Life

So, I haven't been posting alot to this blog. I have been doing alot of work though and want to share some of that with you. I'll get to that later but for now I just want to write. Sometimes its good to have an old clear out of your brain and just think about things for once in a while. I have just finished reading, 'The Art of Creative Thinking' by Rod Judkins. Its quite good, I liked it. Its all about creativity and how better to access it in your everyday life. Its a really interesting book, plus he teaches at Central Saint Martins and I've always wanted to study there. Anyway, the book is really good and I recommend it. I just tried to find my favourite chapter but I didn't bookmark it, so can't find it. It was about the imagination and where creativity comes from (I think).

I also read a book called "The Hundred Nights of Hero' by Isabel Greenberg (www.isabelnecessary.com). That too was really good. It was a graphic novel. I'm finding that I really enjoy graphic novels. My favourite one was Maus by Art Spiegelman which was about the Holocaust, but now a close second or maybe even my new favourite is The hundred nights of hero. The book is about two female lovers who through circumstance and the times they live in can't be together. It doesn't depict men very well and is probably a good book to get a teenage girl. It is all about the struggle of being a free-thinking woman in a world that doesn't understand free-thinking women. Its pretty good. I highly recommend it.

Anyway, I had a good Christmas and New Year. I'm hoping that 2017 will be better than 2016 because that was kind of a dud year. I didn't feel very inspired and hope to do more things that i enjoy in the coming year.

My TMAU has cleared up now. I no longer have it after taking alot of probiotics and eating healthy. TMAU has to be one of the worst diseases. I'm so glad that I don't have it any more. Its the reason I left art college and haven't gone to university. I wrote a passage about this before but deleted it because I didn't want anyone knowing that I had it. But I'm not ashamed of it, it was part of my life since I was 13 until I was 21. I was diagnosed at 21 by a doctor and referred to a clinic in London. It ruined my life for a period, it was horrible. To anyone who didn't know that I had TMAU, now you know!! But I don't have it anymore and things are most definitely better.

Anyway, I really want to write a graphic novel. The problem is I don't have any ideas. I wish I had more ideas. I could make such a great book. My drawings would look great. I have thought of an idea for a children's picture book. I have an idea about a fox who is the main character. I quite like the idea, I have mapped it out in my journal and summarised the main plot. It flows well. I realise when I'm writing this how much I love writing. I need to write more often. I think I write clearly and am hopefully engaging to my reader. I love writing. It would be so great to combine my pictures with my words, and create a story. I'll try and develop the fox idea. I either have lots of ideas and don't do them or none. Sometimes I find myself with too many avenues to go down, like illustration, fine art, children's books etc, and then all the possibilities of these disciplines as well, so I end up with a multitude of ideas and they all seem so over-whelming that I don't do any of them. Alot of the time too, I compare myself to others. I mean their work. I think I wish my work was as good as their work. I realise that I can't do this because it gets you no where and is not a good thing to do. But, I think that everyone goes through periods of doing that. Actually, I think in hindsight it is a good thing because it develops your taste and gets you accustomed to what you like and therefore makes you strive to be better. Yes, I like that, thats good.

Anyway, lastly I have some good news. I have got my work into a gallery!! A local gallery here in town. I'm so excited. Hopefully this will lead to other galleries taking on my work and making a full time living from my work. Thats the dream anyway. I can't wait!!!

Here are some images of my recent work...

Free art out in Gloucester.

Human Condition. I really like this painting.

Sketchbook drawing for the sketchbook project based in New York. Man in chair.

Diamond dog.