dumbdrawings

long time gone

2012-01-05T11:03:00.002+11:00

so it's been an eternity since I posted here, or indeed had time to draw anything with another bub now firmly taking over our house and my life! Still its the new year and anything could happen. Heres hoping I can start getting my pencil onto paper more often in 2012. Happy New Year pencil pushers!

take a picture... it lasts longer

2010-04-30T10:01:00.004+10:00

The scanner in the studio is on the fritz at the moment, but I've decided that's not going to stop me posting now that I finally have started drawing again... So i've applied my latest iphone app addiction to the recording of my new sketches, and to be honest while they make the drawings look completely different, and randomly crop them to boot, I don't mind it so much.

I don't really know who this chap (or his russian cousin pictured above) is but i'm enjoying spending time with him at the moment.

the eternal battle

2010-04-07T22:10:00.003+10:00

Here is a little something I prepared earlier, much earlier as it turns out, in fact something I drew around 1978. Clearly I had already developed my fine moral sensibilities the freak factor that had me cutting kitty's head off while wearing a princess dress however...

at last!

2010-03-08T20:10:00.002+11:00

it's been nearly a year since I managed to get a drawing onto this bloody blog... and to be frank it aint my best work, but since max got himself a packet of dodgy coloured pencils at bunnings a couple of weeks ago, i've been doodling around with abstract colors, and loving it. Definately more to come.

tree change

2009-05-05T08:42:00.001+10:00

nigel the nightime levitator now comes in a brand spanking new color palette...

geek easter

2009-03-30T20:32:00.002+11:00

easter yeti

2009-03-26T17:42:00.002+11:00

another preliminary sketch from the new range of yeti drawings i'm working on... i like the idea of an easter yeti, although i'm not sure what he'd leave for you on easter morning, tree stumps?

yeti housewife

2009-03-25T21:25:00.005+11:00

original sketch with yellow wash

hmmm i'm not really convinced i've hit the right palette yet, but i'm very happy with my yeti.

more dumbstruck creatures from the sketchbook

2009-03-24T15:31:00.003+11:00

Really I don't know where they come from... just that they arrive blinking and bewildered every now and again on the pages as if by accident, wandering about like they got lost on their way out of the forest.

angry penguins

2009-03-21T17:45:00.000+11:00

I believe that's what you call a chilly reception...

I dream of sleeping

2009-03-02T17:36:00.002+11:00

Illustration Friday - BREEZY

2009-03-01T12:40:00.003+11:00

At last! at last! its finally autumn...

Illustration Friday - CELEBRATE

2009-02-17T11:59:00.002+11:00

Just what I always wanted, a birthday fish!

Kooky Owl

2009-02-14T12:08:00.000+11:00

really I dont know what he's on, but clearly things are going a little craaaaazy...

Vampire Racoon

2009-02-10T12:11:00.000+11:00

BLACK BIRD

2009-02-06T13:07:00.000+11:00

I've started using collage again to create images, it's ridiculously time consuming cutting out all the pieces, especially with a small person trying to grab everything off the table while I work, but it's not just the process that i'm enjoying... it's great to see how images change with techniques, now I want to re-do lots of drawings in collage just to see how they turn out.

as yeti

2009-01-09T14:29:00.003+11:00

not the best but not the worst - the drawing tablet experiments continue...

killer monkey with wallpaper

2009-01-03T20:18:00.003+11:00

Guess who got a mini drawing tablet from Santa and is now trying to work out how to use the darn thang... yup that would be yours truly. I am hoping that future efforts eclipse this half assed one.

and another thing...

2008-11-26T17:53:00.000+11:00

I don't know about you, but i've always thought owls seemed the type to be highly opinionated.

Illustration Friday - OPINION

2008-11-25T17:57:00.004+11:00

Call her a traditionalist, but it remains Vicki's opinion that you should never be taller than your Christmas tree.

fa la la la la... la la la la

2008-11-16T15:34:00.005+11:00

yes this really is quite insane, but who said robot's didn't want to decorate for the holidays?

