Nicola Bayley, illustrator and favourite books for children
The Patchwork Cat written by William Mayne and illustrated by Nicola Bayley Nicola Bayley did the beautiful illustrations for the Mousehole Cat, talked about in an earlier post. I did a search to see what else she had illustrated and ordered this one, The Patchwork Cat. The illustrations are every bit as gorgeous. It tells the tale of Tabby, a 'patchwork' cat who loves her patchwork blanket. When it's thrown away because it's old and dirty she inadvertently lands in the rubbish cart (because she'd crawled in to the bin to sleep on her blanket) and has to try to find her way home - carrying the blanket. Just look how well NB has caught the fear in the face below - she's like Beatrix Potter in being able to show the feelings of an animal whilst still being true to life and not Disney-like. All, luckily, ends happily as , lost and very tired as she drags her blanket, she comes across the milkman who takes her and her patchwork blanket home. Look at that bl...

Comments
My work actually works best seen en masse - because it's about time as well that comes through when you see them together.
I was dubious when I ordered these tiny canvasses but I think I'll have to get some more :>)
I work plein air a LOT when I can and fill sketchbooks with mixed media works (and finished pieces)
then I work in the studio as well working on larger canvasses or alternatively, lately I've done quite a bit of very small work like these.
So, they are studio works from memories fixed by the plein air stuff.
I work fast and tend to have layers of paint - glazed, scumbled, splattered - whatever it takes to get what I want.
I mix a lot of colours on the canvas rather than on the palette.