#walktoseeprepare

Preprepare your paper!

After last month’s #walktoseereuse where we painted over old drawings to make room for new ones, I thought it would be good to continue the fun by preparing our sketchbooks. Why wait until you do a bad drawing to paint your pages?

Here are some of my favourites from August #walktoseereuse

So many to choose from, sorry if I didn’t pick yours!

Top left: Naomi Tipping

Bottom left: Kathryn Boyt

Top right: Anne Marie Rickus

Bottom right: Elke Küpper

A couple of my #walktoseereuse sketches.

The prompt for September:

Use any materials you have at hand to add colour and texture to your sketchbooks.

It helps stop those pesky perfectionist voices from getting in your way

PLUS

It’s a fun way to spend an hour or two 🎨

AND it is guaranteed to get you in the mood for getting out with your sketchbook 🤩

Lot’s of ways to join in:

1. Post your pic on Instagram with #walktoseeprepare and tag me (so I defo see it 👀)

2. Comment below with a pic of your sketchbook, yes, that’s possible now!

3. Add yours to the #walktosee Story Sticker (in my stories)

I’ll be sharing lots of your drawings on my Stories, so it’s a good way to find new sketchbooking pals and pick up new followers along the way 😊

Join in as often as you fancy: every day, or just once!

Have fun!

Salty Dog and Pals

PS Salty Dog and Pals by me and is getting lots of lovely reviews. Thank you pals!

I don’t normally write reviews but this book is absolutely brilliant. Funny, sad, then funny again, it’s written and illustrated by 2 wonderful and talented women, it’s such a lovely book!

Kimberley

Here is my niece Holly telling you to BUY A COPY. Don’t mess with Holly.

If you buy a copy you get free access to our Picturebook Masterclass here. 😙

Book two is coming soon, here’s a sneaky peek!

Love Helenx

for August:

#walktoseereuse

Messed up some pages in your sketchbook? Arg 😤😫

No, that’s perfect!

Paint over the bad drawing or stick a bit of paper over it - Bam! New page!

Lot’s of ways to join in:

1. Post your pic with #walktoseereuse and tag me (so I defo see it 👀)

2. Comment on my #walktosee post on Insta with a pic of your drawing, yes, that’s possible now!

3. Add yours to the #walktosee Story Sticker (in my Insta stories)

I’ll be sharing lots of your drawings on my Stories, so it’s a good way to find new sketchbooking pals and pick up new followers along the way 😊

Join in as often as you fancy: every day, or just once!

Have fun!

Helenx

This month’s challenge: sketch people who are completely lost in their phones. The art of the stealth drawing! Quick, bam 💥 , got em! They’ll never know (because, well, phones)

Share your drawings and join the #walktosee community:

1. Post your pic on Instagram with #walktoseepeopleonphones and tag me too, hashtags can be flakey these days

2. I started a thread here on Substack, add your drawing there

3. Add yours to the #walktoseepeopleonphones Story sticker

I’ll be sharing loads on my Stories too, so it’s a good way to find new sketchbooking pals and pick up new followers along the way.

Enjoy!

Helenx

I am thoroughly enjoying everyone’s contributions to the #walktoseetinysketchbook prompt. I started an Instagram ‘Add Yours’ for the first time, which is very exciting. Join in!

I stopped drawing in small sketchbooks. I lost the habit, only ever using a giant A3 that opens to A2. Not handy in stealth sketching situations. Over the last few weeks, I have been working to find my way back into drawing small.

At first, A4-ish was as small as I dared go.

But now look at me with my tiny A6!

I am sticking to my Tombow pens while I find my feet but I will branch out soon.

Men on phones

I enjoyed drawing men on phones while I waited for my train the other day. Do you think this would be a good #walktosee prompt? #walktoseemenonphones

Quentin Blake Centre for Illustration

We (The Good Ship) were lucky enough to get a sneak preview of the new Quentin Blake Centre for Illustration on Tuesday, what a treat! I loved these Quentin Blake Punch covers, particularly that Chagall-esque one.

Oh and we met Mr Bingo at his studio-shop!

I opened up another paid post to everyone, enjoy!

What size should my picture book be?

Hill House

I studied at Glasgow School of Art when the Charles Rennie Mackintosh building was still standing. I was 19: young and self centred like all 19 year olds should be. I took the Mac for granted, didn’t give it much thought. It was beautiful, but practical. A place to use, not a museum.

I don’t know if you remember but it burnt down — twice. Just as they started a rebuild there was a second fire that almost completely destroyed it. It’s been wrapped in scaffolding ever since.

