honeymoon in Andalucia

I've just come back from a lovely honeymoon in Spain. We did nothing much, and watched the world go by. We stayed for a week in a pretty cottage on the side of a hill full of olive groves,then another week in the village of Bubion in the Sierra Nevada mountains. We had a delightful garden overlooking the valley, and on good days, we could see the Meditarranean and even the mountains of Africa!There was one amazing day when the whole mountain was in the clouds, and everything looked a bit spooky and mysterious.I loved the greenery all around us, and started imagining my dream garden, full of fig trees, ferns, moss on the stones, and hanging roses...We also visited the Alhambra in Granada. It was wonderful to wander in the gardens, and explore the palaces. I especially liked the variety of mosaic tiles in all the rooms.Afterwards we sat in the late afternoon sun, and watched the walls of the Alhambra slowly changing colour.

San Francisco

I'm in San Francisco this week, just strolling in the sunshine...along the Embarcadero...to the ballpark, to watch the game. Loving it. Go Giants!

Conde Nast Traveller map

I've just seen the April issue of Conde Nast Traveller UK and am super happy with my illustration. I tried a fun, loose and brightly-coloured style for this map of Amsterdam.

Porto, Portugal

I was in Porto last weekend, and loved its faded charm. It's run-down, but in a delightful way. We had tea at the Majestic Cafe...and I had a very tasty eggtart, with toasted almonds on the top.I love the blue azulejos tiles covering all the walls.We spent a rainy sunday in the museum and church. I like this carved lady holding a sign. I wonder what it could be for...There is good design everywhere, and I especially admired the typography in the metro system.

map of Mull & Iona

I create maps quite regularly for the travel section of the CSMA Club magazine in the UK. They feature places to stay, things to see, and often lovely local edible specialities. Here's a map I did for them of a Scottish walking tour.

canelé bordelais

A canelé is the speciality pastry of Bordeaux, invented in the 18th century. It's flavoured with vanilla and rum, with a dark caramelised crust and soft custardy centre. I tried as many different ones as possible over one weekend in Bordeaux...

weekend in Paris

A quick trip across the channel, and a weekend in Paris in August. Lovely. This is the view from our hotel, right in the centre of Saint Germain des Pres, on the left bank. Not many shops were open, it being the weekend, and also August, so we spent the time strolling in the parks, sipping chocolat in cafes, and generally just having a relaxing time...

Venice trip

A few days in Venice is enough to make anyone happy! It was hot (so hot!) and sunny every day, and I saw beautiful paintings in churches, famous vistas, and even had time to sit on our hotel terrace and paint the view...My favourite things in Venice are the winged lions of St Mark which are everywhere. Here's a sketch of the most famous, on one of the pillars at the entrance to St Marks Square.We drank cold sodas in cafes during the heat of the day,and ate icecreams as the night drew in...

Istanbul trip

A few weeks ago I went to Istanbul and was amazed at the changes since my last visit twenty years ago. The sun shone, the Bosphorus sparkled, everyone was super friendly, and it was magical...I loved the subtle shades and patterns of the tiles in the blue mosque, and also in the Topkapi palace.The huge cavernous space of the Hagia Sofia was incredible, and I especially admired the Byzantine mozaics that had been partially uncovered under the Ottoman painting of the interiors.

printmaking workshops

I gave several printmaking workshops recently, at an International school in Hong Kong. I showed the students various techniques for mono-printing (handy as no presses are needed) and we used the table surfaces to print from.I encouraged them to experiment and explore, and they were so enthusiastic it really inspired me. I taught the IB students (16-18 years old), and also some primary classes (9-11yrs old)and they all produced amazing work...I hope they enjoyed the classes as much as I did!

LOKL cafe map

I was commissioned to create a decorative sight-seeing map of Kuala Lumpur, for LOKL, a boutique coffee shop there. The brief was for it to be colourful, fun, a bit modern-retro, and to show all the great things to do in KL...Here are some photos of the framed map on the wall. The cafe is attached to a fantastic little modern back-packer place called BackHome.

holga photos

I've just developed some photos from my recent trip to the States. They seem extra atmospheric somehow...This is Bonaventure Cemetery, which featured in 'Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil'. We visited the graves of Conrad Aitken, and especially Johnny Mercer (he wrote the wonderful song 'That Old Black Magic'. I loved the trees with hanging Spanish moss all over Savannah.This is the swamp garden at Magnolia Plantation, just outside Charleston, SC. We didn't see any crocodiles here, but did see lots of little turtles sunning themselves, and wading birds.

