I imagine the little Chinese Pekingese porcelain pieces in the local second oddity/antique/five millionth hand furniture shoppe inspired this monster. Awhile ago I was very taken by an independent female illustrator that had taken to a particular style with her illustrations of dogs, it’s a shame I can’t remember her name or I’d provide a link to her work.

I also think he was inspired by this character in Rupert. His name is Ping Pong.

Here is a fun exercise for putting together a sketchbook. I last recall doing it in Syria (ofcourse I’d done it every time I’d studied Art) – but you basically go back through the work you’ve done, as you fill the sketchbook out – to improve on it. I think it was first verbalised by a tutor at University, the idea of doing that. Art teachers prefer that there is evidence of a development through a sketchbook, which is why I think I must have so many. I liked being able to practice stuff in other notebooks. I have notebook hierarchies and those hierarchies actually change every time I sort through my old diaries, sketchbooks, notes and personal ephemera.

I think this was inspired by Phillip Ridley. I talk about these covers all the time. But if I hadn’t of seen them and they hadn’t of remained in my memory, it’d be a very different portrait of Goggles protecting food.

Goggles was a cockerspaniel friend of mine that occasionally got bitey, but no one that knew her would’ve cared. The first time I ever saw into a crystal ball, and it was for long enough to make a clear form – I saw Goggles. I was living at Bernie’s in Hackney. Abraham Hicks says you can invite old friends back into your life through pets, even pets that have already passed on. I think that the body has a consciousness of it’s own so it’s unfair to do that – but I think it’s safe to say I could cope with a dog that had a personality split of sorts. Imagine how tiring it is to be a medium (and it is) and to be channelling the spirits of other things (which means ‘playing host’) and that they use your energy (it’s a currency) and then if you’re an INFP, according to Abraham Hicks, the people simply thinking about you at any given time are sharing energy with you and if you’re an introvert – that means they’re taking from you too.

I’ve been working on this illustration for awhile. The ladies that inspired that style and use of colour to no small degree are listed below. The French artists Miss Van and Fafi, though.

These are some notes on the eye I made.

I imagine I’ll upload better versions of these images. But I kind of like the iPhone shadow.

I think I’ll be using my facebook account to document my sketchbook journeys, I can’t consider another reasonable use for it that might be of any further benefit me.

Truthfully I use Facebook for many things. K?