So it was lovely to visit another Charles Rennie Mackintosh and Margaret Macdonald Mackintosh house: Hill House in Helensburgh (yes I have a burgh!) It made me nostalgic for my days at GSA.

Mackintosh used a cutting edge render on Hill House, but it was so cutting edge, that it absorbed water, threatening the interiors. So the National Trust have started a conservation programme to dry the building out. They have taken off the render and built a protective steel structure that works like a log shelter: no rain, but lots of wind.

There are walkways around and over the top of the house, with incredible views of the roofs and chimneys. It‘s great time to visit.

Salty Dog and Pals is out in the world!

Salty sold out on publication day! Thank you to everyone who bought a copy, the new print run is out tomorrow.

Buy here

If you bought it and loved it would you mind leaving a review? Reviews make a huge difference. Thank you.

If the weather is kind I plan to plant two apple trees today. What are you up to?

Happy Sunday!

Helenx

I enjoyed these by Lemady_Art , , Studio__su and Sheena Davies.

The prompt for June is *drumroll* 🥁🥁🥁🥁🥁

#walktoseetinysketchbook

Get out your teeny tiny sketchbook (personally, I am scared of anything below A5 but I will give it a go!)

There’s only one rule: It must be drawn from life on location. I am strict about it. You know I have a direct line to the art police, just saying... 👀

Joining in with #walktosee is a great way to discover fellow sketchbookers - and grow your audience.

• Join in as often as you fancy: every day, or just once!

• Take a photo of your drawing and post it on instagram

• Use the hashtags #walktoseetinysketchbook and #walktosee

• Tag me so I defo see it

By the way, I started an #walktosee tiny sketchbook ‘Add Yours’ on my Insta stories, so you can join in there too.

See you there!

Good Ship Art club

Speaking of drawing from life, if you missed our Good Ship Illustration Art Club on Friday, you can catch up on our feed now.

#walktosee history

I started the hashtag #walktosee a few years back to celebrate drawings made from life on our daily walks. Over time I broadened it out to include any observational drawing — no walking necessary 😂.

It has a mind blowing 122K contributions so far!

What I like best about #walktosee is that people draw the more domestic and private bits of their lives: their dogs, their holidays, the view from their bedroom window, their commute to work and the grocery shopping.

After Instagram changed the algorithm and stopped showing us the drawings in date order I decided to start the new #walktosee monthly drawing prompt. That way we can see what people are up to this month.

Why not join in previous #walktosee prompts?

April 26: #walktoseepeople

March 26: #walktoseepencilcasepeek

Feb 26: #walktoseegrowth

Jan 26: #walktoseewet

Dec 25: #walktoseefestive

Nov 25: #walktoseecosy

Oct 25: #walktoseeweather

Sept 25: #walktoseeonthemove

My pal had a great idea. She said I could start a Google map where we all pin our favourite places to draw. What do you think? Shall we make that happen?

Comment below to let me know.

love Helenx

It’s the 1st of March — St David’s Day, the national day of Wales!

And what does a new month mean? Leek hats! No. It means there’s a new #walktosee promt! 🙄

This month’s #walktosee prompt is:

#walktoseegrowth

Think spring bulbs, catkins, wild garlic, seeds on your window sill…

Use any materials you have at hand and interpret it any way you fancy. Only one rule, your drawing must be drawn from life. I have a direct line to the art police 👮🏼 Just saying 👀

I am beside myself with excitement: Rose Wylie is exhibiting at The Royal Academy.

She is the rebel painter of the British art world: an old lady who wears trainers with ‘HOT’ emblazoned on them.

When I grow into the old lady I was always meant to be I want to be Rose Wylie please.

I see a quick trip to the big smoke coming soon. Anyone been yet?

A huge thank you for all your Italy suggestions last week! My niece Holly and I have been going through them all and we’re busy making plans for our adventure.

Sorry this is a quickie, I have visitors to swan about with today. Mwah, mwah!

See you next Sunday 👋

Love Helenx

Receive 25% off when you enter the code FEB26 during checkout before MIDNIGHT ON FRIDAY!

Buy here

We made a Masterclass all about how my pal and I made the book together at my kitchen table.

Claim your Masterclass here

A big thank you if you already placed your order! 😚

Helenx

The Good Ship Illustration is heading to the Bologna Children’s Book Fair in April (exciting!), and afterwards my niece Holly and I are staying on for a proper Italian adventure.

This is where I need your help: where should we go?

I’ve done Bologna plenty of times, and I’ve ticked off Venice, Milan, and Cinque Terre over the years—but we’re keen to explore some new places this time around.