ILLUSTRATION FRIDAY: Pretend

2008-11-15T08:52:00.003+11:00

no matter how hard Debbie protested that she was a monkey, she wasn't fooling anybody with that stick on tail...

ILLUSTRATION FRIDAY: Pillage Power

2008-11-10T20:31:00.007+11:00

Toord Fjord may look stoopid but believe me that Viking is a real WISE-ASS.

Illustration Friday - SUGARY

2008-10-05T07:53:00.004+11:00

Granted it's not exactly a literal depiction of the topic of the week, but I thought there would be plenty of other illo's with candy and cakes all over them so I went for an image with full on sugary colour pallette instead... this is my nightmare image of the kids after too many sugary treats before bedtime... screaming, raining tears and bouncing off the walls.

Illustration Friday - PACKED

2008-10-03T15:19:00.003+10:00

Clearly not my best entry but forgive me and do please cut me some slack, I am now drawing with a 5kg baby in a sling in front of me in 10 minute snatches, so the fact that I got anything done for this weeks challenge is for me a minor miracle! I hereby promise to try harder to get my groove back, as soon as I get two hands free...

little things for little people

2008-09-28T19:34:00.006+10:00

For me the 'nesting stage' of pregnancy everyone talks so much about didn't really kick in until the last two weeks before Maxwell arrived, which of course left me severely under-organised and panic struck - where were all the things i'd planned on having done... the nursery wall paintings, the hand printed sheet sets, the original outfit making etc etc? Clearly I had been in denial until the OB said "it's time to induce" and then of course there was bugger all time to get much of anything done. I did however manage to turn a few drawings i'd been working on into some customised 'onesies', which was great because it made me feel like i'd made an effort to ensure he'd have something a little bit different from the other little widgets in baby blue and pretty pink at the Freemason's.

The first try was a bit of a wobbly gingham robot inspired by Bender from Futurama...which was all machine stitched... but as I didn't have any iron on backing so we had to go 'free form' with mixed results.
I think this is the most successful probably due to the hand embroidery of the felt onto a more solid fabric, although the polka dot robot below is really quite charming in his own 'special' little way.

Thankfully we've had some warm weather over the weekend so Max got a chance to wear them before he grows out of them - they all looked great especially combined with his red stripey pants...

Actually overall I was pretty happy with the way they turned out given how difficult it was to bend over my uber belly to work the old Janome -i'm thinking of doing more fabric 'drawings' once Max and I sort out some kind of schedule that let's me get more than a half hour to get things done, people keep telling me it will happen.

eventually...

SEE I REALLY HAVE BEEN BUSY!

2008-09-23T12:09:00.005+10:00

Ok sorry first up to all that have visited looking for new drawings and finding nada, zilch and bugger all - I have been ridiculously busy with my other job, other blog (handmade life) and now have whipped out a brand new son Maxwell Otis... so please forgive us. The good news is that now i'm on maternity leave for a few months, hopefully between feedings, walking up and down the hallway, and nap-times i'll be able to pull a few new drawings together as well as feature some great stuff by other pencil pushers i'm currently infatuated by... well that's the plan anyway - let's see what happens...

Oh and a special shout out to little Lara Radford-Ifrate, keeping the dream alive with her top drawing of Me, Max and a stack of building blocks... top job!

illustration friday - moon

2007-08-02T21:07:00.001+10:00

and sometimes at night,

by the light of the moon,

nigel would myseriously levitate.

illustration friday - poem

2007-07-22T21:06:00.000+10:00

haiku for snowbound lovers:

who feels the coldness

besuited by throbbing hearts

big ears and pink cheeks

sleepless in the paddock

2007-06-21T13:29:00.000+10:00

lady sings the blues

2007-06-20T21:42:00.000+10:00

heres my pick for this weeks illustration friday theme 'rejection' ... sad aint it.

