So, how has your day been?

Thank you and Goodnight.

2010-08-01T13:58:00.000-07:00

Is it possible that two months have elapsed where my blog has been pervaded by silence? No, that can't be right. Really? (yes). No! (YES). oh. Well for those of you who are still checking in (stat counter tells all!)...thankyou for sticking with me!

Where went the pockets of time used for drawing favourite teacups or an interesting place or a quirky food item? What happened? Who am I? (wife, puppy-mummy, chef, chauffeur, tea drinking, dog walking lady of the house...). Oh...that explains it then! Fair to say that super-multi-tasking is a skill I'm still trying to acquire....

Anyhow, now that my ambitions and intentions are filed neatly into the 'conquer all' section of my brain, I'm more than ready to give the pens a workout once again.

I have just returned from the most awesome, interesting honeymoon (trans-American Road Trip), from which I am bursting with inspiration and delight in this great country. Lots to see and say and draw. The posting has already commenced over at my newly-named blog.

Due to my change of name, I will no longer be posting at this blog address, but all contents have been moved to pastures new at www.doodle-lou.blogspot.com. I do hope you'll come and join me!

Mrs Louise Neumann. That is me, I am she.

2010-05-25T14:11:00.000-07:00

We found two matching shells on the beach. Our 'married shells'. The tanned, muscly one resembles Forrest, and the white and weedy one is me, to a tee :)

As of last Thursday, I'm embracing my new status as the wife.

I powered through the giggles (an affliction of mine) to say 'I do' at the appropriate moment and landed one on my new husband's lips with all the grace (not much) and hilarity (plenty) that befits my usual manner. If there wasn't a video as evidence of the event, I'd probably still be asking whether it really did happen.

I should probably feel 'different', but this is simply not the case. I suppose I had already felt secure. I was already making lunches with good wifely enthusiasm ("mystery sandwiches' tomorrow, Dear?'). Forrest and I already bickered like husband and wife. Plus, married or not I will always forget to squeeze the toothpaste from the end of the tube. Nothing has changed.

The wedding was rushed for the sake of my visa requirements, so after my low expectation of the thing, I was ridiculously tickled by the loveliness of it, really. Who knew we would have the sweetest little lady in the whole of Alabama to conduct the ceremony, and who knew there would be surprise wedding cake, and a photographer, celebrations and a weekend at the beach with two of our nearest and dearest. The manta rays even came to play. My memory museum just opened a new archive.

My Big Baby.

2010-05-19T14:14:00.000-07:00

The boy is growing up/ The boy is still a baby

The boy is making friends/ Family photo

City drawing. Country living.

2010-05-12T11:00:00.000-07:00

Re-doing a portfolio piece that could use some fine-tuning:

I think I always dreamt about cities. I think I still do. San Francisco holds the key to my heart, and the mere thought of New York awakens ambition like nothing else.

Despite this, life at the moment couldn't be more 'country'- but it's really not that bad because I like the fact that we have our own (small) yard, I like that we can grow tomatoes, I like to run past fields of grazing cows, and I definitely like watching the little furry one sprinting in circles on his miniature garden racetrack. I even like cowboy shirts and freckled noses.

Speaking of the four-legged one, I'm fairly sure he ate a toad last night. I was treated to an audio and visual production that nobody would welcome at 3.30am. It's lucky I love that little Stinker...

work and play.

2010-05-01T11:32:00.000-07:00

For the first time in many months I have a little time to throw around and decide what to do with. It is far too easy to dedicate all my minutes to the dear little Sharkface who is growing at the most ridiculous of rates. However, even the furry one sleeps occasionally, and it's high time my website had a bit of an overhaul.

Give me a month and it'll have to change all over again, when I find myself answering to a different name. Out with the Egger, in with the Neumann. But it's a matter of the baby steps for now. And speaking of babies, I think I can hear the thump of little (actually frighteningly large) puppy paws marching up the stairs. At 13 weeks, both of his ears have popped up, and he's less Sharkface, more Vampire Bat. The look on my face says it all.

Sweet home Alabama.