We’ve already booked a train to Verona because Holly wants to visit Juliet’s house. Yes, I know, Juliet wasn’t real! But there’s a museum and Holly thinks it’s funny, so I am 100% on board for the folly of it all. We’ve also sorted a few nights in Naples so we can do a day trip to Pompeii.

But what else? Where should we NOT MISS?

I hear Florence is pretty. Have you stayed there? Any hotel/ accommodation recommendations?

Let me know your favourite Italian spots: any hidden gems, must-see places, funny wee museums, that little trattoria you still dream about. We want all your tips!

Good Ship Art Club

We made drawings by taking a line for a walk, starting at the edge of the paper, travelling all around the still life, and ending at the opposite edge of the paper.

Then we changed pen colour and did the same again. And again. And sometimes top to bottom. The results were amazing! The drawings are semi abstract and the lines are full of energy and purpose. I am going to try this type of drawing in my sketchbook when we visit Italy. I will call them spaghetti drawings! Ha!

If you missed Art Club - here it is:

Art Club

Thank you, thank you, thank you!

The pre-sales for Salty Dog are looking really good - and we’ve had some very exciting (but top-secret-for-now!) news that’s going to be brilliant for the book. More on that soon, I promise!

If you’ve already ordered your copy, thank you so much. And don’t forget you get the FREE Picture Book Masterclass as a wee thank-you gift.

FREE pre-order Masterclass here

Katie Chappell and I share the whole story of how we wrote Salty Dog together. All the behind-the-scenes bits about our collaboration. If you’ve ever fancied writing stories with a pal, we spill all the secrets.

Spoiler: it involves 2 laptops, 1 Google doc, and a lot of chatting and laughing.

TV I am enjoying this week:

Small Prophets - Comedy sitcom showing on BBC2

‘The magical and the mundane unfolds in a suburban shed as a lonely man stumbles into the supernatural. A weird and wonderful world from Mackenzie Crook, starring Michael Palin.’

(Look out for the bit about the buckets in episode 2)

Bye for now! Let me know the where Holly and I should visit in Italy. How’s your Sunday going?

Love Helen x

We always round off Good Ship Art Club with ‘ten second animals’ and this week the animal was (horror of horrors) Guinea Pig. Arg! I CANNOT draw guinea pigs. So I scrambled together this potato with a tiny hand in each corner. That ten second timer is magic, I think I drew the best guinea pig I have ever drawn — and ever will!

Do you have anything you CANNOT and WILL NOT ever draw? I swear, all artists have a drawing nemesis.

If you missed Art Club and LOVE drawing guinea pigs (what?) you can catch up here.

Me and spent the summer writing some stories together and the result is: Salty Dog and Pals!

Salty Dog is available for pre-order now.

Pre-sales are important for new books. When booksellers see the pre-sales rolling in, they know this is a book they can pile high on the front table and it will catch everyone’s eyes like a stripy deck chair!

As a thank you for pre-ordering, we’ve made you a special film. Place your pre-order, fill in the form and get instant access! 🥳

What will I learn in the Masterclass?

• How we wrote the stories together at my kitchen table - on two iPads, one Google doc, a load of layout paper and sticky tape

• How we brainstormed 10 stories over 10 days. Yes, we did!

• Where the ideas came from (*spoiler* Salty lives in an upturned boat, and so did my Grandparents—sort of. They squatted in a WWII Nissen hut)

• How we knew if an idea was a keeper

• How we pitched Salty Dog to the publisher

• Why did we base Kitty on Good Ship pal, Tania

• How I illustrated the stories: paper, paints, palettes, all that stuff

• How we designed Salty’s world: his island, their upturned boat house, the bunk beds of dreams and Bernard’s nik-naks

Salty says ‘Anchors Aweigh!’

Masterclass

Indulge me for a minute while I show off about my girl, Pie

She had an interview at art school this week and was offered a place there and then, on the spot. Well done Pie!

Applying for art school turned out to be trickier than we expected because passing your art exams at school requires making work that isn’t necessarily the type of work that art schools are looking for. What examiners want, and what art schools are looking for are two different things in our experience.

How crazy is that!?

Luckily Pie is head strong and made a portfolio that she likes, leaving out a lot of the A grade work she made at school. It takes a lot of courage to go against your school’s advice when you are a teenager. I am so proud of her.

I was heading over the bridge with Peggy today when a man said,

‘The tourist board said the American snow will be here by next weekend.’