trip to the South

I've just come back from a road trip through the South of America. It was amazing. We started in cultured Savannah, Georgia, where I was super happy to see the Bird Girl sculpture, made famous by the book 'Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil' (one of my favourites).Then onwards to Charleston, South Carolina, where we toured a few preserved historical residences,and also the Magnolia Plantation with its gorgeous swamp garden. We stayed in some lovely bed and breakfast places. Then it was on to the Great Smoky Mountains, where we saw a baby bear! In Nashville we went to a Honky Tonk in a Western bar and saw the Don Kelly Band...and watched a show at the Grand Ole Opry, and also ate the best "meat and 3s" ever at Arnolds. Mostly, this was a music and food trip, to sample all the specialities of the South. Here's an example of local cuisine, although usually there's a few fried somethings thrown in too! And of course, pies aplenty...The local "chess pie" was extra sweet, but the winner was the "lemon ice-box pie" from Corky's in Memphis. Their ribs were also the overall winner!

Brooklyn Sketchbook Project

I've just been to visit the first stop of the Brooklyn Art Library's Sketchbook Tour 2012, in the home of the library itself: Williamsburg New York. It was a gloriously sunny day, and I wandered in, got myself a library card, and browsed some of the delightful sketchbooks on offer. There were so many! Of course I checked that my own sketchbook (you can see some pages from it on one of my previous blogs) was there safe and sound, which was a great feeling. The sketchbooks will be in Brooklyn for another few weeks, and then off around the States, and in London in November. You can check the dates on the website. Hope you'll make it!

Cotswolds afternoon tea

We just spent the day in the Cotswolds, and had the loveliest afternoon tea ever at Juri's Tearoom in the country town of Winchcombe. The crockery was a pretty blue... ...and the view from the conservatory was delightful. But it's the cakes you need to try; honestly, the cheese cake was the best I've ever had, anywhere. So light and fluffy. The sandwiches were beautiful too. Everything is perfect, as it's traditional English, but with a slight hint of the Japanese, as Juri is from there.I absolutely recommend this place if you're anywhere near...

Vienna cake weekend

I went to Vienna recently, and spent the weekend visiting as many cafes, and eating as many different cakes, as possible. Viennese cakes are irresistable...We went to Cafe Diglas, Hotel Sacher, Cafe Sperl, Cafe Landtmann, and some other slightly less famous places, which were just as tasty... My favourite was the Cafe Sperl, which had a beautiful quiet atmosphere, but the best cake was definately the Sacher Torte at the Hotel Sacher. The apricot jam was so smooth and light, like a dream. Tis a cake for grown-ups.

Talaramba Reef website

I've recently done a little bit of work for the nice people who run Talaramba Reef holiday villas in Sri Lanka: I did some calligraphy for their logo and website,I created little icons of local flora and fauna for the website & for use inside the villas, and also created a map of their location.I think it must be holiday time very, very soon...

weekend in Liverpool

This weekend I went to Liverpool to visit some friends and see the Alice in Wonderland exhibition at the Tate Gallery. Although the Tenniel illustrations (the ones the story was originally published with) are fabulous, my favourite are those by Tove Jansson (of Moomins fame) and Mervyn Peake (author of Gormenghast). It was great to see so many original documents relating to Lewis Carroll and the original Alice.

We walked around the docks in the glorious sunshine and blue skies...and also enjoyed a drink in the amazing Philharmonic pub. I loved all the period details.

trip to Budapest

I've just come back from a visit to Budapest, where it was chilly but clear, and very relaxing. We visited the castle and walked around the old cobbly streets. I loved the houses all in pretty colours with different architectural details...I particularly enjoyed the cake shops and cafes, especially this one, with its lovingly restored ceilings and mirrors. Heavenly!We went to different spa baths every day, and my favourite were the Rudas Baths, a spa dating back to the Ottoman era. No photo of that one unfortunately, but here's one of the Szechenyi outdoor baths.

shanghai trip

I spent a few days in Shanghai recently, re-acquainting myself after a ten year break. Thankfully there are still some lovely old parts left...although the new and shiny is asserting itself strongly...I took photos with my LCA on black and white film, looking for the beautiful old, messy Shanghai, mysterious through the fog and cold. I missed all the old-style bicycles (everyone seems to be on electric moped thingys now), that used to be everywhere. But the food was of course as tasty as ever!Shanghai dumplings are something special, they really are...