2010-04-26T16:53:00.000-07:00

The camellia is the state flower in my sweet new home, Alabama.
I've experienced the requisite spell of homesickness, now it's time to embrace the new life. My moment of clarity occurred at precisely 6.35 am as I jogged along the road- loving the sunrise, cursing the heat, waving at the cows, watching my knees turn pink. 'Well, this is life now' I said to myself. At 6.30 in the morning, I am not one for complex thought.

Adjustments are taking place. Growing up (more? yes, more!) must be done because I'm Mummy now. Mummy to the softest pair of ears in the neighbourhood. Walking, feeding, learning, playing, discipline and cuddles. Always the cuddles. I was prepared yet unprepared, but I've got so much time for this unco-ordinated, long-legged puppy who makes me smile every time I look at him. Pretty little Sharkface, the boy is a champ.

4297 miles west.

2010-04-21T08:16:00.000-07:00

Thanks to the combined effects of jet lag and a puppy, I've spent a lot of time in the company of my coffee mug just lately....

It is not without tremendous relief and cheer that I can say I finally made it back to the USA (pre-volcanic ash debacle!).

There is a puppy chewing on my toe and he is ours. The boy is at work 20 minutes away which definitely beats the distance of an ocean and a 9 hour plane journey.

It is everything I was hoping for, yet now that I'm here I hardly know what to do with myself. As anticipated I'm just a little homesick. My parents, my friends and always that naughty little Ellie-the-dog.

We've got our own baby now though. The furry Shepherd who rounds us up when we are in different rooms. Who bites our elbows, toes and wrists. Who follows me everywhere I go with his expression of concern. That's Rudy, my little love.

Fairy Fingers, what else?

2010-04-03T12:06:00.000-07:00

Work, rain and thumb-twiddling. I may never have felt this impatient in all my life. Time has stopped, I'm sure of it. Waiting isn't something I do well.

Watching the rain fall outside, it seems like things need brightening up a bit. Flowers always help. Foxgloves- though poisonous- go by other amusing names that make me smile. 'Fairy Fingers, Witch's Glove and Deadman's Bells'. The stuff of fairytales. Today it suits my mood perfectly.

Name, Address, Date of Birth.

2010-03-28T08:32:00.000-07:00

I'm drowning in paperwork this week. See you on the other side, I hope.

It's not all bad though. I have procured some minutes from my non-existent stash of time and made some sketchbooks. It's been on the list for an eternity, there really was no more ignoring it. The fruits of my labour are, I must admit quite pleasing. There is nothing like a handmade sketchbook. Nothing in the world. The fabric spines are my old pyjamas, a long-suffering bookbag, and a square of mystery fabric that I have no recollection of ever acquiring. Perfecto-mundo.

A visit to The Smoke.

2010-03-23T05:23:00.000-07:00

I like London. Really I do. Y'know- the busy streets and secret alleyways and the coffee shops and the landmarks. That big city feeling- you know the one.

I didn't notice any of that last Thursday though. I woke up at 3am. Showered at 5. Tried to swallow some breakfast at 6. Gave up and got on the Tube at 7. Took a deep breath in front of the US Embassy at 9. The rest is a blur. More so than you'd imagine.

The last 7 months have panned out well and I have much to be grateful for. But life has been in limbo and I'm more than ready to be back in the States with the boy. The weight of that had my stomach in a tangle on Thursday morning, to say the very least.

After three hours of watching a screen for my number to appear, I managed to exchange afew pleasantries with the immigration officer before my body said 'nope' and well... I fainted. Right in the middle. of. the. embassy.

I don't remember much other than opening my eyes wondering why I was lying star-shaped on the floor. Almost a week later, I can giggle with the best of them about how it all played out. At the time, I was seeing stars, being offered cookies and saying 'I feel a bit silly' while having my blood pressure taken and being assessed as looking 'very grey'. oh good. This was not how I'd planned it.

Replaying this incident in my mind makes me want to stick my fingers in my ears and hum loudly. It's hard to look that memory in the face. But on the upside, despite missing a form which will delay my departure, my application was approved! I get to marry the boy.

