It's not Illustration...but so what?

My husband and I are dog people. We love dogs.
Our lovely old black lab, Charlie was put to sleep a couple of weeks ago (or as we say in dog parlance, "he went to the bridge") and we miss him sorely. However, he was nearly sixteen, so he kived to a very ripe old age and was pretty active right up to his last day. There are so many pictures of this dog of mine, but here is a drawing I did of him last year, which I suppose does tie in with my blog.
We still have a wonderfully loony choc lab called Dougal, who is at my side right now, snoring.
But it's good to have 2 dogs...SO, we have decided to get another pup.

We met her on Sunday, deep in the wilds of south west Scotland, and she is a wee cracker - a proper little thug. Bizarrely she is related to Dougal and is in fact his grand niece.
Dougal is not going to know what has hit him when puppy arrives - but I can't wait!

Here is a video the puppies with their mum, Tia, at 3.5 weeks old. We think our one is the confident little black pup, busy clambering over all the others. *heart melt*

The Circus by Brian Wildsmith

The Circus by Brian Wildsmith, originally uploaded by Tiny tin.

ANOTHER vintage illustration...this work reminds me slightly of the wonderful and epic series of paintings by Feliks Topolski of the 1953 coronation celebrations of Queen Lizzy the Second!
The colour, perspective and sheer exuberance of this image is fantastic - circuses are not so politically correct these days but as a source of inspiration for artists, they come second to none.

Esquire Cookbook by Bill Charmatz

Esquire Cookbook, originally uploaded by aydeeyai.

I am getting more hooked on mid century vintage illustration - this charming book cover for Esquire by American illustrator, Bill Charmatz is quirky and I like the use of colour against a black background too.
More illustrated cook books, please.

Interiors Inspiration

We are on the cusp of starting an epic renovation project on our 1820's house here in Cellardyke - just the building warrant to get then it's a case of getting the right builder etc.
I have a pile of interiors/renovations magazines and books about 3 feet high to help me decide what to do in each bit of the house, though I think I have just confused myself.However - this blog by an American book designer all about her own renovation project in upstate New York is brilliant and I might even chuck away all my mags and just copy her, as she has delectable style!!!
To give you an idea of what is happening to my house here is a brief lowdown:

3 story house - no right angles whatsoever.
Ground Floor: my studio and spare bedroom 1 are on the ground floor, and are staying put.
The corridor on the ground floor will have a doorway punched through on one side
to create access to a new part of the house, which is currently a dank, dark storeroom which is at right angles to the rest of the house and sits below the current kitchen.
This space will be completely overhauled, with a new wet room (!) and a flexible space which can be study/spareroom/gallery. The current woodens doors that lead out onto an underused courtyard will become glass folding doors and the minging courtyard will become a fern garden.
Middle floor: Currently contains our bedroom and a spare room and the bathroom.
There is a spiral wooden staircase that goes all the way up through the house and just off this lies the current kitchen...which I HATE.
This kitchen is being turned into a brighter (new roof windows) utility space, with a new cloakroom, more storage (we have nack all in the house) and a dedicated dog sleeping/mucky boots area at the back door, which leads out onto our lovely, sunny, sloping back garden.
Our bedroom is going to be the new kitchen...with a space for a big table! We entertain a lot so this kitchen is much anticipated! There will be a new door slapped through from this new kitchen onto a new wooden terrace which will wrap round the back of the house and join onto the new utility/old kitchen which is at right angles to the rest of the house. This terrace will look down onto the courtyard mentioned above.
The spare bedroom and bathroom will become our little "apartment" with walls moving and the ensuite becoming the dinkiest room, but with a full size bath too. There will be custom built wardrobes in the bedroom too.
Top floor: Upstairs is our sitting room and is completely open plan. We love it and will not change anything there apart from getting shot of the mang carpet and maybe installing a wood burning stove. It is all white painted stone and tongue and groove and is a great space for relaxing in.

I might do a room sixteen and keep a blog of all the work that is going to happen - so stay tuned!
here is a pic of the room on the middle level that will become our bedroom(it used to be my studio).Also a pic of the ground floor hallway, which will have a new doorway on the left at the end. No pics of the current kitchen as it is so vile it might hurt your eyes.
I'll add more pics to this post when I am on the right computer!

Forest Deer

Forest Deer, originally uploaded by jill calder.

new work from ME!
loads of deer around us in Fife and i like the way they creep out of the treeline, where they live.
this is a new direction for me, stylewise...but i still love my inks, so no worries there. Here I am playing with digital collage, texture and a different palette of colours - more muted...or slubby as I like to say!
I sell these as numbered prints too, using Epson ink and Bockingford archival paper. Each print is about 29cm x 29cm.
Contact me if you want one!

cornelia donovan greetings card - hello!

two colour screen printed greetings card, originally uploaded by cornelia odonovan.

found these on flickr but cornelia sells them on etsy - gorgeous!
half cat half lady 100% printed.
what is it about bright red and vivid turquoise that works so well together?