I actually meant to post this yesterday, but early in the afternoon there were numerous large earthquakes (more info and photos here) and aftershocks which changed my plans. My family and I had been in New Brighton and I was on my way to the library right on the waterfront. There are two sets of steps leading up to the building and I was in the process of walking up the last set when the first quake hit. People began to evactuate the buildings around the area very quickly and then another large shake rocked everything. It was the first time that I had been in a public place for any of the earthquakes and that was in itself was quite disturbing - people everywhere were crying and in shock.
We decided the best plan of action for us was to get home, which turned out to be quite a mission. As we were driving along the roads, we could see liquefaction bubbling up through the concrete and grass. In places, the cars had to drive around large patches of water and sand (and whatever else...) that had spread across the road. At a few of the intersections the traffic lights were not working so that was chaotic, although most drivers were being cautious and accommodating. We eventually made it home and were thankful to see that aside from a few books fallen over on shelves and crooked pictures, there was no damage. Now, back to what I was intending to write about.

I spent most of yesterday morning on my illustrations. I laid them all out on the table to get an idea of how the sequence of the story will flow, adding the two remaining illustrations that I still have to draw.

Then I worked on the illustration that has been sitting on my drawing board for a several weeks. Its not quite completed, but all the difficult parts are done. As yet, I'm not sure what the two remaining images will be - need to sort that out.

While I was fluffing around with the pictures in my folder, I came across this drawing, which is the first pastel portrait that I've ever done. It was drawn from a photograph that I took almost a year ago. Still have some work to do on my technique!

Well, I haven't had much time to spend working on illustrations over the last few weeks, but I have a very good excuse: weddings! And lots of them. Five weddings in six weeks to be exact - how's that for exciting?!! There was a lot of travel involved, but the hours in the van were well worth it. Below are some photos of the different weddings.

First up, was my cousin Breanna's wedding to Brodie on the 5 November, on the West Coast.

 

Then two weeks later, it was back to the West Coast for a double whammy: my friend Wendy and her husband Nick were married on 19 Nov.

and the following day, 20 November, my brother Jono was married to Simone. Yes, that is rain you can see falling heavily in the distance.

but look, the wedding party still had a great time!

It was another month until the next wedding, my former flatmate Anna and her husband John , which was in Christchurch on 16 December.

The next day in Hokitika - on the beach - Anna-Ruth and Isaac were married. Beautiful day!

As we are now well and truly into December, I thought I would post something with a seasonal theme. Aside from trying to think up more marketing ideas, ( see above image ) I've also been mulling over what are some of my favourite children's Christmas books. I confess, it took me quite some time to compile this short list - does this indicate that I am deficient in festive spirit, or that I am just picky when it comes to Christmas stories? Hmm...
Anyway, here are the books that did make my list - and please note, they are in no particular order.

JESUS CHRISTMAS PARTY, by NICOLAS ALLAN

THE CHURCH MICE AT CHRISTMAS, by GRAHAM OAKLEY

 THE CHRISTMAS MIRACLE OF JONATHAN TOOMEY, by SUSAN WOJCIECHOWSKI
 

THE JOLLY CHRISTMAS POSTMAN, by JANET and ALLAN AHLBERG

While this next story isn't technically from a children's book and doesn't have any illustrations, I'm still going to include it. After all, without it there wouldn't be any Christmas!

JESUS BIRTH, by LUKE and MATTHEW. ( Matthew 1:18-25 & Luke 2:1-20 )

Just a quick update - hopefully I'll have time next week to add more!

Last Saturday, Cotswold School, a local primary school just down the road from where I live, held their Market Day. I only decided to inquire about getting a stall last week, so I was pleasantly surprised that they had space available. The market was from 9am- 2pm, but I arrived just after 8am to have plenty of time to figure out where my site was and to set up the table.

There are some photos here of the market. I'm in one of the shots, but for some reason I've got a very grumpy look on my face, but it really wasn't a horrible day. I have no idea what was going through my mind - must have been distracted by something!