You know how much I love the snow, so fingers crossed! ❄️⛄️

Stuff I enjoyed this week:

Telly: There are some new episodes of 24 Hours in Police Custody (known as Police Custard in our house) on Channel 4.

Podcast: This Jungian Life, especially the bit where they unpick a listener’s dream at the end of each Episode.

Book: Dream Wise: Unlocking the Meaning of your Dreams by Lisa Marchiano, Deborah Stewart and Joseph Lee, the hosts of This Jungian Life podcast. I am LOVING this book.

The days are short and dark here (in Northumberland) at the moment, it’s non-stop gloom. But we’ll head out for a nice long walk along the river before Gerry makes us a roast dinner.

What are you up to today?

Love Helenx

Toot toot! Salty Dog is available for pre-order now!

Me and made you a film all about how we made Salty Dog and Pals!

🛟 Place your pre-order, lets us know in the special form below and ta-dah! You’ll get your Masterclass!

Free masterclass here

🛟 What will I learn in the Salty Masterclass?

🌊How me and @katiedraws wrote the stories together at my kitchen table - on two iPads, one Google doc, a load of layout paper and sticky tape

🌊How we brainstormed 10 stories over 10 days. Yes, we did!

🌊Where our ideas came from (*spoiler* Salty lives in an upturned boat, and so did my Grandparents—sort of. They squatted in a WWII Nissen hut)

🌊How we knew if an idea was a keeper

How we pitched Salty Dog to the publisher

🌊Why did we base Kitty on Good Ship pal, Tania?

🌊How I illustrated the stories: paper, paints, palettes, all that stuff

🌊How we designed their world: their island, their upturned boat house, the bunk beds of dreams and Bernard’s nik-naks

🛟

Salty says ‘Anchors Aweigh!’ ⚓️ ⚓️⚓️

Helenx

You can place pre-orders here! Hang on to your receipt if you do—because we have an exciting present coming up for all of our preorder pals.

I also caught the last day of the Kerry James Marshall exhibition at the Royal Academy (brilliant!) and spent a day in Brighton with old publishing friends.

Most exciting of all, I bought a pair of terry towelling chartreuse socks—very cosy indeed!

I enjoyed this post about wool skirts on Instagram and it has put me in the vintage wool skirt mood. I am going to scout the charity shops, I’ll keep you posted.

New #walktosee drawing prompt

The drawing prompt for February iiiiiisssss 🥁🥁🥁

#walktoseewet

🌊💧🌊💧🌊💧🌊💧🌊💧🌊💧🌊

Draw with wet materials: paint, ink, watercolour OR draw something wet: the sea, your bath, the washing up, rain running down your window… It’s up to you how you interpret it.

Join in every day, or just once.

Last month was #walktoseethickandthinlines, there were some fantastic contributions, take a look over on Instagram.

Do you know I took the paywall off Pencil Pals? It’s a slightly scary experiment!

I have been feeling excited about this as a concept for a while.

I want to make this a kind and democratic space where those that can afford to pay the small fee of £6/month make it possible for everyone to be here – and that feels like a good way to do things.

I have to admit, this is a slightly scary idea! I hope it works.

If you are paying me to continue writing here I am so grateful, thank you. Comment below if you are.

I am gradually opening up all the paywalled posts. Here is one about Picture Book Publishing Jargon that I opened up today.

Magic objet d’art

It’s been very dark and stormy here in Northumberland over the last few days. But I have been enjoying these shiny objects I keep on my landing window sill. My Mum bought me the ship in a bottle. The story is that it was made in the 1920’s by a Flamborough Head lighthouse keeper using an old lighthouse bulb.

I’ve been collecting marine themed paperweights from charity shops over the last few years. I swear they hold some real magic inside, I can feel it.

The much loved plaster cat belonged to my Nannan. And I bought the Anteater from an artist called Carol Law a few years back. Isn’t he gorgeous?

I have been watching Snapdragon Life on youtube and she says she likes her house to look like a still life. What a great ambition. I am aspiring to do the same.

How was January? What shiny objet d’art are making you happy? How is your weekend going? Got anything tasty in the oven?

Love Helenx

Have you heard Adam Buxton’s new song on his Christmas podcast about his musical journey of self confidence? You know Adam Buxton right? Comedian, podcaster, musician. I am a big fan.

We always listen to his Christmas podcast in the car on Boxing Day when we are driving to visit relatives. It makes a pretty dull journey into a hilarious car party.

Anyway, recently he has become aware that his self deprecating behaviour is no longer acceptable and that he has to move with the times and exude a HUGE AMOUNT of self confidence, even if it sounds insane.

