I’ve finally fought my way through all of the work I had on over Christmas and New Year with two deadlines to hand in tomorrow.  I’ve just today finished four new illustrations for Health Service Journal (for my other identity) - one of which is a cover for a supplement in the magazine.  The theme of the supplement is to do with the fact that all patients now need to be treated (eg operation) within 18 weeks from the day you are referred by your GP.  Now that’s finished, I’m taking two days holiday to do my taxes now.  Woo.

This road swells and
So reflects
A sparkling sun
Into my window
The birds
Crossing the sunroof
Make lines
That I would follow
Dissect
Glass in the sunroof

I guess
That I would say so

I’m back at work now after a few days off over Christmas and I should be busy until next week when I hope to have a few days off to sort out my tax before the end of the month (such fun!). I had chips on the beach with Sal and Pepsi in Llandudno on Christmas eve which has recharged the batteries for a few days. More educational stuff as well as some cartoony editorial illustrations this week. I’m getting the urge to do something less useful, something for the sake of it.

I’m listening to The Delgados ‘Domestiques’ album.  You should too.

I just spent all day yesterday building another site for my band, low low low la la la love love love.  It’s based on a template I bought off themeforest.  Another Wordpress blog to keep updated…  I had a call from Adem yesterday to say that he has put the mixes of the latest album in the post, so I should hopefully have them by tomorrow.  Can’t wait.  It’s been such a long time since I last heard it, it’s going to sound like a completely different band.

Well I have to apologise for not posting very often this last month - it’s not that I haven’t been busy because I have.  I’m juggling a number of publishing projects at the moment, all of which have a long deadline so I haven’t had anything new to show for a while.  Can’t wait for a quiet patch to work on some personal projects!  Ah well I guess you shouldn’t wish work away

Here’s one of seven that I’ve just finished for Health Service Journal from my other portfolio.  Coincidentally, I have an appointment at hospital this afternoon - I’ll be having some sort of probe sent into heart via arteries in the neck, then I’ll be having my heart stimulated to find which bit of it is giving me bother, then they will burn it apparently.  Sounds like I don’t know what I’m talking about?  I glaze over when doctors talk to me…

I’ve been busy working on my other portfolio for the last week or so, so I haven’t had much news to put on here recently - but here’s one I did for the Guardian Weekend magazine the other day.

Well, what a strange feeling… it’s the first time in weeks that I’ve truly had nothing to do for an afternoon… a big nothing just came and smacked me in the middle of the day and it’s been so long since that happened that I’ve pretty much wasted the whole thing doing nothing in particular. Not good nothing - not ‘I’m going to sit in and do nothing all day long’ kind of nothing, but crappy nothing, somewhere between nothing and feeling guilty for not doing something. I think this is the plight of the freelancer - when you have work on it tends to be about five jobs at once, but when you have no work on you are panicking about finding more work. I guess the trick is to learn to enjoy the time you have no work on. it’s just a bit of a shock sometimes when you didn’t see it coming.

Anyway, the break is good timing as I’m off to this comics show in Birmingham this weekend pretending that it’s all about professional development when deep down I suspect it’s because I’m a bit of a nerd. I’ll be eating chips all weekend. Being a vegan and having to eat out can be really crap sometimes. Chip butty with no margarine is about the best you can expect most of the time.  Whinge, whinge, blah blah…

Here’s one of mine in the latest issue of Popular Mechanics:

Well, I might be a Vegan but I found myself loving the illustration work by Milk over here. Warning - be prepared to weep with envy, this is really nice stuff.

This week’s illustration Friday word, ‘packed’, reminded me of my attempts at lightweight backpacking…

I’ve finally got round to sourcing a printer and setting a page up on this site to sell prints!  Take a look here.