dog day afternoon

2007-06-15T13:31:00.000+10:00

muji lives a complicated existence in which rainy day walks are often followed by sub standard meals that remain uneaten, long into the twilight hours... much to his dismay.

midnights children

2007-06-06T13:34:00.000+10:00

trawling through my boxes of sketchbooks in a vain attempt at clutter clearing I found these three left over gouache sketches from my time in Delhi, they reminded me of how much I love that crayzeeee krishna blue, so much so that i'm putting down my felt tip and getting out the paintbox again.

illustration friday - remembering

2007-05-02T09:55:00.000+10:00

as he drifted off to sleep Charlie liked to remember Cheeky, his jungle buddy

crazy

2007-04-23T21:49:00.000+10:00

barely there

2007-04-23T21:45:00.000+10:00

illustration friday POLAR

i spy

2007-03-24T20:46:00.000+11:00

with my little eye...

long in the tooth

2007-03-19T22:18:00.000+11:00

dentists dream date. coo-coo-ca-choo

greenhorn

2007-03-06T21:14:00.000+11:00

This is a preliminary sketch for a kids book i'm currently working on...
I'm not entirely sure (we're not on a first name basis yet) but I think her name might be Debbie.

indie bunny

2007-02-24T20:13:00.000+11:00

Captain, what's another name for pirate treasure?

2007-02-18T18:09:00.000+11:00

moose on the loose

2007-02-13T21:07:00.000+11:00

illustration friday - sprout

2007-02-06T22:03:00.000+11:00

wow first illustration friday of the year and i'm already rehashing last years exhibition sketches!

illustration friday - thanksgiving

2006-11-21T08:02:00.000+11:00

Here in Australia we don't celebrate thanksgiving, but given my current deadline schedule i'd like to give thanks to any sleep I might be able to snaffle in the coming week!

illustration friday - clear

2006-11-12T10:30:00.000+11:00

on a clear night you can swim forever...

illustration friday - smoke

2006-11-07T16:20:00.000+11:00

this is something i've been cooking up as part of an exhibition in december with my fellow hml blogmeister Ramona, he's not quite done yet, but i think his oversized wooden pipe qualifies him for this weeks smokin' illo challenge.

illustration friday - wind

2006-10-31T17:14:00.000+11:00

illustration friday - smitten

2006-10-16T22:10:00.000+10:00

love at first bite

illustration friday - trouble

2006-10-06T23:05:00.000+10:00

gone fishing

2006-10-03T00:01:00.000+10:00

you know it cant be easy being the eskimo kid that's the butt of all the practical jokes, especially if the gang is about to go whaling...

illustration friday - quiet

2006-10-02T16:28:00.000+10:00

This weeks theme is QUIET, or as these illos suggest - a distinct lack thereof. With simian siblings Dancin' Travis and Lil' Trevor Jnr on the bongos pounding out them big percussive beats you'll be getting none, and perhaps yelling for some.

fang it

2006-10-01T22:22:00.000+10:00

it's not easy being pre teen

the wind beneath my wings...

2006-09-21T21:34:00.000+10:00

For the last few weeks i've just been drawing birds... lots and lots of birds. There has been a purpose in the feathering of my nest, namely an upcoming exhibition at Christmas-time. Along the way i've found that my birds clearly do not come from the my planet, but some parallel universe where they are the dominant species, with therapists, interfereing mothers in law, orthodontic appointments and obsessive compulsive disorders, like the woodpecker above.
I have also found that they are often overweight and fall into mindless stupors when confronted with oversized fruit... see below.

and sometimes they even find another similarly odd shaped misfit of a bird to fall in love with..

just because you're paranoid

2006-09-19T00:08:00.000+10:00

teddy bears picnic

2006-09-18T20:45:00.000+10:00

illustration friday - change

2006-09-17T21:03:00.000+10:00

let's hope Bernie has some.

