a picture of this and cropping it in Photoshop, I noticed this sentence from the newspaper I was resting on. It was as if someone was trying to tell me something.

Communication

2007-02-24T18:54:00.000Z

Bahia Maguey

2007-02-15T22:24:00.000Z

And finally, Bahia Maguey (which we for some reason could never pronounce properly) in the area of Huatulco on the southern coast of Oaxaca state. In particular our good friend pelican gonzalez. Adios amigo!

Rufino Tamaya Museum in Oaxaca

2007-02-15T22:21:00.000Z

Here's some old stuff from the museum - a great mixture of archeological artifacts, chosen because of their artfulness by the artist Tamayo.

Monte Alban

2007-02-15T22:14:00.000Z

On the plus side, the protests seem to have scared a number of tourists away from Oaxaca, meaning we had the wonderful Zapotec ruins of Monte Alban mostly to ourselves!

Oaxaca

2007-02-15T21:51:00.000Z

Just back from 2 weeks in Mexico. Managed a few scribbles. Here's some:

A statue in the courtyard where the Gaia cafe bar was:

A chair in the same courtyard:

The Flor de Loto veggie restaurant sign:

Our balcony in the Casa de la Tia hostel:

Protests

I strongly recommend you read something about what has been happening in Oaxaca. There was a long occupation of the zocalo by a mix of local people, community and political groups following heavy arm tactics by the governor to break up a small teachers strike. End of November they sent in the army and shot and arrested many of the leaders of the revolt. An uneasy police state 'peace' currently hangs over the city. Thousands are still campaigning across Mexico and in solidarity across the world with the protesters. A megamarch (the 9th) took place when we were in Mexico with around 30,000 joining in to continue to put pressure on the national and local government to release the prisoners and oust the corrupt right wing governor.

The following links give some background and current news from the area, about a story largely ignored by the world's press:

As for the nice photos from the trip - mi amiga took most of those. Click here if you want to see more of Mexico.

Hooray for Anal Probe Man!

2007-01-19T18:59:00.000Z

This morning I had a colonoscopy.

I couldn't eat for a day before and spent most of the day and night on the toilet in terrible pain.

Happily, about 11am this morning, Anal Probe Man came to my rescue. And now I feel on top of the world!

Hip Hip Hooray for Anal Probe Man!

---

wow, that sedative was good!

The Rt Hon Caesar McTavish, 1995 - 2007

2007-01-08T18:50:00.000Z

So long little fella

-----------------------

thanks for stopping by

phoenix parakeet sanctuharry

2006-12-29T20:44:00.000Z

... and so as you can sees I was a bit stumped and me I googles Phoenix (yeah like how you never do) and so then I tries the 23rd page (cos that's me lucky number and all the top pages is part of the big bad googly conspiracy to take over everyone's bits and bobs and such) and so then I sees on the googly page a lil' parrot place where the sick birdies they sometimes go to die or somesuch thing and so's I thinks 'well OK - why not me draw a nice perdy parrot face on me blog, comin up from the flames of hell like?' and so I does and OK so the flames isn't much kop like but at least you can sees its a parrot and well, me I think I like it and maybe I think, just maybe someones of you may just be liking it a tiny weeny little bit too, so anyways now you can sees what it does looks like and so here it is, so it is, yes sir, I do declare...

A lesser spotted Mongolian Tree Nibbler

2006-11-24T19:02:00.000Z

When asked to explain my recent lack of creative fortitude, I complained of having been beset by Mongolian Tree Nibblers. Having told how those pesky fellows can so take up a fellas time such that he could most easily lack the artistic faculties necessary to indulge in such illuminatory endeavours, my muse called me out, accusing me of 'pure invention'. She went further to suggest that I'd been resting on my royal posterior watching far too much of some series she called deadwood. Forswearing such uncouth retorts as were itchin' to burst forth from my loins, I decided on illustrating my point in a manner deemed most appropriate to such a foul suggestion, in the hope that this dispell such sacriligious runours once and for all.

So here he is, my cuddly compadre.

-

His name is AL

Family of Tree Nibblers

2006-11-24T18:59:00.000Z

These lil fellas started takin over my life. That's why I ain't had much time for scribblin'.

