Winter's Memory of Summer Was Cold

Oh hello, yes i know it's been a while, but you know, shit happens. Or rather in my life, not much happens except i seem to have far less hours in the day than anyone else.

Interning at Tatty Devine is amazing, i love everyone there and i have too much fun for it to be a job. I get to do so much interesting and amazing stuff, and get so many sneaky peeks of the new collections and other hush-hush stuff. Infact i love it so much, i'm even going to the badge making workshop this Thursday. I can't think of any of the deets atm, but check out the Tatty Devine website, it's on the front page and under events.

Also in wonderful things that are happening in my life, i won Illustration Rally's Fashion Rally! There was so much brilliant work submitted i was completely surprised to be picked, and even if you don't want to go and look at my work, you really should check out some of the other boys and girls.

I've been really busy atm, doing all sorts of odds and sods that i will share about in the future, but for now, here is a new picture. I'm not sure how i feel about ponytails for summer, but i suppose they are a lot less hastle than waterfall braids and alike when my hair goes cray-cray.

Grim Bitches

I welcomed in New Year with the Grim Bitches... be jealous.

I Need a Lover Not a Friend Tonight

When I first moved away from home, from the lovely Merseyside down to London four years ago, i found it quite isolating. Fearing if i went home too soon my homesickness would get worse, i didn't go home until a day or so before Christmas and as i drove off the motorway into Liverpool, The Wombat's 'Let's Dance to Joy Division' came on the radio. I was so happy and excited I was singing/screaming along and bouncing about the car and i guess i kind of realised the North West was still there, it hadn't gone anywhere and as much as I was missing out on the day to day shit in my friends' lives, it didn't really matter and nothing was really changing without me. When I went back to London in the New Year I bought the A Guide to Love Loss & Desperation album, and everytime I listened to it, i remembered all the revolting drunken nights with my friends, falling down the stairs at the Kray, dancing like an idiot in Le Bateau, the annual attempt to climb the christmas tree on church st (you get the picture).

Anyway it's coming up to that time of year again, when i get excited about going home and listening to the Wombats still plays a part in that excitement. I've been listening to '1996' pretty much on repeat and i love it. so much so i did a little picture. I would usually block in colour after doing the line work, but i think i like this better plain like this. less is more? god knows, i'm still quite drunk and starving hungry so maybe i just cba colouring it haha.

Still Hoping Tomorrow Feels Like This My Perfect Day

ok, so this blog is usually me doodling and whinging about how crappy my life is right? wrong. Today has genuinely been the BEST DAY IN MY LIFE.

FIRST

I got a lovely tweet from Ohh Deer who have just opened their new shop informing me they are going to send me a little prize because of all the tweeting i've been doing! how nice is that!

SECOND

My entry for Creature Mag's Moustache Illustration Awards has been put up on their website here

THIRD

I've got an internship with Tatty Devine doing PR and social media! I start on Monday and I'm super super super excited. like so excited i might burst.

It's so much easier to work when you feel happy and merry and bright, and in fact i am working on some fashion ill's for Illustration Rally's current competition. BOOM TING.

I'm Trying to Find the Words to Say, to Make You Feel Much Better Fay.

Creature Mag is running a competition about moustaches, and it got me thinking about "us great uncle Tommy wot died on the Titanic". For years I thought this was one of my father's drunken tales, a mixture of speculation and hyperbole based around a small grain of fact. Imagine my surprise when last year I read an article about the Titanic and decided to google Thomas Fay, my great-great-uncle. Turns out, Tommy had worked as a greaser onboard and like most of the below deck crew, drowned and his body was never found. I did loads of research after finding this out, until i realised there were lots of creepy people trying to add my family into their family tree, and even creepier that there are Titanic fanatics out there that had been to photograph my family's grave. NO, REALLY! How weird do you have to be to go off looking at other people's graves?

Anyway this drawing is based on a photo I found of Tommy that had been photocopied about a thousand times from a newspaper cutting at the time of the disaster. Needless to say the quality is dreadful, but you can make out his impressive moustache and how he was photographed with his pipe in his hand.

I Can Hear the Sleigh Bells Coming Round the Bend

Is it too early for a christmas post? I don't know, i tried asking my twitterites earlier but there doesn't seem to be anyone about, and vast rumors of it being down so meh.

Anyway, I've realised it's time to get cracking on getting my christmas cards ready, or i'll never bloody do them. Next weekend i should be shooting the photos for my 'adult' cards (grown up, not XXXX), but while i'm waiting for the cast and props to be ready, i decided to get going on the cards for my niecphews.

I think I'm finally overcoming my domestic violence style relationship with Illustrator, but I could be kidding myself. While my housemates are bemused by me screaming obscenities as i work, I'm beginning to worry that once i get a 'real job' my future colleagues won't be impressed. I wouldn't Anyway i drew a snowflake and then worked the kids names into each one so they get their own personalised card.

Home, Let Me Come Home, Home is Wherever I'm With You

.Our little house is nearly full, as in a few days Emily will be coming to live with us! I don;t know how long our home will be reet, as Dan is being offered a real job and is going to move to some shithole that isn't living with us :( but for at least a short while we shall be a little family <3we shall be having a houseshindig to celebrate our togetherness. I want to get this printed as a poster for our living room.