I should express my gratitude to the people at the Embassy who were very sweet to me during this little drama. They will never read this, but they deserve a mention, as kindness must be recognised, I think. Thanks also to my Mum and sister who both took days off work to jolly me along (...thanks also to my dog, and my lucky socks and....). Ok, that is all :)

This was a big deal for me, I'm excited for the future.

Tea and Travel

2010-03-16T08:52:00.000-07:00

After four magnificent months, my current job (illustrating Christmas books for Philo Trust) is almost wrapped up. Like all roller coasters it has to finish, and like all roller coasters, I wish it didn't. I'm a glutton for the fever of it.

So it's time to tread that promotional trail once more. Cards and emails and "look at me, I'm over here"....(hi!).

I must prod the noodle into gear. How can I present my work simply, but with impact? How do I adequately communicate my love and energy for what I do? How should I show who I am, what inspires me, what I do best, what I can do for you (oh gracious art director, editor, publisher...). So many questions, too many answers, so lets start where I always start: tea and travel. The Cutty Sark; human form (but don't rely on my sea legs)!

When one is a Worrywart.

2010-03-07T06:38:00.000-08:00

Life is not without it's concerns. Did I fill out all 5 million forms correctly? Will my prayers be answered? Is it too soon to start stockpiling English tea?

Once upon a Christmas time, my Auntie gave me a little box of Guatemalan Worry Dolls. I thought they were marvelous. I'd sleep with them under my pillow and Mum would laugh when she'd find them in the washing, on the stairs, in the garden. 'How did this get inside Dad's shoe?!' etc.

Tonight I'll put my favourite doll inside my pillow case. The girl wearing the pink onesy. I know she'll help me out. In a month, I sincerely hope I will feel silly and be able to laugh. In a month I hope to be with Forrest and our little puppy, missing my family, but becoming a new one.

Illustration Freitags: Perspective (or lack of it...)

2010-02-28T03:57:00.000-08:00

The noticed absence of something proves it's existence, right? I think this applies for perspective where Las Vegas is concerned. A loss of perspective. Love that place, hate that place.Yes, Pina Colada, NO frozen Margherita. Cowboys and Pirates and too much skin and don't give me that card please and Celine Dion and sweets and gifts when we get upgraded to VIP by accident. I lost my perspective and wanted it back, but I'd probably do it again.

Where are you, Spring? (I'm cold...)

2010-02-26T03:15:00.000-08:00

Flowers are not my usual choice of illustrated subject. For some reason I find them intimidating. Still, I looked fear in the face and lassoed afew minutes to draw this 'Gladiolus' for my Opa. They are his favourite. In his younger days Opa was a magnificent gardener, with green-fingered abilities that makes me hope it's a late-developing gene that I will have inherited. I'm still waiting for it to reveal itself!

Opa won county awards for his gardens, and I won the family award for most unsuccessful attempt to grow a sunflower when I was about 10. Let's just say, there is room for improvement...

1000 words?

2010-02-21T08:32:00.000-08:00

I think I could draw a typewriter every single day, and find life enjoyable for ever more. Are they not beautiful? Still, I said something similar after my first pancake on Tuesday, and by the time I'd struggled through my third, I was losing the will to live.

I still like pancakes. I never learn my lessons. Tomorrow I will draw another typewriter, perhaps.

This little piggy (stayed at home?)

2010-02-08T08:34:00.000-08:00

A 'Berkshire Pig' commission I completed recently. An especially hairy breed, yet unfathomably appealing.

Amid talks of Dachshunds, and Labradors and German Shepherds and Coldstone cakes (an inexplicable aside), I have been thinking about piglets. Call me misguided, but I'd really like one. I was raised on 'The Sheep-Pig' and 'Charlottes Web', so truly I am blameless in my preferences.

I should talk to the boy about this. I think I'm on to something.

I hadn't realised farmyard animals had become such a theme, but browsing through my portfolio....uh-oh, is that a pattern I see emerging?!

City, city, countryside.

2010-02-02T12:19:00.000-08:00

Those country days made everything okay again. More than ok.

