When beginning work on a new piece of art, I usually just launch into it without making any preliminary sketches and the picture evolves as I draw. It is very rare for me to practice an illustration beforehand. But this time, I'm changing my process.

After reading through the assessor's notes a few times, I've decided to produce some new drawings to  improve the storyline of my book. As a perfectionist, it is hard to restrain myself to quick small sketches - I want to keep working on the picture until it's completed! Then I have to remind myself it's all just practice and mistakes are fine.

So, here a couple of pastel sketches that I've drawn yesterday and today.

I'm also experimenting with the concept of creating a wordless picture book. I borrowed a selection of books from one of the local libraries the other week by authors such as: Jan Ormerod, David Weisner, and Barbara Lehman.
The artwork that impressed me the most was Ormerod's illustrations in her pair of books 'Sunshine' and 'Moonlight'. Without any words, she tells delightful stories and conveys a sense of humour, warmth and security. I love them!

The books had vastly differing styles and all were a great source of inspiration. I'm hoping to keep up the drawing momentum and get my collection of ideas down on paper so that I can figure out the best way to tell my story.