Please listen to Adam’s confidence song, you won’t regret it!

It’s at 1hr 32mins. Enjoy!

Adam sings his confidence song

Here are some of my favourite bits:

I was a worm

I was a dick

I was a weedy, wormy dick

I didn’t know I had a gift

Bigger than everyone else’s gifts

The gift was for music

I put myself down

Said I couldn’t sing

Even though I was the absolutely king of singing

And now I’m smash, smash, smashing all of my music rivals

Choking, gasping for survival

I am hurtling up on my big successful rocket

Scattering my songs below from my magic music pocket

People now prefer self confidence, even if it sounds insane

I’m gonna crush, crush, crush Cold Play and Taylor Swift

I’ll smash Bad Bunny into funny, tiny bunny bits

I’ll make Drake beg for the scraps from my music plate

Bruno Mars is gonna be parking cars

See ya Rosanna Lea, bye bye Billie Eilish

Write to me If you would like some tips on being stylish

Adam was inspired by the song Golden from KPop Demon Hunters, which to me sounds like a spoof already, but my daughter assures me it is 100% genuine.

Mary Cane-Honeysett

I stumbled over this film on youtube a couple of years ago and have been trying to re-find it ever since. Today it popped up and I am so happy: The Unbreakable Spirit of Mary Cane-Honeysett. Mary was an untrained artist, who dreamed of going to art school but her father needed her to start work when she was fourteen years old because they needed the income. She was visually impaired and entirely self taught. She loved to paint old buildings, shops and houses in her neighbourhood of Fulham in London.

Mary's Last Masterpiece is a deeply moving portrait of talent, resilience, and the unbreakable human spirit – a story of an artist who refused to stop creating, no matter the odds

Mary Cane-Honeysett

The Decs are Down

I left the fairy lights up and brought in some winter greenery. Ah, that will cheer us up through these dark winter months.

SET EXCITIN’ GOALS WITH YOUR GOOD SHIP PALS!

Here I am with my The Good Ship Illustration hat on to tell you we will be holding a Planning Party and you are invited. Are you raring to set goals, or are you feeling more “no plans, just let me lie down” this year?  Here’s a Good Ship permission slip to do your 2026 goal-setting in a way that works for your brain/energy-levels/life.

Sign up here

Some of my plans for 2026:

Rethink my studio, it’s too small and too cold in winter. Really successful people have large disused warehouses with north facing windows, stacks of plan chests and friends with nice dogs (who don’t even need a lead because they are so well behaved) dropping by with gifts of artisan bread. I want that. Is it too much to ask?

Make a #walktosee sketchbooking course (yay!)

Keep using the app on my phone to stop me scrolling, looking at other people’s incredible studio spaces

Have a confident, successful Sunday.

Love Helenx

With the promise of snow this weekend, and then a very disappointing flurry that didn’t even cover the pavements, I have been consoling myself by digging into some snow documentaries on youtube. This one is a corker:

Snow Drifts in Morton near Appleby in Westmoreland 1962-63

The children are wearing shorts and skirts with no woolly tights! Imagine! I grew up not far from Appleby in the 1980’s and remember snow like this. But I was a kid who felt the cold and always wore woolly tights and bed socks inside my wellies.

Art For Happy Eyes

Yesterday we had a wander round Modern One in Edinburgh, while I secretly hoped the snow would fall outside and we’d have to tramp through drifts to get home. No such luck.

But we did see some good art. I enjoyed the piece below by Victoria Morton.

In this painting, Morton pays homage to pioneering electronic composer Daphne Oram (1925-2003). Morton based her work on a black and white photograph of Oram, over which her young daughter had scribbled. The energy of the scribble made me think of the kind of sound waves Daphne was creating, the artist comments.

And this one by Dorothea Tanning is a delight!

It features Tanning’s dog, Katchina, a Lhasa Apso terrier who appears regularly in her paintings. Sometimes the dog represents Tanning’s alter-ego and at other times appears as a witness or protagonist.

Film Pick

Have you seen The Holdovers? What? No? Quick go and watch it now! It’s available on Netflix and AppleTV I think. It might be my new favourite Christmas film along with It’s a Wonderful Life and Elf of course.

It’s set in the 1970s and is a good old mix of humour and melancholy.

It has been my kitchen soundtrack all over Christmas and new year too. 🎶

Walktosee

Did you see the new #walktosee drawing prompt? It’s a fun one! Drawing with thick and thin lines. Join in!

When do you take the decorations down?

My brother took down the decs the day after Boxing Day, he has had enough by then. I am at the other end of the Christmas spectrum and eke out Christmas as long as possible. What about you? When is the CORRECT time to take down the decs?