After fleeting visits to London and Liverpool for events dreaded and sad (respectively), we rocked up at that rural sanctuary known as my Auntie Mary's house. From then on it was all about freezing canal walks, coal fires, my Auntie's legendary cooking. Chestnut, mushroom and stilton pie that could have made me weep.

The mercury did it's winter thing and temps were such that the canal froze over. The mallards were looking especially pretty. Oh I cannot get enough of those glossy green heads. No, indeed. The dear dog tried so hard to behave herself. But squirrels and ducks, I mean what can you do? The swan squawked at her. I'm not sure who won afterall.

Back to where the colour lives! It's brighter here.

2010-01-25T07:54:00.000-08:00

I've been beavering away on my current illustration job for what seems like many moons now (...it is actually about two and a half months). I remember the first day I was given the brief whereupon emotions and events proceeded in this manner:

Excitement! Terror. Research. Bad drawing. Horror. A cup of tea. More drawing. Doubt. Better Drawing. Relief. A glass of wine. Storyboards. Characters. Dummy books. Exhaustion.

Exhaustion was yesterday, which brings me to the present moment. I am on the precipice of starting the colour images. This is brilliant- it is what I live for. It may be my holy grail.

As I await the 'go ahead' from the client, I thought I'd give my marker pens a stroll around the page (and check I remember how to use them....). A selection of my much-loved art materials and of course; a cup of tea :)

Chin up, feet up.

2010-01-21T13:31:00.000-08:00

My heart aches. That much is true. But at least I haven't had hip replacement surgery recently...so a big get well soon to my future Father-in-law. I've never seen him sit still for more than two seconds. He is probably entering a one-legged race (whilst eating a morning bun) at this very moment. And aren't crutches brilliant? Oh, fun! So, feel better, Eb. HOP, two three four xx

I Heart My Hat.

2010-01-12T09:16:00.000-08:00

Firstly, belated thanks to those who congratulated me on my newly minted engagement to the boy. Forrest also perused your comments and was equally heart-warmed. You are really too kind. Thank you :)

So I am not the first to say it, but we have snow here in England. Oh yes. It's the kind that is unheard of- that is blanket-like and powdery rather than slushy and sleety and grey and muddy. It is amazing and I am amazed. The dog thinks it's heaven, and her attitude is contagious. I have never been more grateful for my hat.

I hear it is everywhere- a worldwide settling of snow. I hope you are all enjoying it as much as I am!

Happy, sad, happier in 2010.

2010-01-03T09:40:00.000-08:00

it is a sad day indeed. The day when somebody reminds you that all good things must come to an end, and you tell them 'go away please' because you don't want to hear it. I tried to make myself feel better, but it turned out that eating half a Christmas pudding was perhaps not the answer.

This morning, I peeled myself out of bed at 2.30am, showered with my eyes closed, dressed in the dark, scowled at my coffee and cursed the fact that it was time to take my better half to Heathrow airport (next time dear heart- book a later flight...).

Events have progressed to the point where I find myself engaged, to a very delightful individual indeed. Betrothed, committed, due to be married. As badly as I accepted Forrest's proposal -I am emotionally ill equipped for such moments- I am quietly overjoyed at the prospect of my future with the boy. He's the type to get excited about puppies, and tickle my hair, and tolerate tofu because I'm vegetarian and plant rose bushes and play football and hold hands and make coffee and work hard and take all my crap with a smile on his face. He also has a sticking out ear which is very, very endearing.

Now he is on a flight to Atlanta while I keep one eye on the post and hope to be not so far behind him.

2010, how bold you are. 3rd January, how sad you are.

Three years ago- shortly after I first met Forrest- he 'proposed' to me in Germany with this plastic ring from a Christmas cracker. Guess I should have known how this would eventually end!

Christmas, in a nutshell.

2009-12-31T05:41:00.000-08:00

No Christmas is complete without a last minute helping of work and on Sunday I had a few illustrations printed in the San Francisco Chronicle. It was for their 2009 Geography Quiz, and never have I learned so much from a project. Did you know that duelling is legal in Paraguay? You must be a blood donor however. That is a fact. It was a wonderfully pleasant assignment, if a little hectic with the many many family members whose arrival for the holidays coincided with the deadline!

