At the end of last week, I finished the ninth illustration for my next book. It will actually be picture number twelve (second to last) when it appears in the book, but I don't draw the illustrations in the 'correct' order. Quite often, I won't know what the sequence of images will be throughout the story when I begin drawing, so I can't start on the opening image and work my way through to the last picture. Someitmes I think I've got the story worked out and I launch into a drawing, but part of the way through, I realise that the picture doesn't fit at all, or that it is simply not needed. This can be most frustrating! However, I would rather re-draw the picture when the book is in it's infant stages, than having to rush an illustration when the rest of the book is waiting at the printers.

Now that the weather is changing and we are almost through the first month of spring, it is much more pleasant to work at my dawing table. Because there is no heating in that room, it can be a chilly place to work during the winter months. Instead of working in there while it was so cold, I relocated my illustrations to the main living room, where there is a wonderfully warm fire. But now that the sun is out more often and for longer, the idea of returning to the back room to do my drawing doesn't seem quite so horrbile. Here is a photo of the room on a lovely sunny afternoon.

I always have a book beside my bed that I read at night, and whenever else I get the chance. The latest, which I started a couple of days ago, is a biography called 'Dr. Seuss and Mr. Geisel', by Judith and Neil Morgan (below). image from this website

As I'm not a huge fan of Dr. Seuss' art style, I have generally tended to avoid books by or about him. To be honest, for some reason, I find The Cat in the Hat a rather irritating character - I think it is because he makes me anxious and I start worrying about all the mess he creates! However, in a moment of weakness or reckless adventure (not sure which) I borrowed this book from the local library.
So far I'm only part way through Chapter 5, but it is proving to be a very interesting read. And it has photos inside! I love looking at the pictures. Being able to read about an author/illustrator's life, where he worked, the history of the time in which he lived, all that sort of stuff is always enlightening. And who knows, by the time I've finished reading the biography, I might have changed my oppinion of the irrepressible Cat in the Hat!
 Image from this website