mad about harry

2006-09-16T08:34:00.000+10:00

Can't tell you all how happy I am now that the new scanner has finally arrived, I can post electro doodles and still use my artline pen. joy.

illustration friday - farm

2006-09-13T18:41:00.000+10:00

Mildred always tried to make an effort at milking time...

bird

2006-09-10T05:47:00.000+10:00

bunny

2006-09-09T00:53:00.000+10:00

Illustration friday - run

2006-08-26T11:34:00.000+10:00

here's another exercise in mouse generated illustration - it's weird after drawing with a felt tip for so long to have started this blog with the idea of only working with a mouse, it's kind of like going back to working with giant crayons, you cant be too precious about finesse because the stick is unweildly... instant naive art!

braveheart

2006-08-16T05:52:00.000+10:00

organ grinder

2006-08-15T22:27:00.000+10:00

flaming eye

2006-08-14T20:58:00.000+10:00

sad eyes

2006-08-13T20:03:00.000+10:00

illustration friday - opposites

2006-07-22T09:28:00.000+10:00

everyone always said they were identical, but emotionally betty and brenda were poles apart...

you are the apple of my owl

2006-07-16T11:54:00.000+10:00

illustration friday - sacrifice

2006-07-15T18:39:00.000+10:00

This is a recovered illo from when I first started drawing with a mouse - no pun intended on the subject matter. Originally entitled "Giving it up for Lent" it seemed so appropriate for this weeks IF topic I thought it deserved a colored background and a second outing. Besides fat mice are funny... especially when they have chicken like stick figure limbs.

illustration friday - skyline

2006-07-12T18:51:00.000+10:00

headphone jack

2006-06-28T18:10:00.000+10:00

illustration friday - RAIN

2006-06-23T11:11:00.000+10:00

idle hands?

2006-06-15T22:15:00.000+10:00

now that it's winter

2006-06-13T22:18:00.000+10:00

content provider

2006-06-07T07:54:00.000+10:00

the cape was the least of derek's problems

2006-06-05T05:00:00.000+10:00

kenny had decided to give the game away

2006-06-04T17:17:00.000+10:00

i'm a little teapot...

2006-06-01T08:10:00.000+10:00

happy birthday rose

2006-05-27T08:00:00.000+10:00

surprise!

2006-05-24T05:00:00.000+10:00

muji

2006-05-23T00:01:00.001+10:00

not so white rhino

2006-05-23T00:01:00.000+10:00

bonjour!

2006-05-22T05:00:00.000+10:00

and what could be sweeter...

2006-05-21T08:51:00.000+10:00

party

2006-05-19T08:32:00.000+10:00

easy tiger

2006-05-16T21:24:00.000+10:00

it has been a while since my last confession

2006-05-15T21:20:00.000+10:00

did you know that bears put rocks up their bums when they hibernate

2006-05-14T20:31:00.000+10:00

dont look at me like that!

2006-05-06T12:38:00.000+10:00

just the two of us

2006-05-01T15:25:00.000+10:00

green green grass of home

2006-04-25T22:22:00.000+10:00

downtime for rudy

2006-04-13T21:57:00.000+10:00

finian goatboy

2006-04-12T21:58:00.000+10:00

dont ask me i dont know either.

nigel on the lamb

2006-04-05T10:02:00.000+10:00

the sky is falling!

2006-04-05T09:00:00.000+10:00

i've got a lovely bunch of coconuts

2006-04-03T19:36:00.000+10:00

peter had a lot of things on his mind

2006-03-31T10:00:00.000+11:00

little birds pecking at my eyes

2006-03-30T14:13:00.000+11:00

emily macstoogeburger

2006-03-27T21:39:00.000+11:00

erik was a little alarmed

2006-03-23T22:55:00.000+11:00

kenneth had trouble holding on

2006-03-21T21:06:00.000+11:00