It certainly has been a whirlwind. This Christmas has been a whole new experience indeed, and as if to confirm that conclusion the weather has put it's own uncommon twist on things. Day upon day of ice and hail and sleet and whistling winds turned the usually mild village of Saundersfoot into a giant ice rink. The hills were like glaciers and we've all been shuffling around like penguins in a bid not to hit the deck every few steps.

There was also sunshine- fleeting but magnificent. We enjoyed it while it lasted.

Now 2010 is peeking across the last stretch of day, and I can't even believe it. Happy New Year everybody- I hope yours is a fun-filled and happy one!

O Christmas Tree, O Christmas Tree....

2009-12-10T05:20:00.000-08:00

Fully aware that this could be my last Christmas in England for a little while, I embarked on the task of decorating this year with extra enthusiasm. Anybody who is familiar with my usual levels of Christmas-time exuberance would realise this is no small achievement.

The tree is a fragrant individual with much character. I am nothing if not infatuated with it. My goodness, it smells like heaven.

There have also been frosty walks and paper bags of roasted chestnuts and songs of the season creeping merrily into my consciousness. Looking around at the lights and the shops and the general abundance of gingerbread...it seems everybody is fully submerged in the magic of Christmas. Penelope Dullaghan says it better than I do, right here.

The German ornaments are out in force, complete with the customary tug of nostalgia for all of my Christmases past. Next year I should be back in the States, starting new traditions of my own with the Boy Pickle, but for now it's hard not to revel in the familiar traditions of my own family Christmas.

In my little corner of the world (things are rather exciting).

2009-12-01T05:22:00.000-08:00

A big new illustration job has compelled me to rearrange my work space/ sleeping quarters. Now everything is backwards and I've tried to climb out of the wrong side of the bed twice in a row. But finally my desk is under the window, and that's worth walking into the wall and stubbing my toes for.

I write this with a smile on my face as I think about sensible things like hand lettering, and characters and layouts and pacing and deadlines. The smile transforms into a look of terror when I think about the deadline, actually.

So armed with a brand new teacup (thanks Kate) and a pen collection that seems to be breeding, it's time for action stations. I'm ready. Infact, I've already begun....

the Middle Lands.

2009-11-19T04:00:00.000-08:00

Firstly, a thank you to those of you who left such generous comments on my previous post. What a treat it was!

Now, I've been away a little while, spending the last two weeks in't North, like.

It was a fortnight of firsts, up there in middle England.

The first frost of the season.

The first firework display (followed by many millions more).

The first flu of about a decade (and hopefully the last for the next decade...)

The first inclination felt in a while to learn a foreign language. Oui. Le sigh.

So, on the scent of work, I moseyed on up to the place where my Auntie Mary calls home. My Auntie is one of those clever people who knows lots of long words and amusing anecdotes and lives at a leisurely pace.

She resides in the heart of the 'black country'- named for the coal mining (etc) of yore. Apparently it's imported from Poland these days. Oh well, I'm sure it does favours for the air quality...

The houses are visions from rural fairytales- cobbled bricks and smoking chimneys, squeezed between fields full of horses. In my head I can hear Forrest saying 'Orses', in his 'English' accent inadvisably based on Black Adder and Monty Python. 'Ooorses!'. Yes dear.

By the end of my stay, it was hard to bid farewell to all the good wine, open fires, paint pots and Bella the pigmy goat. Still, with my lonely desk a-calling, and Ellie the dog was wondering where her mid-morning cups of tea had gone....it was time to come on home. Hello again!

When work feels more like play (it's a good day!).

2009-11-01T09:09:00.000-08:00

In a bit of a departure from my usual marker-pen adventures, most of my week has been spent painting the adorable 'Smudge'. Talk about therapy. How relaxing it has been to do away with my usually fidgety self, and surrender to the organic nature of creating a painting that comes to life only after stage upon stage and multiple layers of paint. Who knew I had so much patience?

