2014 - A Year of Two Halves

I've been going back and forth to this since the end of last year but i'm going to stop stewing and call it 'finished'. This was a really personal piece for me and for a while I was debating not putting it online but it's good to share, so here it is.

2014 was literally a year of two halves for me. For the first half of 2014 I was living in the South of Spain, where I had moved to back in August of 2013, and working for a mobile gaming company in Gibraltar. At the beginning of July the job I had took me back to London where I was reunited with my much missed other half, family and friends.

I couldn't begin to try and sum up the experiences and adventures I had last year. Each place has it good and bad points. I had a wonderful experience living and working abroad but I was so happy to come back to the big city. In this piece i've picked a small selection of a whole bunch of highlights I was lucky enough to experience throughout the year; the left half representing my time abroad (Jan- June) and the right half representing my time back in London (July - December) 

Click the link below to read the details of each panel.

Sketch Dailies 2014

I looked at my Blogger dashboard to see that I, shamefully, had fewer uploads this year than the last four years. I have a proper New Years post due any day now but in the mean time i've done some tidying up and catching up with sketches and artwork that has been posted elsewhere throughout the year. Starting with a great discovery during 2014 - Sketch Dailies. If you somehow haven't heard of Sketch Dailies, check out the amazing plethora of work over at - https://twitter.com/Sketch_Dailies

'Bowser'

19/02/2014 - 'Mermaid'

05/03/2014 - 'Three Blind Mice'

06/03/2014 - 'Beetlejuice'

18/03/2014 - 'Fake Pokemon'

01/05/2014 - 'Caipora'

06/05/2014 - 'Miss Frizzle'

07/05/2014 - 'Serpent'

20/05/2014 - 'Merlin'

22/05/2014 - 'Storm'

17/11/2014 - 'Rafiki'

21/11/2014 - 'Snow White'

Candycanedeer

I can hardly believe it's that time of year again! Christmas is nearly here and although i've been struck down with the lurgy this week it isn't dampening my festive spirit. Here's the rare, but sought after, cousin of the flying reindeer - the Candycanedeer!

If I don't get to post again before the big day; have a wonderful Christmas everyone :) Eat, drink and be merry!

What a Difference 12 Hours can Make

Happy New Year everyone! 

Unfortunately, cracking New Year's Eve celebrations are often followed by a sofa ridden, hangover day. This was the fate that befell me a couple of days ago, what a difference 12 hours can make! 

Merry Christmas, Goodbye 2013!

Living in a different country meant that returning home for Christmas with my family really felt as special and exciting as it was when I was little.

Ho ho ho! ... Merry Christmas folks! 

I hope you all had a wonderful time with your families and friends, eating and drinking everything in sight until you fell asleep in front of the TV... Like me. It's that time of year again and, although i'll refrain from a tiraid about how quick time is flying by, it really is staggering how swiftly his year has come and gone. 

I apologise for the lack of updates in the last couple of months. I had been doing so well until November! I had the adventure of a lifetime when myself and my partner went to California for 3 weeks for an incredible road trip that ended with us flying in a helicopter to the Grand Canyon and a stint in Vegas! It was our first trip to CTNX which was truly an amazing experience. It was invaluable to meet artists I have been friends with online for years, a couple for over a decade! I spent time laughing and learning from heroes, peers, teachers and strangers who became contacts and friends. We were fortunate enough to meet with our friends at Disney Feature Animation, Pixar and Disney Imagineering to show us around and give us a glimpse of the magic that really happens in these places. It's safe to say I absolutely fell in love with California, I have always strove to get over there but having now been there as a visitor it's really fanned the flames of a burning desire to get out there on a more permanent basis one day.

The end of the year is always time for reflection and as I sit here polishing off the last of a mountain of Christmas chocolate I can't help but marvel at what a crazy year it's been. If someone had told me at the beginning of 2013 (or even half way through!) that I would be ending the year living in a different country and working in another new country I would've laughed a lot and backed slowly away from you, careful not to break eye contact with the crazy person.

It's really thrown light onto the fact that you really don't know what's around the corner! This is an odd concept for me because, although I've always known this to be true, It's rare to be faced with something so immediately life changing. It's been difficult at times but I'm striving to embrace it and I do love a good challenge!

I didn't intend on this being a rambley end-of-year post but it's definitely turned into one! I wish everyone who has read this far and wonderful, healthy and prosperous 2014. Enjoy one more day of festive over indulgence before we all get our heads down, diet, detox (for January at least!) and draw like maniacs for another year.