Since shifting my blog platform to the in-built system on my Wix-run site, I've left this Blogger blog largely untouched, however I notice the imported images from here lost some quality in the transfer, and all the image captions were lost, so I'd like to keep this old ship afloat!

Here's some nau

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Dearest readers, I have some news to announce!

Blogger has been the home for my blog for many years, but with a new website – it’s time for a new blog too.

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Happy New Year of the Rat everyone! It’s a delicate new decade, promising lots of challenges, let's keep it in safe hands!

Things have been slow and steady here,  the last weeks up to Christmas I've been tied up with house repairs and curating Pictures at Play, the biennial SCBWI exhibition in Lond

Here are the rest of my Inktober drawings for 2019.

It's that time of year again, and once more I entered the maelstrom of feverish scribbling that is Inktober. Here are the first fifteen of my daily drawings (Days 16-31 to follow).

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I'm approaching the end of our current month-long visit to Japan, so here are some more train sketches.

For me it's been a month basically looking up old contacts, finding the current buzz of what's going on for illustrators, and peering through the busy noise of central Tokyo, where I'm staying.

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Some more train sketches from my current sojourn in Tokyo.

I've been here over two weeks now and it's been a remarkably wet and cool July until now, the rainy season just carried on and on, with some significant downpours adding to the general drizzle.

I'm back in Tokyo throughout this month, and, as is my habit, have been drawing people on trains again.

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To all my followers,

Wishing you all the very best for a whale of a summer!

In the Chinese zodiac the pig (or wild boar as it’s celebrated in Japan) is known for being compassionate, artistic and jovial.

Wishing all my friends and followers the very best for a fantastic Festive Season.

Here's the final batch of drawings I made for Inktober this year.

What a month it was! With a pending house move and deadlines to contend with, October proved a pretty hectic month all around.

Well here we are at the third week of #Inktober 2018, I'm surprised I'm still able to keep up...

Here are my daily drawings for the second week of Inktober 2018.

It's been a very hectic week, as I'm moving house in a short time and have been busy with preparation, and with a work-load of deadlines I'm trying to clear up before the move.

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My, October already! I can hardly believe it.

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Well, it's the end of September, and the final day of the House of Illustration's one-inch drawing a day challenge.

Here's my second set of nine drawings for the House of Illustration challenge,  each just 1 inch square, drawn daily, one small drawing a day, from 10th-18th September.

This month the House of Illustration in London is running a daily art challenge to create a 1-inch (26mm) square piece of artwork every day of the month and post to social media.

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Summer Greetings to all my friends and followers!

Sending you the best of wishes this mid-year, hoping you're staying cool and taking care in the heat. It's a working summer for me, but hoping for some pastoral down time too.

The 2018 Bologna Children's Book Fair took place from 26th-29th March.

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A very Happy New Year of the Dog to all my followers!! 

2017 was tough for a great many people in very many ways, here's hoping this year the strength and determination of the Dog shall guide all my friends and followers to greater success!

Sending festive joy and warmth to all my friends and followers!

Amidst the challenges facing the world, may this Christmas bring you peace, hope and inspiration.

Here's my illustration contribution to "Alt-Write: creative reactions to uncertain times", a collection of new stories, poems and illustrations from leading names in the children’s book world. It's to illustrate Andrew Fusek Peters' poem "Salmon".

... Or rather 10 days, to finish off the month-long daily-ink-drawing exercise that ran through October.

I've really enjoyed Inktober this year, though at times it has been a rather big distraction! Here are my last installment of drawings.

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This Week 3 of Inktober has been odd, I've actually had a fair bit of work to get on with, but amidst the clamour of deadlines Inktober had the loudest voice, gradually things began to become more and more elaborate! All the drawings over the third week were created in a Pilot Hi-Tec fineoint, eithe

So we're at the end of the second week of Inktober, in what has been a rather surprisingly eventful week for me (but that's another subject!). Here's a summary of the last seven days of my pen drawings.

October brings us to the social media drawing challenge "Inktober". I don't usually go for Twitter/Instagram keyword challenges, but as pen & ink is at the core of what I do I joined in Inktober last year and found it a really interesting exercise.

Last week daughter and I took some time off to hop over the Channel and wander the canals and museums of old Amsterdam. It was a short break, but a full schedule, we went everywhere on foot from morn till dusk, apart from a paddle boat hour on the canals.

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If you've been following me on Instagram (which I'm slowly comprehending) and Twitter, you might have seen some of the (mostly) daily drawings I've been posting recently.

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Summer greetings to all my dear friends and readers.

It's been a rather cool and wet summer in the UK so far, not so glorious for beach-lovers perhaps, but good for gardens...

Magic For Sale is finally out!

Written by Carrie Clickard

Illustrated by John Shelley

published by Holiday House Books

ISBN: 9780823435593

32 pages of rollicking fun!

The book follows the trail of young Georgie McQuist, who's been dared to sneak into Miss Pustula Night's Magic Shop overnight t

It's been a while since I've posted to my blog, I've had a few things on my plate this spring which have kept me occupied, and when I do have time to write I've tended to summarize in a few words on Twitter!

So what have I been up to? Well, I can say that after a long time in gestation, Magic For S

Here's a few more pocket sketchbook scribbles from my recent trip back to Tokyo.

It's always great to be in Japan, I never get tired of the country or lose the desire to go back, no matter how long I'm separated from it, even if, like this time, the entire trip was spent in the Tokyo metropolis.

Here's some train journey portraits from our recent trip back to Japan.. I've been a bit slow to share these sketches, mainly because there's been so much going on since our return, work, personal and of course on the world front.

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Today will be remembered by many as the 1st anniversary of David Bowie's death, but it also represents a special anniversary for me, as it marks 30 years to the day that I first set foot in Japan.

10th January 1987 - a date ingrained into my memory.

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December 19th, 2016

Dear colleagues and creatives, readers and rebels, fans and fantasists.

The Campaign to save Sutton Coldfield Library has launched a poster competition open to anyone aged under 18, to raise awareness of the proposed closure of the library by Birmingham City Council.

The news is so full of unbelievable and depressing stories lately, it's a relief when something comes up that warms the heart.

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I've a new book out for Christmas! The title kind of gives away who it's about!

Most people will think of L.

Last weekend was the annual SCBWI (Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators) conference in Winchester, which was as ever educating and inspiring.

Into the Woods. Day 31 of #Inktober2016.

It's the last day of Inktober, so here is my final offering.

Maritime Mansion. Day 30 of #Inktober2016.

Housing Development. Day 29 of #Inktober2016.

Poor Children. Day 28 of #Inktober2016.

Today's Inktober is a little different - rather than personal sketchbook doodles here's an extra illustration for a current book project, a new edition of L. Frank Baum's The Life and Adventures of Santa Claus.

Ogre. Day 27 of #Inktober2016.

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