and a very happy desk
I have given myself two new birdwatching logbook projects, and making new titles really is my absolute favourite thing to do. I am so proud of my little pocketbooks, and when I get the chance to make new artwork for the covers and centre page spread, as well as tinker with which species will work, and how to organise them, and which birds need to be painted or re-painted…ah the bliss of giving my mind something multifaceted and productive to get on with, especially after a few weeks of almost wall-to-wall puppy focus.
The things I’m working on at the moment are for my own enjoyment (so no deadlines either; it gets better and better!) but I’m confident that they will have their time to shine. Creating logbooks is such a fun thing for me to do, and it’s so straightforward to make a digital mock-up so I have a whole load of ‘pending’ titles, most of which will never see the light of day but were a reasonable concept, and spending time tinkering around with the layout and structure keeps me fresh with the various software updates with InDesign. I learn something new every time I make a logbook so really, even if it’s just an exercise, it’s good for both my brain and my art practice. I finally got round to painting an illustration I’ve had languishing in pencil for months, and I now have a couple of new ones I need to paint.
As I have been painting the birds in this style for nearly a decade, it feels comforting and grounding, and as I taught myself how to make a book during lockdown, I tap into a sort of pioneering, breaking-new-ground type of spirit, but I have the reassurance that I know exactly what I’m doing. I need to get better at showing people why they should be using logbooks – and buying them! – but for now I’m happy to swim in my happy pond and enjoy making these two new titles.
Watch this space…
Oh and here is my latest illustration, a Collared Dove:
