I recently got some film developed and found these images of my trip to Joshua Tree National Park last year.
I still find the sight of these ancient landscapes so moving, and alien. 
This last one reminds of a 1970's road trip movie...
Sometimes I just can't believe how beautiful the world is.
I did a fun illustration for the current issue of Click magazine, for their photo contest page, with all sorts of pets. Which one is your style?
I like the layout of the online mag a lot...
Hope you all enter the contest!
I did some chalk drawing backdrops a few months ago for Dr Oz The Good Life Magazine in New York, and I just got a printed copy, yay!
I love this one with the frosty blue colour and wintery trees. Here's a detail of the actual backdrop, where you can see the chalky lines.
And here's a sequence showing my progress as I was drawing.
For the home interior, I started with a more elaborate staircase, but developed my sketches to create a simpler scene. 
I even drew a simplified version of one of my own prints in the background ...
It was a real pleasure to be there on the day of the shoot, here's a little scene of me sketching the set-up.
Let's all walk more this year and get healthy, whatever the background...
I was given this lovely simple shimekazari to put on the door, made of straw and rice, to ward off evil spirits and invite the good ones in. Let's hope it works!
Today we enjoyed a Japanese osechi meal, all handmade and tasty, in a variety of special dishes, many of them wedding gifts used for the first time. Sometimes making beautiful food can be as fascinating as illustration.
And here's a close-up of a little carrot blossom I made...
Hope it will be a healthy and happy 2016 for you all!
Hope everyone is having a relaxing winter break. I just got back from a little visit up the coast to Point Reyes National Seashore, which was chilly but oh so beautiful! We visited the Point Reyes lighthouse, and saw grey whales on their way to Baha.
In Inverness, right by the water, the sunrise glow with mist over the water, was pink and golden and like a dream...
Limantour beach was wild and empty, 
and I lay on the sand in the sunshine and painted the grasses in the sand dunes.
Really, really, can't wait to go back again and discover more!
Here's a cute little thing I drew for the Croucher Foundation in HK this year. Yes, that's the star ferry speeding along there, obviously in a hurry to get home for Christmas...
...from me to you! Mx
This week I'm in London, admiring the lights, and loving the Chrismassy-ness of it all. Along with two of my monsters colleagues, Lynn Hatzius and David Humphries, we had a stand at the House of Illustration annual Illustrator's Christmas Fair, held in King's Cross.
We sold prints and cards, and I even had some of my London Toile products.
I've been admiring the wonderful Christmas windows around town, and my favourites are the glorious Fortnum and Masons...
and of course Tiffanys.
And the best thing about London is the choice of exhibitions, and these constructed trees by Ai Wei Wei at the Royal Academy were stunning.
Can't wait for more London inspiration this week!
From Kumamoto, we travelled by scenic train to Kagoshima, with its famous active volcano Sakurajima. We visited up close, riding the boat across the bay, watching nervously at the smoke puffing gently from the top...
We spent a day further south in Ibusuki, and visited the famous sand baths. At Yamakawa it was calm, almost tropical, and we saw another famous mountain called Kaimondake, with its perfectly conical shape.
The skies we saw over the waters were truly magical through the train windows, as we travelled along the coast.
We ate at a tiny restaurant, that specialised in local style yakitori, and the regulars were amazed to see us. These sorts of places are what make travel amazing...
From there we made our way to Kurokawa Onsen, passing by yet another active volcano, Aso san. At Kurokawa we stayed in a lovely traditional ryokan and tried many different sorts of onsen baths. We rested, and walked in the Autumnal mountains.
And then back we went to Fukuoka for one more evening of tasty food. Here's a lovely tempura place we found, dating back to the 1930's!
And then on to Tokyo, and home.
This week I have been in Kyushu Japan, starting my travels by train around the island. 
I love travelling by train here, it's so efficient and also somehow charming. As you get further into the countryside, the trains become smaller, more unusual and fun! We started in Fukuoka, eating at yatais, and we're now in Kumamoto, at an adorable minshuku guesthouse in the countryside. I drew the view from our two windows.
The rice has just been harvested, but the fields are still beautifully green, resting until the summer.
I just got back from a quick trip to New York, where I worked on a lovely project for Dr Oz The Good Life magazine. I can't show you what it was yet, but here's a sketch I drew on the photoshoot day. 
I also drew the model several times, in various of her outfits...