I've spent so many hours in it's company that I've reached the point of zero objectivity, with equal levels of love and dissatisfaction. Give me a year and I might have developed a useful opinion on it. Until then as with all commissions, I just have to cross my fingers and hope it is well received!

Eye of newt, and toe of frog. (Happy Halloween!)

2009-10-31T15:41:00.000-07:00

The pumpkin is a splendid one this year. After being elbow-deep in acrylic paints all week, I couldn't resist being reunited with the marker pens for a quick drawing before the carving began. Toasted pumpkin seeds are a welcome bonus. Yes please.

Time is dissolving at an unimaginable rate. It's November in just a day? mmm I've always liked November. I suppose everybody harbours a fondness for their birthday month, until the passing of another year seems more horrifying than a thing to celebrate. Oh well, 25 isn't something to feel too worried about I spose. I just regard it with a similar level of distaste as I would, say.. the spongy part of a jaffa cake, that is; viewed with mild concern...

I'm currently preoccupied with pumpkins and chestnuts and the treasures of Autumn. Beach walks with Ellie, papery leaves fluttering through the forest and rediscovering a long lost fondness for honest-to-God painting. Brushes and everything...

More on the painting shortly though. First things first, Ellie is giving me a meaningful look suggesting I'd better find some boots that are made for walking (Wales = wellies). Alrighty then.

Brain Pain.

2009-10-26T13:17:00.000-07:00

My head is somewhere beyond overload with putting together promo booklets. I've printed a million little pages, and layed them out in 5000 permutations and combinations. I've rearranged them 500 more times. I've stuck them on my wall, I've arranged them on the floor, Ellie the dog has walked on them (twice) and I've even dreamt about them. The unfortunate thing is- I'm more confused than I was when I started. I'm going for a 12-page mini-booklet- which seemed like such an easy task when I first thunk it. Not so.

As if I didn't have more than enough pictures already I keep thinking of better, cleverer, irresistible (and totally unnecessary) ideas. Illustrations that would help so much (not in the least). Perfectionism is such a saboteur...

Plus, I need a more objective critic than the biased and uncooperative duo that is my left and right brain. Always arguing, y'know?

I've also drawn a Chinese dragon for a little side project I'm working on. At this point it can go right ahead and swallow me up....

Rainy days and Fun days.

2009-10-23T06:18:00.000-07:00

When I was out running this morning, a firework whizzed over my head. It was 6.30am and very dark and I wondered to myself about the unlikeliness of seeing a firework right then. I guess it's coming around to that time of year again. How lovely :)

Before that, it has been a grey sort of week, making it more essential to get outside, even whilst it feels conversely less enticing to do so. Daylight appears rationed so I'm doing my best to get a share. I have an unfortunate knack for getting caught in rainstorms, streaking through town with my hair a slick wet helmet around my ears... Still, nothing beats returning home from such an outing for a steaming cup of tea and a cuddle with the dog. Oh, she's a cuddler :)

Mostly I adore the chilly days, but I become the Human Temperature Project when Autumn really sets in. I'm a changeable mixture of hot cheeks, cold nose, chattering teeth, hot ears, cold ears, wrapped up and toasty with knee-length socks and woolly boots, or shivering in a poorly planned nightshirt.

My fingers are a law unto themselves; white and uncooperative- freezing even if the rest of me is warm. Does anybody else have this problem in the cold weather? It plagues me annually, with my fingertips becoming swollen and tender- a particular nuisance for drawing. Happily, I have the best, most thoughtful Mum of them all. She returned home yesterday beaming- laden with this fleecy monk-like cape (er, a 'snug rug'?) and vowing that I will never be cold again. Looking at the thing, I will never be fashionable again, either. But if it's a trade for warmth, then I'll give up the style points!

In conclusion to gloomy-weather rant, and I'll finish with some cheerier thoughts- and a celebration of the hour or so that the sun took centre stage a few days ago. Our little family jumped for joy and dashed out for some dog-walking. Sensing our enthusiasm, Ellie took off for some mischief, like she really really meant it. Guess she knows when she can get away with it. At least there was no Badger Poop Rolling (her sport of choice), but she was under a fence and halfway across the field before we could blink. Squirrel?

