May Drawing Challenge - Day 31 + Happy Birthday

so... it's the LAST day of the May Draw A Day challenge today!!! i can't believe it's been 31 days already AND that i've managed to submit a doodle for every single day of May!

the final theme was 'an acorn' so this is what i came up with...

an acorn yes... + a little friend :)

i want to say a BIG thank you to the very lovely Astrid for coming up with all the fab themes and running the challenge online via twitter, wordpress and facebook

if you've enjoyed the daily doodles, don't be sad that it's come to an end because i have some fun news!

there will be ANOTHER 'Draw A Day' challenge over the summer in August and (here's the exciting bit...) i will be collaborating on the themes and the organization of the challenge along with Astrid and the very awesome illustrator Madi

so keep an eye out for that because when August gets here i want as many of YOU to submit a doodle or two as possible!

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so it's the last day of May which also means... it's my Birthday!!!

yes, i turned 21 today and had a lovely quiet day at home watching old movies and generally taking a day off from all college and commission work/stress

thank you to everyone that has sent me little messages, tweets and emails today :)

and until next time, which may or may not be tomorrow, that's all folks... xX

May Drawing Challenge - Day 30

wow only one more day to go! the theme for today was 'a heart made up of words' and since i'm not a 'word theme' fan, i doodled just one word...

the only word that really matters :)

anyway, it's my 21st Birthday tomorrow so i may or may not post a blog.

i haven't decided yet. i won't be out celebrating or anything, i just don't really like birthday's so i'd rather avoid the world for a day.

so until next time, that's all folks... xX

May Drawing Challenge - Day 29

hello chums! the theme for today was 'a bicycle' so it will come as no surprise to most of you to see that the doodle i came up with is a little bright red bike...

sweet and simple :)

and until tomorrow that's all folks... xX

May Drawing Challenge - Day 28

the theme for today was 'a door' so since there isn't really a front door at my house, i doodled this one instead...

it's still a door to my house just a sort of weird side one! here's a snap of it. and no, i couldn't be bothered to paint in all that stone!!!

as you can see, my doodle is barely accurate! :)

and until tomorrow, that's all folks.. xX

May Drawing Challenge - Day 27

phew! it's been another scorcher of a day here in the Isle of Man, but i spent most of it inside watching the Monaco Grand Prix so... yeah, apparently it's all kinds of sunny and lovely outside!

anyway, the theme for today was 'milk carton' however, we didn't have any proper 'cartons' so i just doodled the milk bottle thing from the fridge instead...

i can't believe i've been doing these doodles for 27 days! and to think it'll all be over by next Friday :(

oh AND i'll be 21 by then as well... extra depressing times!

anyway, until tomorrow, that's all folks... xX

May Drawing Challenge - Day 26

the theme for today was 'the word balance: 3 different ways' however, since i really don't much like the 'word' themes i decided to draw stuff instead! so here's my doodle...

see, it's still 'Balance in 3 different ways' just not in word format. a Circus theme instead :)

it's the first official day of TT 2012 today and it's been an absolute scorcher. so naturally i've spent the day cooped up inside reading! some things never change i guess...

and until tomorrow, that's all folks... xX

May Drawing Challenge - Day 25

i spent the day out and about visiting some friends so it's another late doodle today. the theme was 'Cereal Box' and voila, here's a scribble of the cereal i sometimes have for breakfast...

thrilling as always i know!

and until tomorrow, that's all folks... xX

May Drawing Challenge - Day 24

i've been at college again all day so i left the doodle a little late, but the theme was 'ABC' so here's what i came up with...

the alphabet blocks were admittedly my friend Jennie's idea and since i literally couldn't think of anything else... that's what i doodled!

and until tomorrow, i guess that's all folks... xX

May Drawing Challenge - Day 23

the theme for today was 'a patterned kite' so voila, here's my little kite doodle...

simple :)

and until tomorrow, that's all folks... xX

May Drawing Challenge - Day 22

todays theme was 'your mobile phone', now before you look at the doodle below bear in mind that i got my current mobile on my 18th birthday (and that i'll turn 21 at the end of this month!) so it's kind of dated and bizarre.

anyway, here's the doodle...

in case you're wondering what the colourful bits are on the back, basically i added some strips of washi tape in an attempt to try and brighten it up a bit! i don't think i succeeded...

and the rather zany wallpaper on my phone is a detail from an illustration by groovy French artist and illustrator Jim Skwak

yup so that's that i guess :)

i'm heading out now to see the Avengers at the cinema... again!

and until tomorrow, that's all folks... xX

May Drawing Challenge - Day 21

i've been v busy today editing stuff and tidying up stuff so i left the doodle a bit late. the theme was 'a ladder made up of words' so this is what i came up with...

my little ladder consists of the last few lines of "The Circus Animals' Desertion" by Irish poet and writer William Butler Yeats

here's the quote i used since you can't really make it out in the scribble above!