Mongolian Tree Nibblers they is. Momma just gave birth to some young 'uns see.

and gods stay quiet

2006-09-30T19:36:00.000+01:00

This place called Assam in the north east of India recorded its worst ever drought this year, so the paper told me.

Next to the story was this picture of a frail man, sitting in a parched paddy field, praying for rain.

Guess god ain't returning calls right now.

Irrational Fear # 2 - Henry and the Maggot

2006-09-23T18:42:00.000+01:00

Following on from the last post, this one tells the tale of Henry and the maggot. I did a few with Henry in them, including one where he runs naked through a forest yodelling. He mostly - but not always - ended up dead in these tales, poor fella. Its all kind of sad I guess, but, on the plus side, don't we all end up dead anyway?

Let me know if you want to see any more of these.

Irrational Fear # 1

2006-09-23T18:34:00.000+01:00

The theme for Illustration Friday this week reminded me of some cartoons I drew many many years ago when I was a disturbed teenager. I did a series of these called Irrational Fear. Now, having grown up into a suitably disturbed adult, I feel ready to share some of these with you. This particular one was inspired by a song by a band called Elephants for Breakfast:

There once was a small room which contained a collection of tablets.
---
A man with big eyebrows offered me a selction of the best ones he had.
---
He said they are all very good and that they would stop me feeling sorry for myself.
But I declined his kind offer and headed straight to the window. There I saw something much more interesting than a few
tablets.
---
From the window opposite I saw someone looking at me.
He had such big, big eyes!
---
He seemed to recognise me from somewhere, but I can't quite remember ever having sees such big, big eyes before.
---
Then I realised that the man had no eyelids. That he must be able to see most everything that is going on.
---
Seeing the man made me glad that I know darkness, for clearly he knows none.

Old photo

2006-08-26T15:48:00.000+01:00

I went for a run earlier today and spotted this lying on the pavement. Its an old family portrait in a cracked frame. It had a eerie quality I liked, which I tried to capture on this:

Italy Field

2006-08-26T15:47:00.000+01:00

Urbino

2006-07-24T22:20:00.000+01:00

A view of Urbino from a hill opposite.

Shame that damn tree got in the way.

Padma

2006-07-24T22:07:00.001+01:00

An affectionate little ball of madness.

Bag of crisps - for Nadia

2006-07-24T22:07:00.000+01:00

There we were, sat in a beautiful rural landscape in the middle of Italy, gazing over fields and hills, the sun setting in the distance. We got out our pens and paints, and I drew this. A bag of crisps.

Nice crisps too.

Urbino street

2006-07-24T22:06:00.000+01:00

From the holiday in Italy. A beautiful old town. Enjoyed doing this one. First drawing for a few weeks it was.

Shower woman

2006-07-24T22:03:00.000+01:00

First attempt to do something using acrylic paints.

Some woman stepping into a shower. I suppose I could say this was inspired byModigliani or somesuch. After all, he did paint a few women's arses. But no. Just came out like that I'm afraid.

Sticky blood

2006-07-01T13:31:00.000+01:00

Been dwelling in old memories a bit lately. This is one from when I was walking down the hill to school as a kid, seeing the kind old bald man start to wobble on his bike and then fall off, scraping his head on the tarmac. When we caught up with him he lying there, he was face down, his twitching frame stuck between the bent wheels and a patch of the darkest blood i'd ever seen (much darker than the stuff in the horror films I loved at the time).

Shortly after the a couple of cars pulled up and a shaking man chased us away from the scene.

Never saw the old man again after that.

Guess it was too much for him.

Swimming Jungle Pig

2006-06-13T23:53:00.000+01:00

A few lives ago, I visited the Amazon jungle in Bolivia, where I saw a swimming pig. The local men in the boat wanted to scare the pig and ram it with sticks and the side of the boat. We screamed and begged them to stop. The river was very strong and we were afraid the pig would not make it to his family on the other side. But they only laughed and kept on attacking the pig, which did not know which way to turn.

Eventually, after much protest, and a few horrible minutes toying with the pig (and toying with us, the silly gringos) the men gave in.

When we were far enough away, we were relieved to see the pig still had enough wit and energy left to make it over to his family on the other side.

Wonder if the pig remembers that?

Vegan Cake

2006-05-29T21:22:00.000+01:00

After looking at all this cake on the IF site, and the rain out the window, I thought I may as well make one.

