This is one of the illustrations that I've been working on for some time. I had a lot of trouble with the facial features - I've lost count of how many times it's had to be fixed.

I thought I was getting very close to finishing the picture earlier this week. When I compared the drawing to others from the story though, it was obvious that the child's age in this image (on the left) was too old to fit in with the rest of the illustrations. So I had to start again.

After numerous unsuccessful attempts, I finally came up with a version that I'm happy with. The photos here are not the best quality - I need to scan them properly - but you can sort of see the difference between the two illustrations. They are actually the same basic picture, I've just reworked the face and torso/legs. In the picture on the right, the child looks younger and fits in much better with the rest of the illustrations.

Now I have just one more illustration to finish and then I'll be done. The text still needs work, but its feeling much better than a few weeks ago. I can see where the story is going and that is such a relief! For so long the words refused to be written and that was very uncomfortable. Soon it will be time to pass the text on to the manuscript assessor for her to help craft the story.

On a totally different note; today is Nelle Harper Lee's 86th birthday. The name may be a little confusing, as she is more commonly known as simply Harper Lee. In 1960 her novel To Kill A Mockingbird was  published and I read it for the first time when I was about fifteen. Over the last ten years I've read it four times and it has become my favourite novel.

The characters who appear in Mockingbird are real and powerful - I never tire of submersing myself in their world and reading about their adventures. So, Happy Birthday Nelle!!

                                (Photo: Birmingham News)

It seems to be party season at the moment. Since the end of last year, there have been numerous celebrations - engagements, weddings, birthdays - in Christchurch and spread out across the South Island. The most recent occasion was my sister Olivia's 21st party on Saturday night.

We rigged up a decoration of fairy lights and white cloth, which was carefully twisted around and over the veranda.  We moved couches from the lounge to the concrete patio outside and placed them directly under the tulle and lights. Dad managed to borrow two large outdoor gas heaters from his work and another smaller brazier from friends. These provided warmth during the party and a very necessary deterrent to unwanted nocturnal insects.

Olivia is a talented seamstress and she made the dress that she wore for the evening. She looked stunning! She was also kept busy in the week leading up to the party with creating all the desserts and cakes for supper. I think everyone was very impressed with the spread she provided! Here she is with two of her cousins.

And now the first cut into the birthday cake.

Once supper was finished, the games began. Currently, there are two games that seem to be favourites: Articulate and Dutch Blitz. Both are great fun, but when you try to play Dutch Blitz with sixteen players, it can get very cramped! It was a massive game with two full sets of the cards in use.

The entire evening was fantastic - I'm not naturally a night owl at all, but I didn't get to bed until 1:30am! Awesome night!

Sometimes being an artist is irritating and troublesome.

I've spent most of the day working on one illustration - and it's been incredibly frustrating. The part I'm stuck on is a face and as it is only about the size of a ten-cent piece, the process is turning out to be quite difficult and time consuming.

I started on that illustration months ago and got stuck on the same area, so I put it aside and worked on other pictures. Now that pretty much everything else is finished, I am back to that hard illustration.

I turned the whole picture upside down in order to trick my mind and pretend that I wasn't looking at a face. It seemed to help, but I've still got a lot of work to do on the piece.

Now that I can see the end of the project, I am relieved. Just two more pictures to finish - and the remaining parts on each are faces. I can't wait to finish, but I also know that I can't rush it or I'll end up with a disaster. Must be patient!

Very busy week!

After a long, bumpy drive (lots of roadworks and potholes due to earthquakes) around Christchurch to Ferrymead, I arrived at the Heritage Park a little before 10am. I went to the wrong area of the park initially, but after directions from the helpful volunteers I eventually made it to the correct place just outside the information/ticket office.

There were two other stalls already set up under the shade of autumnal-coloured trees, so I  found a spare semi-flat section and put my table up. Although it was a brilliantly sunny day, the position of my table meant that I didn't really get to enjoy the sunshine. After a few hours of sitting in the shade, with a coolish breeze blowing, I did end up very cold, but that was the only downside.

Thanks to the lovely lady from the stall next to me who offered to keep an eye on my table, I was able to look around some of the heritage park. There were hundreds of people milling around and ambling through the historic buildings, a brass band was playing on the tram and someone was playing ragtime music on a piano in the old hotel.

Beside the main train station was a small but very full bookstore which stocked all sorts of books and magazines relating to trains. After speaking with two of the people who were involved in running the shop, I was able to sell them some copies of my book. Now the store stocks Custard and Carriages too!

The rest of my week, from Tuesday - Friday, was taken up with FAB club. Twice a year a bunch of committed volunteers plan and run a holiday program for kids, with the main focus being Fun and BIBLE (hence the name). I've had the opportunity to help out on previous occasions, but this time I was able to make it to the program every day. It was awesome to be a part of the organised chaos that is FAB week!

Despite some major disruptions that we had to work around (double bookings, wet weather, faulty micophones and noisy roof repairs) the program was a success, with everyone pitching in to see that things ran as smoothly as possible. Here is a sample of action from the week

This weekend the Ferrymead Heritage Park here in Christchurch are having an Easter Extravaganza, which means that the park will be open for all four days of the Easter break. I've never been to the park before - it looks like now is the time for a visit!

I'm planning to set up a stall at the park on Monday to sell and promote 'Custard and Carriages'. My plan is weather dependent though - the stall will be outside, so I won't attempt to set up if its raining. Selling books in the rain does not sound like a good idea. Metservice is predicting a fine day with a high of 23. Hope it turns out that way.

So, if you have some free time on Monday come along for the day! Here are a couple of photos from the website showing previous Train Extravaganzas.

 

(Photos from Ferrymead Heritage Park website)

There have been a number of libraries around the country that have bought 'Custard and Carriages'. Today I decided to search some of the online library catalogues to see if I could find my book. This is a sample of what I found.

Christchurch City Libraries

Wellington City Libraries

Feilding Public Library

Invercargill City Libraries 

Napier Libraries

Taupo District Libraries

So, if you're a member of any of these libraries, head down to your local branch and check out 'Custard and Carriages'!