Still learning to use my new pen-tablet and Photoshop digital art techniques - I could not resist drawing this sketch, all drawn and coloured digitally...

I've just started dabbling with digital painting - I never realised how much FUN it can be! It's like painting with light instead of paint...My son had been wanting to try it but we didn't have a digital painting program, so I went and treated us to a small graphics tablet last week which came with Photoshop Elements as a starter package. I've been on the computer almost constantly since, learning how to use the program (my son is a great help as he's good at working out what to do, I got totally confused at first and couldn't remember how I did things!LOL) But here is one of my first speed-sketches, not refined yet but he wanted to come and say Hello! I used a mixture of traditional painting and digital - the background is a scan of traditionally painted textured ink layer, and I painted the creature on top digitally. This is the Weed Creature, whose hair and fur is composed of plant material, he can move around dropping seeds wherever he goes....

 In my garden I think he has a lot to do with the dandelions which are now in full flower like a golden swathe everywhere - I love dandelions, such sunny flowers and I keep them especially, they are a great early source of nectar for butterflies the first of which I saw here on 27th april (a Peacock and two Small Tortoishells).

I'm in an excited mood this morning as I've just found that some images I submitted to Epilogue ( www.epilogue.net  - online art gallery of Fantasy and Sci-fi art) have been accepted!! I signed up there last week and as their selection process can take a few days I've been checking hopefully every day, then this morning was delighted to find that my first submissions have been selected and I now have a gallery page there! 

I have to confess that I squealed quite a lot when I found I'd been accepted...my tabby cat came running to see if I was OK. This cat has always been protective over me - on one occasion when I started laughing hysterically at something I was reading on the web she jumped up onto a chair next to me, put her paw on my shoulder and peered into my face in concern then sniffed suspiciously at a bottle of lager I had been drinking...

Two blogs in a row today! But I just had to show you this photo I just took of a magical sight through my window a few minutes ago! A beautiful pair of Mandarin Ducks swimming in my pond...the daffodils are looking beautiful right now too. The ducks had flown in from elsewhere...one of my cats was lurking nearby watching them bemusedly. I took the photo through the kitchen window not to disturb them in case they flew off, which they did as soon as I crept outside to get a closer view.

Having seen the layouts for the Barnes & Noble "Faeryland Calendar 2009" I just wanted to let you know that it looks like it's going to be a stunningly beautiful and collectable publication. I am delighted that three of my images have been chosen for inclusion. The calendar is due out later this year (October I think).

Also due for publication later this year is Linda Ravenscroft's new book "How to Draw and Paint Fairyland" (Linda has already mentioned this book in her blog here). I'm absolutely delighted that work of mine is included in this book too :)