A section of my latest black and white piece inspired by coffee:

The entire piece.

I have decided with my black and white pieces to offer them up with font and wording. I love to do my black and white drawings and I also love product design and I find they go rather well together.

This Coffee Witch says what we all feel most mornings.

And even though this was my actual coffee whilst sketching and designing this piece at the cafe yesterday.

I was actually considering my own favourite cup often enjoyed at home on my terrace.

And that design, often referred to as Blue Willow, inspired this version of the Coffee Witch in Blue and White.

This has been a particularly hectic week for me.

In fact, I hope to return to daily posting again when I finally see the tail end of this week. This time of the year, end of Summer, is often one of my busiest. It is no wonder, then, that my increase in my black and white drawings has occured.

I've also said in the past that when I do these type of drawings they are a sort of meditation for me. I decided years ago that each day would have drawing in it. I also decided that I'd like a piece done each day, even if that means simply capturing a study in watercolour or framing out a sketch in colour to feel it is a piece in and of iteself.

Often these 'pieces' are part of a larger piece, requiring much more time to finish, but that feeling of 'done' has become important to me. So, when faced with a week like this: with much art to do, some deadlines, dealing with my two rental cottages; the desire to finish a thing and also feel I'm in my calm place is pretty important.

I am happy that art can be both an occupation and a place in which to escape.

I certainly don't mean it isn't hard work or can be very frustrating, but I also know it is and can be an escape from the rush of life or the stress of the modern world.

Art has always been that escape for me.

Drawing has been a part of me since before I could write. In wanting to convey stories as a child the pictorial path seemed the only way and it simply stuck with me as I learned to read and write. Even now, my art work is first 'story' for me.

Now, another thing that has been weighing on me as well as taking up some time, yet not getting enough of that rare commodity, is my website. It sits idle offline whilst I take stabs at it here and there. My hope was to move most of my product sales (prints, house wares, clothing) to it through various makers. However, it has not been done, so in the meantime I need to continue to add and update things to Society6.

There are quite a few sites like this that allow artists to sell their wares and I am thinking of actually using more of them before I finish up my site. I have had some pretty good success with society6 and even other's who have bought my fine art and prints have used it to get my things on bags, curtains, etc.

It was an easy choice, then, this morning to take my Coffee Witch and give her some words and place her on some things. And I rather think she works pretty good for that, don't you?

You can Check out the various items with the Coffee Witch on them Here

I'm actually amazed at the things they are beginning to add, even furniture like sideboards and benches and things. And they now offer wallpaper, which I think is great, as I was trying to find a source for that.