Hi to all. I do hope your Christmas break has been relaxing and you are once again immersed in your art, work, reading, or whatever moves you most. While our holidays are behind us here, there have been many disruptions to my intended outpouring of my art and writing project. I decided this week to give you some idea of why I’ve stalled on my most adventurous art project yet – a graphic novel. I decided to write myself back into this project, and here is some of what I wrote…

… After several months of false starts; after producing several rough sketches and trialling various art papers to suit the finished work, I was still no further ahead as to how I could achieve my aims. Finally, I bought smoother paper while on holiday, which appeared to suit the mediums I wished to use; a mix of watercolour, aquarelle pencils, graphite and perhaps ink pen.

What I did know, was that I’d now have to sketch straight onto the new paper, bypassing one process. It meant I’d need to repeat the images already drawn. And so my procrastination continued. Then, yesterday I decided to write out the scenarios I thought would best suit the book, and number them, rather like the time-lines I have used for long fiction in the past. It certainly has helped put me in a better frame of mind, and given me the push I need to ‘just get going’ again.

One scenario quite early on in the ‘story’, is when I introduce my fabulous Great Aunt Agnes, who was instrumental in introducing the world of travel to me at a young age.

She was a teacher, who cared for her adult sister Maud, whose husband and daughter were deceased.

Agnes would save like crazy through the school term, and when possible travel overseas, to such places as Hong Kong, Ceylon (now Sri Lanka), Hawaii, and Canada.

On return from her travels ( this was in the 1950s), she would have the family around for tea and sultana cake, and once we’d finished, she would hand around the gifts she had bought for the children.

From her Hong Kong trip, for example, my brothers received balsa wood boats, and my sister and I were given tiny ivory elephants and necklaces.

(Agnes’s full name was Miss Agnes Cawthron Scott-Watson O’Brian. I loved saying her names to my friends at the time I remember).

Below is one of my early rough sketches of a scene at our Great Aunt’s. One brother is sneaking a look through the living room window, to see where the Hawaiian Guitar music is coming from. Aunt Agnes of course! She also had an upright piano and loved to belt out tunes in Honky Tonk style. No wonder I loved her.

I shall work on this concept more when I start on the new smooth paper!