Sometimes it's simply not simple at all!

Creativity is something that comes more naturally to me than breathing. Making things to hopefully make people smile brings me great joy! Writing a story to make some small person giggle? Amazing!

But even then, it's not always as simple as you think. 

For example...Oscar. An orange and white tabby tom in our neighbourhood who simply moved in and won't leave. (We could probably stop feeding him but then, he's a lovely puss-puss, isn't he?) He's even started worming his way onto...AND into...some of the illustrations. You'll want to watch for him in some upcoming titles...

Another example? Squeak. Her real name is Luna, and she belongs to a neighbour but seems to think that it's more fun to poke around and walk on my painted creations than to stay home. She even naps in the cubby on my desk while I write. Cats. Seriously.  But she's beautiful and "squeaky" when she talks.

Then there are the escapades of certain geckos...Gryffyth, Stumpy, Flash and their live gecko counterparts! Nothing can disrupt the day more than discovering, while preparing your cereal, that there is a certain four-legged, fast-moving neighbour who has popped by for breakfast and wants to explore the kitchen in detail...Or you go to take a shower and there's a gecko in there. You can ignore them of course. Or take multiple pictures, create a poem, write a script and film a TikTok video...(please see the link button below)

These things create issues when you have a work deadline. Or a writing deadline. 

But they also create endless story idea files, illustration ideas, and plot lines, which is why it is simply NOT that simple!

So, if you take the time to watch the slide show above, you will note the various stages of creation for me as it regards illustration.

1. pencil sketch
2. adding ink outlines
3. removing cat hair
4. erasing exposed pencil lines
5. adding colour to the images
6. naptime
7. sips of water (sometimes from the paint water by accident...)
8. finding yourself sidetracked with an unrelated illustration idea
9. loving one of those and creating a series of pictures as if there was going to be stop motion animation or something, and, not least of all:
10. taking a break to scroll through social media to see what all my peeps are up to in the writing and illustrating world

If you want to learn more about the steps of creating illustrations, or at least my method, send me your questions and comments in the "Contact Me" form and I will prepare an upcoming blog on the topic.

​Now, Oscar wants fed and a gecko just ran into the laundry room so I have some photography to work on...chat soon!

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