Here's what it came out like:

The recipe is very simple and delicious and completely vegan:

Sieve 3 glasses Self Raising Flour, I glass sugar, 3 heaped teaspoons of bakjing powder and 2 tablespoons of Cocoa powder into a bowl.
Mix 3/4 glass sunflower oil, 1 glass soya milk, and some vanilla or almond essence (this time I added a splash of blueberry juice too for fun).
Mix it all together and pour into a cake tin. Bake on 180 degrees for 45 - 60 mins until you can poke a fork in there and it comes out without sticky gunk on it.
Cover with melted chocolate or icing or whatever (for this one I made icing with fresh lemon juice and put plain chocolate shavings on the top).

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I also decided to draw the resulting cake (click for larger image):

BTW - If that isn't enough cake for everyone this week, I also listened to the album 'Pressure Chief' by Cake when painting this.

Bon appetit!

Tammy's Hair

2006-05-29T16:06:00.000+01:00

Not very inspired by the IF theme 'Cake' so found a close up photo I took of Tammy's hair on the beach at Tavira in Portugal last year.

She's lying on a multicoloured sarong if my memory serves me right.

Thought I'd see if I could recreate it in watercolours.

Nearly.

Garden tree

2006-05-29T16:02:00.000+01:00

We had an extra day this weekend. So I got to sit in the garden and thought I'd try draw the tree.

Can't decide if I prefer the black and white or colour version.

No idea what kind of tree it is.

It was there before we moved in.

Anyone out there know anything about trees?

Holiday

2006-05-21T14:30:00.000+01:00

Saw a photo in the weekend paper yesterday that set off this fuzzy memory of walking and burning in the midday sun, the light all around so bright reflecting against the whitewash and the flowers and the alien streets. Making me blind.

Sorry

2006-05-21T14:16:00.000+01:00

Since the recent move, I have been listening to my old records again, retrieved from the barren wilderness of my brothers damp flat. Its been like getting back my memories. Those albums were so important to me growing up. Poring over the covers, reading the lyrics, admiring the art. Now its all about how many tracks can you fit in your phone, a million hours of muzak compressed in your pocket, coming at you non-stop, convenient and soulless. How easy it has become it seems not to have to make a choice, to have to get up and turn the record over, dust it down, give it a clean.

So in one sense this drawing of an old Hank Williams album I was just playing harks back to a sorrow for having somehow lost that excitement of my youth, of hunting down from shop to shop in order to find that elusive record (no Amazon in those days), buying it, guarding it carefully all the way home, then playing it for the first time.

It also reminds me of a time of my life I am not proud of, of a person I feel I owe an apology to.

But that's another story.

Packed up

2006-05-16T19:23:00.000+01:00

Not too much time and energy left after the move. Did do a bit of scribblin when all the stuff was packed, when on the phone to the water company.

Did the first drawing below of Tavish, the famous cat, as he sat patiently for the chaos to subside.

Happy as a pig in a poke he is now.

Now me, I've got post stress stress or some such. Its all over but I'm not all over it yet.

Give it time.

Pud Pud

2006-05-16T19:18:00.000+01:00

Here he is.

Serene and dignified.

Mr McTavish.

Purple haired painter man

2006-05-01T11:34:00.001+01:00

Started drawing the face in ink, then got a bit carried away.

Takes me back to the good ol' days when I was a long, purple-haired weirdo.

Tammy painting Caesar

2006-05-01T11:34:00.000+01:00

This is not very flattering - couldn't get the face at all. But the cat ain't too bad, and enjoyed doing it.

Ill Friday - Under the sea

2006-04-30T22:20:00.000+01:00

Like falling asleep on a beach and waking up under the sea?

Illustration Friday - robots

2006-04-23T15:08:00.000+01:00

Imagine a world with millions and millions of people rushing into work every day, listening to U2 on their i-pods.

Scary.

--------------------------

'Everyday I wake up,

then I start to break up,

lonely as a man without love.'

- Englebert Humperdink

SPOTTED

2006-04-14T16:13:00.000+01:00

Sittin' in the garden with my pen and paper, wondrin' what I could draw for 'spotted'. Then I remember spotting a spotted cat once, coming out the shed.

Can you spot the little fella?

Warty Colour

2006-04-14T14:10:00.000+01:00

Only the second time I done anything using warty colours, last time pencil, this time with proper brushes and stuff.

