Picture books, paper goods & pretty things.
I squeezed in a peek into the National Gallery with some friends on Sunday. We only had an hour but it was enough to see this painting by Pierre Mignard for the first time. I must go back and gaze at it again. Those colours.
It's called The Marquise de Seignelay and Two of her Sons if you'd like to visit and take a look.
A little Audrey to start the week. Who hasn't wanted to stroll by the Seine and burst into a song and dance?
Ok so this is a bit of a cheeky addition to the Quiet Life pages! But I'm so pleased that after four years of work, I have finally managed to publish my little story in print for little ones to read and enjoy in the lead up to Christmas. It's been such an absolute labour of love for me. With illustrations by the wonderful Kristyna Litten and design by lovely Sarah Goodwin, we are a tiny team of three and we are so proud of what we've created!
Today we are at number 57 in the Amazon Children's Christmas book chart and really hoping to get into the top 40! Don't forget to pop a copy in your Christmas shopping trolley : )
I'm off to my first mulled wine & mince pies shindig today so it seemed only right that this week's Sunday song had to be a Christmas classic : )
You may have heard of Alex because of his fabulous and very amusing Claude series or because of one of the many other wonderful books he has written and illustrated. He is something of a legend on Twitter, live tweeting along to the Great British Bake Off, making jokes with a nod to Victoria Wood and Larry Grayson and posting impossibly cute pictures of his three mini dogs.
About three years ago I tweeted Alex to let him know how wonderful I thought his drawings were and how much I WISHED I could draw. At the time I hadn't really tried to draw and it was something I felt quite wistful about...
For some reason, his reply really made me think. Try it, I thought. So I did... I practised and practised. And three years later drawing has become part of who I am. I draw every day and I partly put that down to Alex's encouragement.
Here's a wonderful video I found today of Alex inspiring young illustrators. What a magical thing to do.
Pink roses at my local flower stall. My absolute favourites. Nature is clever : )
"I wish I knew where the idea came from... It just fell from my head. The first thing I saw was Harry..."
This interview came up as a memory on Facebook for me this week. It's a wonderful insight into J.K. Rowling's writing process and a peek at how children feel about the books. I have written the first draft of my first children's novel and am starting to send it out to agents so feel on the cusp of an adventure. The first thing I saw was my main character quietly sitting, observing. He was so clear to me. It feels so lovely to know this is how J.K. Rowling started too. It's amazing how creativity allows us to share the magic in our minds.
Click on the image below to hear the interview. I took the photo in the East End of London, somehow it makes me think of something you might see in Diagon Alley.
I watched this for the first time while on holiday last year drinking a G & T. The next day I was asked by a naval officer if I was a millionairess or an author. I, of course, said both. I think it may have been the effect of the movie, or the gin, or both!
"Everybody wants you to be special..."
Whenever I'm lost for what song to play, I always come back to this. I will never forget the first time I saw Ryan playing at Brixton Academy around 2003 I think and he sang out that first line acapella and that was it...
This is a picture I took when I saw him play at Shepherd's Bush Empire a couple of years ago. Click on it to hear the song : )
You can only just see the start of my sketch in this photograph but there is nothing quite like a quiet hour of drawing or painting to start a Sunday. My 'studio' is actually my coffee table in my lounge but it doesn't matter, I get as absorbed there as I would in a real art studio. With toast and Mary Anne Hobbs on the radio for company it's the perfect way to wake up.