Helenx

The prompt for January iiiiiisssss 🥁🥁🥁

#walktoseethickandthinlines

Get out your big fat paintbrushes, your chunkiest charcoal, your skinniest fine liners and tiniest sticks. It’s time to play with the weight of your lines!

Personally, I can’t wait to take part in this one.

I like to use thick lines to draw the eye to the important bits, and knock the backgrounds back by using teeny-tiny-thin-lines. But try breaking the rules and see what else you can do, can you draw the eye to the tiny details and make the bold lines sit back? I am excited to see what you do!

There’s only one rule with #walktosee: your drawing must be drawn from life. I have a direct line to the art police 👮🏼 Just saying 👀

Join in every day, or just once! It’s up to you.

Last month was #walktoseefestive, there were some brilliantly twinkly, festive contributions, take a look on Insta.

Any suggestions for next months’s promt?

Helenx

It’s the most VISUAL time of year. Ding, dong, ding, dong. 🔔 🎶 🎶 🎵

I find these dark winter months a particularly creative time. I love decorating the house and sprinkling everything with a bit of winter magic.

We have always loved decorating the house for Christmas but this year we have gone ALL OUT.

More is more.

Come in, I’ll give ya a nosy around, stay for a mince pie!

***Oh before we start, scroll to the end because I made you a Christmas present 🎁

Cotton Wool Snow

I bought one of those rolls of cotton wool and made the dolls house look like a snowy winter scene. Do you remember when cotton wool was a decoration? Let’s bring that back! (Yes I was watching true crime while setting up this snuggly winter scene 😂)

How’s your Ralph Lauren Christmas going?

We’re all supposed to be having a Ralph Lauren Christmas this year. YouTube told me.

Chuck out your old decorations, because this year is sophisticated Americana with a cozy, heritage feel. I can’t be arsed with that! Where is the individuality? And the awful unnecessary consumption. What a waste 🌍 🙁

We opt for the ‘What we have in the old Christmas box plus a few handmade bits and bobs’ style.

Paper Garland

I made this paper garland for above the front door using some gorgeous paper from East End Press, some glitter left over from when Pie was small, some glue and some old ribbon. I was inspired by this brilliant instagram tutorial:

Here

I used the same paper to make star garlands that hang under the mantle piece and over Gerry’s whales prints. ()

I did buy one new (second hand) thing: a 1970’s tinsel tree from eBay. It cost £50 and Gerry nearly blew a gasket, but it was 100% worth it for that gorgeous wonky vibe I love so much.

The tree in ‘A Charlie Brown Christmas’ embodies everything I love about Christmas: It won’t be perfect, it might even be a bit rubbish in places, but that’s OK.

There’s no pressure to have a perfect day. ‘Don’t hold the bar of soap too tight.’ as our says.

Christmas is full of gnarly bits. The day can be tricky for some, or just feel plain disappointing after all the hype. But it’s all balanced out for me by the creative energy I feel over the dark winter months.

What I asked Santa-Pie for

Pie (my 17 y.o. daughter) asked me what I wanted for Christmas, so I asked her to learn to play ‘Christmas Time is Here’ on piano - from ‘A Charlie Brown Christmas’. And she learnt it!

recorded this tiny snippet the other night. What a gorgeous Christmas present! (You can hear ’s wee one shouting in the background, she is soooo excited for Santa coming!)

Snowflakes

Gerry always makes these lovely snowflakes for the kitchen door using photocopy paper. So basic, but so pleasing. ❄️

More is more

I found this Santa Sleigh in a charity shop. I didn’t like the original plastic santa so I replaced him with THREE knitted santas.

Did you make it to The Good Ship Illustration Art Club?

Christmas Collage Art Club has become a Good Ship yearly tradition. If you missed it, you can catch up here.

Here’s what I made.

A totally irrelevant bit about a bear

I watched this film of a bear taking a nap today. It is one of the best things I have seen on the internet for ages. It made me think hard about bears. What must it be like to be a bear?

Watch here

I made you a Christmas Present 🎁

It’s a YouTube playlist that has all our favourite Christmassy things: The Ceefax advent countdown to Christmas in pixelated images, a bit of Fanny Craddock, a couple of snippets of the Father Ted Christmas special, some BBC trailers for Christmas telly in the 1980’s and some Christmassy Cilla Black. Enjoy!