Sometimes, nothing provides more happiness than the dog. Heres a toast to my future dachshund who- if he takes after me will have to be clothed in tights and capes of his very own next Winter.

Perhaps though, he will take after Cousin Arnold- a whirlwind of activity who hops through the snow drifts of Tahoe like he thinks he's a husky-dog. That's my boy. Here's hoping :)

YES, I can see my breath! (I love you, cold mornings)

2009-10-19T08:43:00.000-07:00

Along with the elaborate task of compiling promo pieces, I have completed a new commission. Briefs don't get any better than 'Please draw a Highland Cow'. And I shall, with pleasure! Isn't it fitting for the season? It is the bovine embodiment of Autumn for me :)

Oh, and it's a noteworthy day on my Countdown Calendar, with exactly two months until I am reunited with Monsieur Pickle (he isn't French) for Christmas. Since those two weeks are sure to fly by once they finally arrive, I don't want to build up to it too much. Oh well, today I'll allow myself just a small helping of excitement. I realise I am only person on the planet already looking forward to Christmas. But I've got to go against public opinion this year. December being is eagerly awaited in this little corner of England!

That Friday feeling...

2009-10-16T14:20:00.000-07:00

Had I known Blogger would be such an easy transition from my cumbersome Doodle Diary of yore, I certainly would have arrived here a long time ago. Better late than never, so the old saying has it. True enough, I suppose.

It's something like a relief to have so much to do at the moment. I stave off boredom with the stab of a pencil, and I'm fully immersed in that time consuming task of getting together some promo material to send off to various corners of the publishing industry. I'm really only at the beginning, and will be tucked neatly behind my desk for a good while longer. The business of creating cards and booklets always leaves my mind in a bit of a spin,when I find myself unable to make a decision and stick with it. I've printed out mock-up postcards, argued with fonts and type, perused 5000 varieties of glossy cardstock and drawn a multitude of tea cups. There is a plan of sorts, but a day spent drawing teacups and cupcakes,feels difficult to justify, somehow. Is this really 'work'?It seems too much like fun...and I can't even complain about the calories. Life feels good today.

New Beginnings.

2009-10-13T06:33:00.000-07:00

As a first ever post, I should probably get straight to the point. I am an illustrator. A compulsive drawer and documenter of all things that spark my interest.Those who know my website -www.louiseegger.com- may be familiar with my 'doodle diary' (an illustrated daily diary- as the name suggests) which I battled on with for a year and a half before finding myself in html purgatory, unable to keep up with the daily demand of my time, yet too attached to the process to discard it altogether. Life- as it will- had it's own ideas for making a point, and a few weeks ago things came crashing down around my ears like a message from above; positively screaming at me to get my priorities sorted out. It has been the necessary catalyst for me to wave a fond farewell to the doodle diary, and stumble blindly into Blogger; where I shall continue to document my days with similar enthusiasm- but by lazier means. Perfect!

Life, as I was saying, set off in temporary a tailspin a few weeks ago, when all my plans fell on their head. Theoretically I should now be living in the United States of Awesomeness with my better half (Mr. Pickle) and ideally a Miniature Dachshund. Occasionally however, life throws you lemons or- in my case- presents you with obnoxious immigration officials at Atlanta airport. Sorry, I'm a little bitter. But never fear, it was high time for a shake-up of my intentions anyway. Now, with my sparkly new perspective on life, I will be enjoying the next eight(ish) months in my beloved SW-England hometown while I throw myself into furthering my career in Illustration; determined to make something of this new and unexpected circumstance.

Everybody goes through things and when in a years time I find myself setting up home with Forrest and the aforementioned puppy, I know it will all be worth it. For now, I shall relish the extra time with my family and my friends, and goodness knows there are worse places to find oneself than small-town England. It's just the first page of a book I wasn't expecting to open. New beginnings...it won't be a bad thing.

Speaking of new beginnings, the Horse Chestnut tree is all about it. Conkers are falling everywhere, and it's quite lovely. I feel like a magpie, as I study my collection. They are ever so shiny!