Some tropical fish live 2-3 years at the most.
As seen on TV…
Spruce, pine, fir?
Only 40 million conifer trees sold per year in the US and UK.
I don't remember drawing that…
I have a Christmas memory as a child of my dad working in our downstairs room, earning a bit of overtime. He liked being at his drawing board, listening to the radio and smoking cigarette after cigarette. I’d drop in to see him, sent by my mother with a cup of coffee and sometimes a plate of biscuits or a piece of Christmas cake. In summer, the windows had to be open and mosquitoes floated about all around the drawing board and up on the ceiling. But the mosquitoes didn’t bother dad.
I’d sit and read a comic or throw darts at the dart board while he carried on with what he was doing. Occasionally he’d ask me about school, but what I liked was when he let me add something to the engineering drawing he had on the desk. He showed me how to hold the pen and how if you tipped it at the wrong angle the ink wouldn’t run out. Sometimes he’d let me finish a label using the little orange stencil, or if I was lucky, I could add his initial to the title block in the corner of the drawing. This is the equivalent of the draftsman’s signature, so it was always a type of honour if he let me do that. Years later, I would work in an engineering firm myself and I would often see drawings that my dad had done come through the office on a job we were working on. I could recognise his handwriting a mile away, but I sometimes wondered if I had stencilled those initials in the title block.
My dad would work on into the small hours of the next day and sometimes, from my bedroom, I’d hear him laughing at something he was hearing on the radio, or whistling along to one of his jazz records. Dad wasn’t big on Christmas, but it wasn’t because of Christmas – it was because he shared his birthday with Christmas day. Maybe he felt a little overlooked. Or maybe he just liked listening to his radio, smoking and spending time on his own.
Dad’s sliderule and Staedtler pencil. Happy Birthday!
Kuwait and the British Council held in high esteem…
Thank you to the British Council in Kuwait who hosted me during the Kuwait Book Fair. I enjoyed being there, learning about the industry and meeting people who love making books and telling stories.
Dr Shahd Alshammari at GUST hosted a talk for her students and any other interested people. A graphic designer asked a very difficult question: “What does one do when a deadline is fast approaching and a successful layout hasn’t been achieved?”. My response was, “Yeah, I know what you mean.” And the question was repeated, and I realised they wanted an actual answer. Well, I didn’t have a solution, but I suggested a change of perspective or something to take one’s mind off the task until your head is recalibrated. Looking at other people’s work, watching a movie or taking a nap sometimes helps for me. Don’t be afraid to tear down what exists and start again, it sometimes does the trick.
I especially liked my storytelling events on Saturday at the British Council school and at their stand at the fair. The children who were there were ferocious drawers and proved that even with a slight language barrier it doesn’t matter when it comes to making a picture. One little girl even went ahead and turned her drawing into a book by folding it in half and summarising the theme of What’s Up MuMu? in three short sentences on the inside of the folded signature. They liked their drawings so much they insisted on keeping them and taking them home. We laughed quite a bit too.
Huge thanks to Fakheema, Shaymaa, Noha, Mohammed, and Michael (and many others) at the British Council in Kuwait.
Somewhere in Salmiya at noon.
Standing up outside court…
On The Strand it can be quite busy and windy but I got enough drawn to take home and finish off. The Royal Courts of Justice are impressive if you can see them through the grey suits and red buses.
Before.
After.
Kuwait Book Fair panel discussion…
I’ll be at the Kuwait Book Fair speaking in conjunction with the British Council’s Drawing Words Exhibition, which will be on show at the fair. I’ll be talking about my work at the Gulf University of Science and Technology and then at the book fair doing a panel discussion about opportunities and challenges for authors and illustrators. On Friday, I’ll be doing two storytelling sessions at the book fair.
The Kuwait International Book Fair is at the Mishref Fairgrounds, and the Drawing Words exhibition is in Hall 7, booth 19. The exhibition is in many places around the world and is curated by Lauren Child.
The Panel Discussion will be held at the VIP lounge in Hall 6 on November 28th at 7pm. The other panellists are artists Zahra Al Mahdi and Nusaiba Al Munayes .
Hope to see you there.
I believe this is your flaw…
I’m reading from my picture book What’s Up MuMu? at the Kuwait Book Fair for the British Council. There’s a part in the story where MuMu airs feelings about why Lox has sore feet. Maybe Lox should have taken the stairs.
From What’s Up MuMu? (HarperCollins Children’s Books).
I don't remember drawing that…
Circa. 2004.
Edgar Allan Poe, Lon Chaney and a small clown…
In my book The Frank Show, Frank has a habit of recounting memories from his childhood. Books he’s read, movies he’s seen, experiences from a time long ago. The Phantom of the Opera always interested me, or maybe just Lon Chaney’s makeup. Edgar Allan Poe’s an interesting looking character if you see photos of the author, and not quite as scary as his short stories. Clowns are terrifying fullstop, especially if they’re smiling or in black and white photographs.
A few of my favourite things. Detail from The Frank Show.