Illustration Friday 050914 : Voyage

Proust had his madeleines, and I have overstuffed rucksacks. I can't see one on the bus or the train without immediately being transported back to the chapter of my life dominated by Scotland, youth hostels, traditional music... and American Express Traveller's Cheques. I didn't carry along a stuffed toy as a mascot, though. My own constant companion and security blanket was a bottle of garlic powder ;)
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Illustration Friday 042514 : Vanity

Mirror, mirror, on the wall - who's got the fattest bonus of them all...?

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Illustration Friday 100512 : Mirror

Duncan wondered when it was that he'd actually turned into his father...

Illustration Friday 040612 : Vocal

When faced with his third meeting of the day, Hector became uncharacteristically vocal.

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Illustration Friday 031612 : Shades

My mother (who was annoyed that I made her hair look far grayer than it actually was). Click on the image to see it full size.

Illustration Friday 081211 : Swell

Miriam thought being pregnant was just swell.
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Illustration Friday 040811 : Bottled (2)

The morning after the night before. We encountered this character and his two even-worse-for-wear mates early one Sunday morning in Newcastle, down by the Tyne. They all insisted on having their pictures taken, so...

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Illustration Friday 040811 : Bottled

OK, I confess, this is a rerun from 4 years ago, but it is one of my favorites, so there! I'll try to do something new when I have more time in a couple of days...

Anyway, this is an ink bottle from a company in Buffalo, New York - one of many that I've picked up from junk shops and flea markets. (Click the image to see it full size.)

Illustration Friday 012811 : Surrender

Reg surrendered to his germs, and spent the whole day in his jimjams...

And he's not the only one ;)
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Illustration Friday 012111 : Dusty

Old woman waits
Tolerates the span of existence which remains
Watches the dust particles dance
In patterns of confusion
Relives a life not her own

(poem I wrote when I was 16, published in my high school art-literary magazine 40 years ago)

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Illustration Friday 120310 : Prehistoric

Inspired by 4800 year old Cycladic figurines I saw at the British Museum - very stylized depictions of women, all with the same crossed-arms pose. (Didn't have the time this week to put something together, so this is a previous entry - Primitive - re-visited.)

Illustration Friday 111910 : Sneaky

Heading to the kitchen for a midnight snack, Ursula thought it best to let sleeping dog(s) lie...
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Illustration Friday 111210 : Burning

Venus on the (small) half shell
Every summer it becomes painfully obvious that many Brits still consider turning fluorescent pink as the sign of a good holiday - ouch!
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Illustration Friday 101210 : Beneath

Beneath Stuart's curmudgeonly exterior lay the heart of... a curmudgeon.

I've been away from IF for a long time, but am now hoping to remedy that, having recently taken early retirement - and escaped the stresses of working with the office curmudgeon (who bears no particular resemblance to Stuart ;).

Illustration Friday 111309 : Unbalanced

...all of which possibly explains why I sling a 16 pound rucksack onto my back before going to work most mornings.

If you don't know who Ivor Cutler was, I recommend you look him up; he was a one-of-a-kind performance poet with a truly unique and highly amusing take on the world.

Illustration Friday 103009 : Skinny

The first size zero/waif/supermodel, Twiggy. This is a portrait I drew in 1967, when I was 12. (After some 40 years of less than optimum storage conditions, it's a bit creased and blotchy - not unlike its creator!)

Illustration Friday 081409 : Wrapped

The 'long-neck women' of Burma and Thailand have adorned themselves with brass spirals that are wrapped around their necks, from the age of 5 or 6. While it makes for a striking appearance, and no doubt gives the women themselves some income as tourist attractions, the practice must surely affect their ability to function... not unlike some other 'cultural practices' to which girls and women have been subjected (female circumcision and foot-binding, anyone?). Sometimes, tradition has a lot to answer for.

Illustration Friday 070309 : Shaky

Jealousy makes a shaky foundation for a relationship...

Illustration Friday 052209 : Cracked

I took pottery evening classes for over 3 years, but never succeeded in making anything bigger than 4 inches tall. My first (and better) teacher told us to *look* at and draw pots, to get a sense of how they were made and the variations that existed. This was one of a series that I drew back in 1992.

Illustration Friday 040309 : Talisman

Horace adjusted his lucky tie before going into the board meeting... but got his ass whupped anyway.