Hope y'all like it.

The Mad Potter

2006-04-10T00:02:00.000+01:00

This here is my first attempt drawing someone from real life. First time I used a paintbrush too (other than for creosoting fences or painting walls that is).

Now I know this ain't strictly speaking anything to do with speed, but I doubt I'll have time to do much else this week, and the wheel was spinning fast, and she was very quick making the pots, and I am in a rush right now.

Hell, I've seen far more tenuous reasons for getting work seen out there than this.

Hope y'all like it.

ILL FRIDAY: Monster

2006-03-26T18:54:00.000+01:00

Conker Monsters

This was the house hidden back from the road near from where I grew up. They told us monsters lived there, up in the conker trees.

Every year, I would see those fine conkers just sitting there waiting to be picked, but I was way too small to climb in.

A railway line passed next to the trees, and the bigger kids would climb down the railway banks to get to the conkers. One day a kid got electrocuted on the tracks and died. The family that lived there upped and moved away, and the gate stayed locked.

Some folks tried to blame the monsters, but us kids knew different.

Now when I see conkers on the floor, I think of the monsters, still there behind the locked gates, playing conker fights with ghosts of those kids passed away, keeping them happy in the dark afterlife.

----

I hope you'll remember them next time you're passing conker trees on a train. Give them a wave. They'd really like that they would.

You may even see them wave back.

ILL FRIDAY: Feet

2006-03-19T16:19:00.000Z

Big Toe Fight

Here you can see my toes making up with each other after a fight.

Toes don't tend to stay mad for long.

Unlike knees.

SEVILLE: Ryanair

2006-03-15T21:42:00.001Z

The plane back gave me a bad head.

SEVILLE: Parque Maria Luisa

2006-03-15T21:42:00.000Z

I liked doing the trees here

SEVILLE: Alcazares parque sketch

2006-03-15T21:41:00.000Z

SEVILLE: Alcazares parque

2006-03-15T21:37:00.000Z

why do I like palm trees?

SEVILLE: Ole!

2006-03-15T21:36:00.001Z

This is what most women look like in Seville.

SEVILLE: Plaza de la Virgen

2006-03-15T21:36:00.000Z

It was getting dark when we got out our coloured pens and drew.

SEVILLE: Abstracto

2006-03-15T21:35:00.000Z

And this is what most men looked like there...

SEVILLE: Hotel Zurbaran wall

2006-03-15T21:34:00.000Z

This is the first of a set of drawings I did on Holiday in Seville. This is what was hanging on our wall in the hotel.

Ear Wiggy

2006-03-05T22:39:00.001Z

Ah remember when I was a nipper I found something wrigglin' in my ear. Looked somethin' like this (NOT me, the earwig).

Sel po-trait

2006-03-05T22:39:00.000Z

Yuk.

Sissy

2006-03-01T18:50:00.000Z

Today I am afraid to jump into the water.
It doesn't look real.

Tea

2006-02-25T15:45:00.000Z

For Illustration Friday.

Wing Mirror

2006-02-24T16:55:00.000Z

About 6 years back we flew to the US, got us a rental car and went lookin' for somethin'. Found nothin'. Lots and lots of nothin'.

Took me a photo of the sun setting behind us in the mirror. Looked something like this.

Smokin' House

2006-02-24T16:51:00.000Z

This began life as a door knob, briefly became a penis and ended up a smoking house.

You go figure.

Woke up this mornin'

2006-02-24T16:49:00.000Z

... and this is what I saw.

Lovely

2006-02-24T16:48:00.000Z

She ain't really got green hair. That's what you types might call ARtistic licence. Truth is I got my pens misxed up.

Anyways, this here is Tammy, and she's lovely she is.

Back yard

2006-02-24T16:45:00.000Z

A rare sunny day a few weeks back I grabbed me some pens, sat out back and drew what I saw. It was about then I realised I kinda liked drawing stuff.

Bolivia

2006-02-24T16:43:00.000Z

This is me some 6 years back, on top of the world.

Kinda looks like I'm all on my ownsome, don't it?

Rubbish

2006-02-24T16:42:00.000Z

Sat on a damp bench drawing a rubbish bin in the freezin' cold.

I hear these funny voices

2006-02-20T23:50:00.000Z

Thought of this when I was still thinking about how to draw a song.