The view from the studio was gorgeous, so New York!
I had a fantastic dinner one evening at the Brooklyn Diner, and sketched while I was waiting. The waitress was so happy with the sketch that she gave me a bag of delicious pastries to take home with me! 
I love New York, I really do. I'll be back soon, just you wait and see...
I recently designed an autumn window display theme for kapok in Hong Kong. I created watercolour illustrations in shades of reds and browns for their 'into the wild' theme, featuring foliage, berries, and cute woodland animals.
I created various layouts of the illustrations for the six different store locations.
Kapok has two stand alone stores in Wanchai, one large one in PMQ in Central,
and several concession stores within department stores,
so they all needed slightly different treatments. I love the cube stands and little details inside the stores too...
Here's to a happy Autumn!
Today was the first day of our annual open studios at Graphic Arts Workshop. Here's the sunny studio all ready and waiting for the first visitors.
I set up my portfolios, wrapped prints and picture wall, featuring most of my newest artwork in a variety of frames.
I've been working on a new series of little prints based on the zodiac horoscope signs which are on show here for the first time.
I hope you'll all pop in to visit tomorrow, I'll be there from 11-6. Thank you to everyone who came to see us today. Happy Halloween!
Next weekend: 31 Oct and 1 Nov, I'll be showing my work at the annual San Francisco Open Studios event, in my print studio in Dogpatch. You can find all the info you need about the Graphic Art Workshop here. I'll be showing new work, like this hand-detailed mokuhanga print,
and some new playing card prints like these.
Of course I'll be showing a wide variety of ceramic etchings, like this popular blue peonies print,
which you can also see at the preview show in SOMArts gallery in downtown San Francsico right now.
I do hope you can make it to the open studios, I'll be there from 11-6 on saturday and sunday. It's always nice to buy art direct from the artists! Please do come and say hello.
I spent a bit of time in HK walking around the older parts of town, that haven't been developed, and took some photos of the traditional shops I love...
This is the key-cutting man who works on my street,
and this is the local corner shop where I used to live.
I love the way the shops look, even when they're closed for business,
especially their original exterior metal shutters... 
I really hope that all the places like these never disappear.
I went to tree interiors shop in HK this week, and loved their fantastic new display of my HK toile products.
Apparently the noodle bowl two-piece set is a best-seller, hurrah! Here is a sign they have showing all the different products.
I especially liked this way of showing the Chinese teacups...
Hope you can fit even just a little piece into your kitchens!
I designed this wintery forest scene for a new wooden light for Thinkgadgets in London.
It's available to buy in stores across the UK, and from the Spirit of Christmas. It comes in a natural wood or painted white finish and is 15" wide.
It's super cute and friendly when the starry lights are shining through it!
Hmmm, wonder who might like it for Christmas this year...
I'm in HK at the moment, for various projects, and loving the mid-autumn festival. It's a long holiday weekend, and even with the occasional rain (and thunder) it's a time for families to enjoy the evening, wonder at the moon, and carry bright lanterns...
Happy festival everyone!
I've just got back from a wonderful visit to Kansas. I spent a day doing a spot of teaching at Emporia State University and giving a presentation there. Here's a great poster one of the students made for my talk:
I went to Lawrence, to set up a collaborative exhibition with my friends Yoonmi Nam and Katie Baldwin at the new Wonder Fair gallery downtown.
We had our opening on saturday evening, which was super busy and fun!
We showed our project wood + paper + box, along with a special silk-screened poster of our complete box (available to buy from Wonder Fair).
We each also had space to show our own individual work. Here's mine, hung salon style.
The show will be up until mid November, so please do pop in and take a look if you're nearby!
I've collaborated with my friends Katie Baldwin and Yoomni Nam on a hand-printed paper stationery set for Wonderfair's Letter Writing Club, in Lawrence, Kansas. 
This is a photo of all the elements before they're packed together. I made the letter sheets with envelope, and also did the calligraphy for the top label (which Katie then screenprinted). The letter sheets are relief printed in green/gold. Here's the gold block,
and the tests I printed to choose exactly the colour that would work.
Here's the final set all put together. They'll be for sale at the club, and then afterwards at Wonderfair. 
The club meetings are held regularly, to encourage good ol' fashioned writing letters, and we'll all be attending the next one on Sunday 20th September. Hope to see you there!