🎁 here 🎁

What have you been making this winter? Do you like Christmas? Do you find it a particularly creative time? Or do you like to hide under the duvet until it’s done 😂

Have a happy holiday however you celebrate in your house.

love Helenx

IT’S TIME FOR A NEW #walktosee DRAWING PROMPT! ❄️❄️❄️

The prompt for December iiiiiisssss 🥁🥁🥁

#walktoseefestive

Think winter festivities: Food, lights, trees, baubles, sleeping uncles, mince pies, a wee dram, Rennies, new socks, dogs in light up deer antlers, I dunno! What goes on in your house?

Interpret it any way you fancy ✏️ Only one rule, your drawing must be drawn from life. I have a direct line to the art police 👮🏼 Just saying 👀

Have fun!

Helenx

This week Pie asked us to visit Glasgow School of Art with her.

To give you some context, GSA is where I studied and met Mr H, . Pie is thinking of applying, maybe this year, maybe next. Or maybe not. She’s going to visit lots of art schools before she makes a decision.

Anyway, since we studied there, back in the mumble, mumble (early nineties) the old Reid building has been knocked down and replaced, and the beautiful old Rennie Mackintosh building, that we took for granted back then, has burnt down. Twice!

So we wondered if it would feel the same. Would it feel Strange, would it have lost its essential Glasgow School of Artiness?

I can now report back: it feels right AND smells right. These are the two most important things to consider when choosing an art school.

But weirdly, everyone is a child now! I was 100% a grown up when I was 18! Ha!

Where did you study? Have you ever revisited? What was that like? I once opened a new library at my old primary school and was ALLOWED IN THE STAFF ROOM! Well, that’s not right is it? And they now have fire exits, I don’t think they had those in my day.

The Children’s Book Show Art Auction has started! Support their amazing work by bidding on this piece by moi, or a piece by Axel Scheffler, Yasmeen Ismail, Christian Robinson, Martha Altes, or one of the other brilliant picture book makers.

Here

That’s all for today, because I am on a train to London to see the Wes Anderson exhibition at the Design Museum. And maybe some

I will report back on that next week. Have a lovely Sunday.

Helenx

Yes, so as I was saying last time, if we are invited to visit a school, a book festival or do a stage show, we don’t need to turn ourselves into wacky children’s entertainers. We don’t have to learn to juggle or wear big clown shoes. 🤡

We can still be our low key illustrator selves. Phew!

Here

School visits or stage shows are easy if you break them down into bite sized chunks. I promised to show you the stage plan for the last show I did with Owen Sheers. We made the book Drew Moo and Bunny Too together: he the author, me the illustrator. We have performed this show for The Children’s Book Show three times now and loved every minute of it! *

A stage plan helps everyone know what they should be doing and when, including the tech guys who run the sound and lighting.

We make a plan, but we leave room to improvise. We don’t learn lines, my brain wouldn’t be up for that! We just jot a few pointers for things we’d like to talk about.

We broke the time into 5 minute sections, planning a good mix of quiet contemplative moments and funny or exciting moments. We have found that if Owen reads while I draw on a projector that works really well. And mixing those quiet moments with interactive moments where the children can shout out or come on stage makes a good contrast.

My top tip is to not put the Q & A at the end. It seems like a logical place, but that can feel like a disappointing and disorganised ending. I have found that a Q & A followed by a little something to say goodbye on a high works better.

Here is our plan, we actually changed it a bit after a final run through, but you get the idea.

Hope this helps! I’d love to hear your experiences.

Love Helenx

*The Children’s Book Show Art Auction starts tomorrow. I am selling a piece just like this one from Salty Dog, the book I made with , out next year.

I watched Guillermo del Toro’s adaptation of Mary Shelley’s classic novel Frankenstein — and cried. Wow, Mary Shelley could write a story couldn’t she? She was a just 19 when she wrote Frankenstein!

Mary Shelley was born to notable intellectual parents but tragically lost her mother shortly after birth and later experienced immense personal tragedy with the loss of her first three children and her husband, Percy Bysshe Shelley. Despite these hardships, she continued writing, publishing more novels and supporting herself, a feat uncommon for women at the time. After Percy Shelley’s death, she kept his calcified heart wrapped in his poetry in her writing desk. Her son found it after her death

Thanks google

Every tiny piece of this film is beautiful. Look at these costumes.

I saw a ghost. At long last. I have been waiting for an encounter like this all my life.

I read this Kathy Burke Bio. Isn’t Kathy brilliant? She is always uncompromisingly herself. You MUST read it. I listened on audio which was a proper treat because she reads it herself.

My book Smelly Peggy won a prize. But I don’t like to wang on about it. Oh go on then, here’s a couple of pictures.

