folktale week 2022

I love Folktale Week on insta. I love looking at all the fab illustrations that people post from the prompts. I love how people interpret them so differently. I even did the full lot myself once. In the olden days.... 2018....when the prompts were nice and easy.

I soooo wanted to do it this year. I love illustrating kids books so really it's something you'd think I should be doing. And something I should enjoy. But honestly, I read the prompts and did not feel an ounce of inspiration. Not one. I felt like this instead 🤷🏼‍♀️

I do realise that my job as an illustrator is to come up with something fabulous no matter what the subject. But I felt zero inspiration from most of the words and I was just stressing myself out trying to think of something. Cos any old something wouldn't do. It had be be the best something. And my mind drew a complete blank.

So I stopped shoulding and decided just to do the first two. Cos they seemed easy enough. So here I am. Finished!

And now I feel intense relief that I don't have to think of something for the others. Because REBEL 🤷🏼‍♀️ and COSTUME 🤷🏼‍♀️ are not for me 😬

Here's FOOL and TREE....

The End x

art licensing portfolio

I'm in the process of adding new work to the licensing portfolio on my website.

If you're an art director on the lookout for new patterns and illustrations email me at dawn@dawnmachell.co.uk and I'll send you the password.

 

more dinosaurs

More dinosaurs. More moaning about the dark.

Do I do this every year? Moan about the dark?

As if it's something new?

Don't answer. I know I do.

weekend weather

Along with the sunshine, there's gotta be a little rain sometime.

But not on a weekend thanks.

Sunshine only on a weekend!

dinosaur

Bored of drawing all the autumn shizz?

Completely over the Halloween?

Not ready to start spamming everyone with Christmas yet?

Has to be dinosaurs then....

november colours

 

happy halloween

I kind of missed going trick or treating with the kids tonight.

Till it chucked it down.

Then I was kind of glad my kids are grown up and I didn't have to go trick or treating.

dark

It's dark.

And the clocks go back next week.

So that'll be me ranting about it for the next 6 months...

hibernation weather

I don’t know what it’s like where you are today, but where I live it’s cold, very dark and absolutely chucking it down. It’s the kind of day that would make you decide to hibernate for the rest of the year if you weren’t going to Portugal on Sunday.

But I am. 

So hibernation is on hold for me👌🏼😁

minnie the dog

Remember when I said NO to getting a dog?

So Neil took the kids to see a puppy?

Yeah well it was 11 years ago this week.

I've forgiven him.

from the weekend....

Birds

And ladybirds.

another autumn pattern

Favourite month for patterns: Autumn.

Favourite month for weather: Still summer.

cosy?

To avoid the rising cost of gas and electricity spiralling out of control whilst working alone from home, Neil has suggested turning the heating off.

He offered me two options as a solution to the risk of freezing to death:

1. Wear warm clothes and learn to light the wood burner.

2. Take my laptop and go to work with him every day as he "has the heater on anyway."

He's a driving instructor 🤨

I went for option 1.

making patterns...

I made a pattern out of my latest little characters.
And then I made a mockup of a notebook.
I don't make many mockups. I had to google how to do it.

I need to go for a lie down in a dark room now.....

Pattern available to license 

more autumn stuff

Stuff I drew last week. I got a bit carried away with more autumn animals. I mean how many times can you draw a rabbit and a fox before you get bored?

Also.. that's an autumn deer, NOT a Christmas one. Definitely not a Christmas deer!