On the Journey to a Published Book (oh, and a bit of a Giveaway too)

Hello

I've been deeply immersed in my painting and drawing work of late.  I've been spending time working on both this farm animal inspired scene and some line and wash work (featuring rabbits) to send to my agent, not to mention filling my sketch pad with frenzied doodles and notes! 

Since my Focus Meeting which I wrote about in my last post, I've found myself being very motivated and driven, and the ideas for these new pieces of work have seemingly appeared out of nowhere.  This, I believe, is the gift of sitting down with yourself and eeking out what it is you really want to be doing with your life.  I'm a firm believer that the Universe will deliver the goods if you only focus upon what it is you actually want to be doing, believe that it's going to happen and then do what is necessary to get things moving (by which I mean that sitting around dreaming on a soft cushion isn't going to deliver the goods, you have to use a bit of action to get the ball rolling, if you get my drift).


This might sound like hocus pocus to some, but I have living proof that magic and miracles occur when we invest energy and action in ourselves and our dreams.


Anyway, I decided at my Focus Meeting that I needed to invest some energy into getting myself a children's book to illustrate so I contacted my agent last week and told her that I was in the process of creating some new work for her portfolio.  My agent is a very lovely, but very busy lady so I was delighted to hear back from her a few days later with some very uplifting news.


She has had a lot of interest in my work from many different publishers, but due to the economic climate, they're just not producing as many books as they were before and so therefore, competition is high.  This was a huge boost in two ways:  One, I'm delighted that publishers are liking my style and what I do.  Two, it means I have to go that extra yard to make sure that they choose my stuff for their books over all the zillions of other illustrators who are all gunning for the same work!


I love a challenge.


At the end of the email, she mentioned that she had been chatting with a publisher the day before who liked my work very much, and had asked if I had any ANIMAL THEMED WORK they could see which might be useful...


...I nearly fell off my chair.

You may call it serendipity or a miracle (because I could have started to paint anything when you think about it).  I'm still on my journey to getting a book to illustrate but I know a sign that I'm on the right track when I see one!

I'll keep you posted as things progress :D

Meanwhile, Spring is springing here all over the place, and it put me in the mood to host a little Giveaway!

SO!

One lucky person can win a fine art print of one of my favourite pieces; 'Home' as shown above.  The print will be titled and signed by myself.
  
To be in with a chance of winning it, all you need to do is leave me a comment under this post telling me what your favourite children's book was when you were small and why.  A winner will be drawn next Monday.  Please feel free to share this post with your friends and family by clicking on the Facebook, Twitter and Blog buttons below.


Good luck to you, and have an enormously happy week!


Love Julia x x x


**edited to add:  I am absolutely blown away by all your kind comments regarding my journey to getting a book to illustrate - I hope I haven't confused anyone into thinking I've actually got a book to do yet, as I  haven't - but I hope to one day - I just wanted to clear that up and make sure I hadn't given the wrong impression anywhere in my post.  Thank you anyway, for all your heartwarming positive messages, I will definitely let you know as and when things progress!  You're all so lovely x x x

Sea Breezes, Salty Air and a Lightbulb Moment

Hello friends,

It's been a while since I did a blog post but here I am again, finally!  We've been enjoying the half term holiday which flew by and we made the most of it by pootling south to see my sister.

On Saturday, we went to Aldeburgh in Suffolk.  Aldeburgh is a very pretty seaside town full of gorgeous old ice-cream coloured buildings that cluster along the edge of a very pebbly shore.  There are little black wooden shacks that sell fish fresh in from the boats, and some of these boats sit in a tipsy fashion on the pebbles surrounded by nets and lobster pots.

There was a fine sea breeze blowing when we arrived and the sky was a bleached white filled with large scudding grey clouds and the odd shaft of pearly gold sunlight.  Lone gulls circled above the fish huts and called out from high above.  It is music to the soul to hear a gull cry after many months of being restless inland.

Whilst the Smalls amused themselves chucking big stones into the waves, I wandered off to ponder the old boats that had been left to the mercy of the elements.  I like to get close and see all the different textures of the peeling paint, the colours, the layers, the rust and the erosion.

 

It was during my solitary wander that I got around to a bit of Thinking.  Over the last few weeks, I've been feeling increasingly flat (one of the reasons I haven't blogged to tell you the truth).  I couldn't work out why; I mean I was happy enough in general but it felt like something was missing and I felt as though I were drifting. 

I spoke to a fellow artist friend about it and he told me that as a single Dad he'd had a similar experience - all those years looking after a Small quite intently without a minute to call your own and then suddenly they're away to school and BAM, there you are, you get a big chunk of your life back to do with what you will.  In so many words he told me that this flat period was quite natural after the full on nature of being a full time parent non stop for four years, and he had a point.  It was almost like my body and mind were telling me 'OK - stop - you can relax now' but I was (foolishly) ignoring it.  Anyone with a child or children of their own will know how amazingly rewarding being a parent is but they will also know that it is a journey that shifts, changes and evolves all the time.  It can be tiring, testing and unpredictable but you go non stop, 24/7, without question.

And it all made sense.  I understood that I hadn't given myself the space to really unwind from that, and I saw that I needed time to re-adjust and to gently work out what to do next.  I looked back over the last few weeks and realised how BUSY I had kept myself, but despite that busyness hadn't really ACHIEVED much.  I had become exceptional at creating BUSYNESS, and I had become the worlds best procrastinator.

I was running away from all the empty space that my daughter had left behind, and I was terrified of facing my life head on again and reclaiming that time as my own.

It was time to stop procrastinating and get my joy back.  As I listened to the seagulls calling in that February sky I decided it was time to create purpose and direction in my life again.

 

So when we came home and Small went back to school, I took myself off into town for a Focus Meeting.  That sounds really important and business like but to tell you the truth my solo Focus Meetings rock; they take place in bookstore coffee shops, involve big mugs of coffee, lunch in delicious veggie cafes and visits to local galleries.  I took a sketchbook, fineliners and a pencil and wrote stuff down.  I asked myself questions and I wrote everything down.  I came to the conclusion that I would be happiest right now creating a new portfolio of work for my agent.  I would fill my days with stuff that filled me up but I wouldn't overwhelm myself in the process; my days would have structure and meaning and I'd achieve stuff without running myself into the ground. 

I can really recommend a Focus Meeting to anyone who feels a bit stuck in life, just make sure you wear something cheerful to remind you to keep it fun; it will also help the inspiration to flow if you're feeling marvellous.  Find a nice cafe to sit in, treat yourself and take yourself to places that will delight and inspire you.

Red shoes for me are pretty much essential on a Focus Meeting day...

...as is staring happily at ocean coloured waterfalls.

For the first time in a while, I have a purpose of my own.  It feels kind of nice, like putting on a comfy pair of shoes.  I feel like I'm doing what I ought to be doing, and I feel optimistic and vibrant, excited about the future.  I still love my role as Mum and unmarried housewife ;) but I'm now, at last, enjoying doing stuff for me too.

 

 

Julia x