Now that my ladder's gone,
I must lie down where all the ladders start,
In the foul rag-and-bone shop of the heart.

(and if you want to, you can read the full poem here)

admittedly these 'made up of words' themes aren't really my cup of tea since i can't find a way to paint for them, but rules are rules so there you go.

and until tomorrow, that's all folks... xX

May Drawing Challenge - Day 20

the theme for today was 'lunch' so voila, here is a little doodle of my totally non-exciting lunch from today...

simple :)

and until tomorrow, that's all for now folks... xX

May Drawing Challenge - Day 19

today's theme was 'anything in a square' and for some unknown reason this is what i ended up doodling...

a little octopus in a square tank :)

and of course until tomorrow, that's all folks... xX

May Drawing Challenge - Day 18

the theme for today was 'street sign' however, as i might have mentioned before, i live quite literally in the middle of nowhere so i'm not exactly near any street signs or even many road signs! so i decided to doodle a rather famous road sign from here in the Isle of Man, the Fairy Bridge sign...

i'm afraid it's a very wonky messy doodle only because i've had ever such a hectic day and i've been out and about for most of it so i didn't get home until tonight but i wanted to make sure i still posted a doodle for the day :)

here's what the Manx crest on the sign should look like...

and until tomorrow, i guess that's all folks... xX

May Drawing Challenge - Day 17

the theme for today was another tricky one, 'a memory' had me stumped for ages! i spent most of the morning wondering what to doodle, but this is what i came up with, eventually...

yep so it's me on my first ever bike when i was about 5 or 6. i remember pedaling like crazy outside the path by the kitchen door and just feeling really pleased with myself that i had a groovy pink bike albeit with stabilisers! :)

 that's it for today i guess, i'm heading off to see the BA fine art degree show now so cheerio!

that's all folks... xX

May Drawing Challenge - Day 16

the theme for today was 'a cupcake with red icing' so obviously this one was a treat to do since i spend a lot of time doodling cupcakes as it is! however, i was at college all day then had to dash to Ramsey to drop some stuff on and i was just realllllly busy so i've only just gotten chance to do my doodle for the day!

anyway here it is...

simple but still delicious i think :)

as i mentioned above, i dashed up to Ramsey after college today because it's the Sweet Ginger Emporium's 1st Birthday! here's a little card i whipped up for the shop earlier...

but wow, i can't actually believe it's been a whole year since the shop first opened!

if you haven't a clue what 'Sweet Ginger' is, basically it's a glorious crafty emporium here in the Isle of Man stocked with all manner of gorgeous bits and bobs as well as some of my handmade stuff + postcards and cards!

 you can read a post all about the Shop right here - ★Sweet Ginger★

anyway until tomorrow, that's all folks... xX

May Drawing Challenge - Day 15

the theme for today was 'your shoes' and it turns out that shoes are kind of tricky to draw! for me anyway. not heels so much since i've drawn quite a lot of them in my time but normal shoes... scary stuff!

anyway here's what i had to doodle since these were on my feet when i left the house this morning...

and yes... i really did whip these off again when i got to college so that i could attempt to draw them! if you don't believe me here's a shot of them plonked on my desk!

yeah so i'm kind of glad the room was empty today and that no-one was there to witness me drawing my shoes! :)

and until tomorrow, that's all folks... xX

May Drawing Challenge - Day 14

the theme for today was a bit of a tricky one i thought, 'a tree made up of words' conjured up all sorts of images in my head and i struggled to decide on what to draw. i've been working in my college logbook all day sticking in research while listening to music. earlier this afternoon a particular song came up on my macbook and so i ended up doodling this...

