Happy New Year

Happy New Year to you and I hope it brings everything that is meaningful to you.

Here is a sketch of a bunch of music lovers whose dream came true.

The Terror of being a Child.

When I was small I had a brother who used to tell me that down the loo there lived a dark man who wore a leopard skin cape and all he did was wait.

To this day I don't believe I have ever drawn anything resembling leopard skin.

Two Blocks East of Heaven

All because of this music I came across on Freesound...I now have the two main characters, plus singing birds, the actual soundtrack (almost...having problems with converting it) and low and behold...the title arrives straight into my inbox. Look at the title up there! It's straight out of a fairy tale...hmmm... maybe it's from a really important piece of literature in which case it's possible I haven't come across it before.

Now all I have to do is about three hundred drawings. No, I haven't learned to tween yet.

Things to do LIst

This is a mixture. The mountains are part of a fractal which as soon as I created it I thought...mountains, hooray! The animal looks a bit like water colour but I am pretty sure I made him in Photoshop.

I have to make a list of things to do in 2008. Someone today said that my stuff reminded them of a regular "New Yorker" artist. Me? Imagine! Needless to say, this is nicer to me than an actor winning an Oscar, so I thought I should start a list of Ten Things I Will Definately Do In 2008.

Number One: Conceive, illustrate and send in five cartoons to "The New Yorker".

Have you heard of The Freesound Project? No? Google it. Hours of guaranteed fun if you...

a).Like sounds and sound effects.

b) Are looking for soundtracks for your work.

c)Read about really interesting people who compose, make music, animate, write, all sorts.

Viewer of the Year Award

Week in, week out...somewhere far, far away, I have a faithful viewer of this blog. So here's to you! Happy Christmas Number One Viewer in Saskatoooooooooon.

For some inexplicable reason the local council, here in Spain, have sent out the electricians in the streets and half the town has no electricity today. Why would they do this on one of the most important days of the year in Spain? This is the day everyone is at home preparing seafood and roast lamb for the evening feast.

There is a bar-hopping Santa Claus in town. He has a playboy bunny style elf with him. Have I lost the plot somewhere?

Well, wherever you are...I hope 2008 brings you joy.

Here Comes The Sun. Dittn Doo Doo Doo

Here is a link to the most beautiful, animated short film I have ever seen. So if you have a spare ten minutes, pull up a chair, switch off the lights and have a box of tissues handy.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ANCu6ZYjENo&feature=related

Experimenting

Some Day...

I just found this singer on Youtube and I think she has a great voice. Why isn't she out there somewhere under the spot lights. Maybe she's really famous? What would I know? Well, anyway, have a look.

The tree is here. Hooray.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yPerv6asjEs&feature=PlayList&p=E14C9981DFEED07A&index=2

Silent Night

Pour a glass of red wine. Click on the link below. Enjoy.

http://www.youtube.com/user/AndanteLargo

I suggest you listen to his other playing too.

Flamenco

It's a Snowman

The snowman's body is actually a fractal. The rest done in Corel Painter. I hope Santa brings me some video editing software but I'm not holding my breath.

The sun is out!! The wind still roaring. I've forgotten to hang out the washing...

Howling Winds

The original bit is good old-fashioned paper, pilot pen and water colour all stuck onto some card. The snowflakes and smudgy bits added in Artrage 2.5.

The wind is still howling. The photo above shows what it does to the beach. That's a macro photo; the pebble is barely 3 centimetres long.

Twins

Huge winds last night. The beach looks like a moonscape as the winds have carved it into a series of pebbles standing on the top of columns of sand. Branches all over the road and a rowing boat in the middle of the cycle path.

Here's a link to a beautiful piece of guitar playing. It reminds me of Augustin Barrios. I sent a message to see if the score is published anywhere (not that I could play it anyway) but alas, the composer and player wrote this overnight after the end of sad affair of the heart.

Ladies, pay heed, take a look at the link. He deserves better.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=42t2ADBkvS4

Green with Envy

I am in the middle of making Christmas cards. Will I get them off on time?

I came across the site of a weaver today and all sorts of familiar names popped out the monitor. Turns out we both went to Edinburgh College of Art and did tapestry.

She weaves miniature tapestries....I used to do that. It got even weirder when I saw a photo of a sofa with the same woven blanket on it as mine. Anyway, her work made me want to drag out the wool and dyes, warp up and start a tapestry of my own. I don't think I have woven anything for over a year.

Here's a link...

http://www.meabhwarburton.co.uk/meabhs%20site/introduction.html