At the Sheffield Book Awards, where my book won Best Toddler Book, did I tell you? I had some quick fun chats with who also sends out a weekly Sunday Substack called The Joy Parade. If you don’t subscribe already, then you MUST. Bossy pointy finger wagging in yer face.

My Partner Gerry Turley is making some new whale prints. Sign up to his Substack for news.

And tomorrow me and my pal are doing our FREE Picture Book Pitching Masterclass. Don’t miss it!

Masterclass

How did your week go? Have you ever seen a ghost lately?

Love Helenx

*I lured you in with the promise of sausages but there are actually no sausages

(Link here)

I should add, I don’t think dancing on stage makes you a childrens entertainer. I don’t think Yasmeen is doing anything she feels uncomfortable with, she is a naturally exuberant and life affirming human being.

And there is nothing wrong with being a children’s entertainer anyhoos! I love Mr Tumble. What a skill!

But of course, lots of illustrators are naturally introverted folks who like to express themselves through drawing and they enjoy working alone. The idea of getting on stage is terrifying.

Do I need to learn clowning skills, juggle, play guitar?

Nope. Phew, lets go home.

For me, it was not easy at first. I was nervous and had no idea what to expect. But I learned to do it through LOTS of trial and error. MANY errors and embarrassing moments like coughing fits or tech failure that meant I had to chat to an audience for ten minutes with no tech and no plan.

Through practice I have learned how to play with a theatre full of children while still being my pretty low key self.

So, this got me thinking…

In the early days did I feel a pressure to get on stage?

Well I was often invited, so I suppose that is a pressure of sorts. I could have said no I guess.

Why did I say yes when it made me nervous?

I thought there must be a way I could do it while still being myself. That idea made me excited. I always follow my nose and when I am feeling inspired or excited about something I know I have to follow that instinct.

Did I feel a pressure to be bigger or brighter or more entertaining than I really am?

Yes. Where did that pressure come from? From myself I think. But thankfully, I was too embarrassed to even try that! The idea made me excruciatingly uncomfortable. There was no way that was happening.

If I had said no would it have affected my career?

I don’t know, it’s hard to make that judgement. Maybe. I know I would have missed out on some of the most rewarding, exciting and fulfilling days of my career.

When did things fall into place for me?

I have learned that it is much easier than I ever imagined. It all clicked into place for me after my nieces, nephews and daughter were born. I saw their joy at the simplest things. I realised that children are always ready to connect. Connection and play with kids is easy.*

*Disclaimer. Unless you are trapped at home over a rainy school holiday when money is tight and life is stressful. That is a whole different ball game. It’s not non stop connection and play. Ha!

Play is simple: a drawing together, a chat where they take the lead, a story about literally ANYTHING, a game where the cheating is more fun than the game, let them stuff cotton wool balls between your glasses and your eyes (yes it happened), have a competition where you are rubbish at something that they are good at… All life affirming and genuinely entertaining.

Performing to a theatre full of children is actually no different. You are playing with nine hundred tiny nutters instead of one.

Connection is not about being big and showy. It is often about being quiet or contemplative. A good show has highs and lows, quiet moments and loud moments.

This was a revelation to me and made everything so much easier.

How to calm pre-show nerves:

It’s all in the panning. Prepare properly. This is really important. It was the writer, David Sanger who first told me this. He was my publicist at Scholastic at the time and he was so helpful. He said I should break the show into tiny sections and plan something for each section. Have some extras up your sleeve in case you whizz through things quickly, be ready cut something on the hoof if the audience are more rambunctious than usual, and the show takes longer.

I will talk more about that next time. I will share a stage plan I have used for the past three Children’s Book Shows.

Any final tips?

Before I go on stage I feel the nerves, but I take a minute in the green room to have a quiet word with myself. I have a ‘mantra’ that always calms my nerves and helps me feel grounded and ready:

I tell myself that we are all here: me, the theatre staff, the children, the parents or the teachers, to have fun together. The universe has brought us all together at this moment in time to enjoy each other. No one is waiting for me to fail, they are all open to having fun with me. If I ‘fail’ it won’t matter. We will all enjoy that too.

This is an interesting discussion isn’t it?

Would you like to see an example of one of my show plans?

Are you an author/illustrator feeling the pressure? Have you tried it? How did it go? Do you have any tips? Are you an author or illustrator who has never done this? Has that had an impact on your career?

More about planning next time.

Helenx

P.S. On Monday me and are doing a Picture Book Pitching Masterclass. It’s FREE! It’s at 1pm (uk time). See you there!

Masterclass