yep no colour. i wasn't really in the mood to doodle or drawn anything today let alone attempt a colourfully painted tree so it's definitely my simplest doodle so far but is still quite clearly a tree made of words, well lyrics to be precise.

some lyrics from 'Follow You Down To The Red Oak Tree' by Irish folk singer James Vincent McMorrow. and just in case you're now sitting there wondering what the song sounds like, here's the video for it :)





anyway that's that and that's my doodle for today.

so until tomorrow, that's all folks... xX

May Drawing Challenge - Day 13

the theme for today was 'a flower' since apparently it's mother's day in some countries around the world today. it's not here though, the UK celebrates mothers day in late March. but anyway the theme was set so i doodled this...

my favourite flowers are actually red gerbera daisies but i decided to do a sunflower for today because i was reminiscing about travelling down through southern France on the way to Andorra.

you see, every summer we drive down there and pass hundreds of massive fields full of beautiful sunflowers as we go through the Catalan area that stretches from southern France, through Andorra and into northern Spain.

and well, today was the Spanish Formula 1 Grand Prix at the Circuit de Cataluñya just outside Barcelona (regular readers will be well aware of my eternal and inexplicable love of Formula 1 racing!) so i thought a bright sunflower doodle seemed quite appt :)

and i guess that until tomorrow, that's all folks... xX

May Drawing Challenge - Day 12

the post is a bit later today purely because i was out enjoying a bit of the lovely weather we've had here today on the island, anyway the theme for today was 'doodle anything'.

i pondered for ages about what i could draw and eventually thought i know, i'll doodle a poodle!

and voila...

one pretty pink poodle for Day 12 :)

so until tomorrow, that's all folks... xX

May Drawing Challenge - Day 11

the theme for today was 'a tea or coffee cup', i did my doodle very early this morning and it's been a loooong day at college and i only just got home! as it happens i have literally just had a cup of green tea + lemon and it reminded me to post this on here!

so thanks for that... oh the power of tea!

anyway here's my doodle...

just something simple :)

thought you might like to see my college desk pal Jennie's as well...

now as i said, it's been a long day and this afternoon myself and Jennie found ourselves a little... shall we say bored?! yes we were bored!

all the other HND and BA students had gone home so we borrowed some pastels from the art supplies cupboard and had a go at 'chalking' our hair

i say 'had a go', it wasn't exactly a total success, for starters we soon figured out why all the online tutorials show girls wearing gloves to do it!

chalky hands! anyway, we persevered, here's Jennie's multicoloured locks...

and my vaguely pink, purple and blue attempt

it was fun though! believe it or not but we actually DO do actual work... sometimes :)

yes well, here's a shot of my desk today to prove it! i was right in the middle of organizing research to go into my logbook...

fun times!

anyway that's it for now, so until tomorrow, that's all folks... xX

May Drawing Challenge - Day 10

today's theme was 'an Ampersand'. now i won't lie, i'd been looking forward to this theme purely for the chance to doodle one of my favourite typographical characters.

i'm a bit of a self confessed type geek so i apologise in advance if you really don't give a hoot about type and fonts in general. you should really care though!!! if more people cared we wouldn't be surrounded by ridiculously overused (not to mention wrongly used!) fonts like Comic Sans, Curlz, Lucida Handwriting and... Papyrus (shudder)

anyway i digress, here's my Ampersand...

it's a messy rainbow version of a Caslon Ampersand (my personal favourite) created by British type designer William Caslon in the 1720's

so why this one and not another i hear you cry, well it's quite simple. i adore this kind of Ampersand purely for it's decorative loops and swirls

+ the fact that unlike most modern '&'s this one looks like the word it was originally scribbled to replace (credited to a shorthand writing method proposed in 63BC)

you see, the ampersand is actually two letters combined. The E and T of the Latin 'et' literally meaning 'and', hence it's lasting use as a somewhat flourished abbreviation for that little joining word.

if you look at the lovely Caslon ampersand you can easily make out the E and the T.

And that's why i like it + believe it or not, it's much easier to draw than one like this &.

end of typographical rambling.

so until tomorrow, that's all folks... xX

May Drawing Challenge - Day 9

today's theme was 'a stickgirl with an umbrella'. i wanted to use lots of colours today so here's what i doodled...

i think i've always wanted a rainbow umbrella, then again i already have one covered in roses, one with frills and polka dots + one with a lego pattern! maybe i don't need any more! :)

until tomorrow, that's all folks... xX

ESC pocket zine

a couple of months ago, through Twitter and Facebook and the like, i started networking with a really groovy independent zine based in Dublin called ESC

anyway, earlier last month i was chatting with one of their super members online when they mentioned that they were looking for submissions for a new project they were working on for the 'Independents Day' independent zine fair in Dublin.

regular readers of the blog will be well aware of my total love and adoration of Ireland + all things Irish (seriously if you don't believe me click on my 'Ireland' tag and see for yourself!) so i was more than happy to get involved.

they wanted drawings and poems, that sort of thing, to put into a set of mini 'pocket zines' folded in a particular way to create little mini works of art.

well, i didn't think i'd have enough time to submit anything but then i ended up not being able to sleep for a few days so i had a go in the very small hours of a day and voila... i came up with a very messy, literally scribbled mini zine at around 3am in the morning.

i'm always quite contrary so instead of submitting some stuff to go in a zine, i just made my own and scanned it in to be printed out instead. here's one i printed out for my logbook but i thought i'd snap some pics of it before it gets hidden away. 

enjoy...

there were three 'themes' to pick from 'maps and legends, how soon is now + transfiguration'. they're all song titles, so i went for 'Maps and Legends' purely because it sounded the most fun...

when you open the zine you see this delightful doodle, then when you open it again...

 it's a map! well, sort of...

i used some more lyrics from the R.E.M. 'maps and legends' song as well, just because... you know

accurate representation of where i live + Ireland.

warning: sea monsters may appear larger in real life.

anyway when you open it again you get the final page(s)

a big ol' mash up of mythical creatures and a few books because, well i just love books so...

 here we have a scowling fairy, a goblin giving a thumbs up + a messy little Irish dancer and a happy Leprechaun.

the Dr Suess quote was needed. i know it doesn't make any sense or fit in with the theme but it's MY mini zine so i'll put what i want in it. oh AND 'your argument is invalid' i got my best scientists to prove it. and they did.

oh yeah there's also a sort of Ogre/Giant type guy, a pixie and a unicorn in there as well.

and the self explanatory back cover of the zine.

did you like it? it's a bit different to what i usually do i know but my tutors are always banging on at me about stepping away from the norm so this is the best i can do to that effect what with being a mental perfectionist and all that.

to see more of the pocket zines + to find out more about ESC you can head over to their site here - ESC zine

that's it for now, keep looking out for the rest of the 'May Draw A Day' posts as the month goes on, that's all folks... xX

May Drawing Challenge - Day 8

hi folks, the theme for today was 'a stickman with a blue balloon' so here's what i doodled...

obviously it was going to be kind of simple what with being a 'stickman' and all :)

my friend Jennie had a go at the theme while we were at college so i thought i'd share hers as well since it was so cute...

and until tomorrow, that's all folks... xX

May Drawing Challenge - Day 7

the theme for today was 'a chair' so this is what i came up with...

it's been a Bank Holiday here in the UK (which means no college yaaay!) so i've spent the day inside watching/listening to old eps of 'Red Dwarf' + i've been editing some designs today and trying to create some new iPhone case designs for my Society6 shop and hopefully i'll be able to upload some of them soon

so until tomorrow, that's all folks... xX

May Drawing Challenge - Day 6

the theme for today was 'a pattern in a circle', i've not been very well since yesterday and i've spent most of the past 20 hours cooped up in bed so i'm afraid it was another rush doodle today...

it was rainy and gloomy here this morning so i was determined to use sunny colours :)

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also, thought you might like to see this.

my friend Matt (who is an illustrator and graphic designer + a member of Smoo Doo Croo) missed the first few days of the May Draw A Day challenge so to catch up he drew all of the doodles together in a sequence...

then i made a little GIF of it that he will be able to add any new doodles to over the month, hopefully creating a mini animation of sorts

you can see more of Matt's work on his website here

and until tomorrow, that's all folks... xX

May Drawing Challenge - Day 5

the theme for today was 'a window' but i've been out of the house all day and only just got back so this one was a bit of a rush...

anyway this is the view from my bedroom window at the moment.

my little cousin Sienna has come to stay today as well hence why i couldn't draw and post anything earlier :)

so until tomorrow, that's all folks... xX