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2006

!3th August

July and August merged together as all I did was paint to finish the Little One for Little Brown in the USA. Eventually the work was completed and after initial trouble where the package proved to be too big for the post office it flew to New York (uninsured and with me in a mild state of panic) and arrived safely and to much positive affirmation. This left me free to go to London and pick up my new computer.

Driving across England it seemed as if the whole country was haymaking, and all the fields glowed golden in the evening sunlight and smelled that sweet smell of new mown hay.

The first seal pup was born while I was away and is on the beach behind the house, all fresh in a white coat too big for it. And a few other seals are around waiting to give birth.

The hawks have all fledged and are teaching the youngster to hunt or knocking each other out of the sky in amazing aerial battles as they fight for territory.The ravens have fledged and there are gangs of 8 and 10 flying around in groups and learning to tumble with their wings folded in tight, flying upside-down

The advance copies of Can You See A Little Bear arrived and I was delighted to see that the Danish edition has the cover that I had preferred, and I was over-excited to receive Korean editions of The Seal Children and The Lord of the Forest.

Other than that nothing much has happened.

The Shalom House Christmas card is in the shops.

To order cards contact Rachel Davies on llancoed@btinternet.com

The Musicians Benevolent card is also out now. To order copies you can go to the Musicians Benevolent Trust website.

Due to the success of the print for last years mbf card there will soon be a print of this image to add to the small but growing print catalogue. To reserve a print email me. For prices on prints see the prints section of the web site.

Whilst browsing around after work of an evening I stumbled across the web site of a Dutch illustrator, Lotte Klaver. Her sketchbook is a joy, full of regularly updated, beautifully observed drawings. Well worth a browse and worth returning to for the latest in her sketchbook journal. And the web design is lovely too, very clean and fresh.

For much of August I have been reading books about pirates and trying to get some writing together for a bursary, in order to buy time to write a longer book.

Country Walking magazine has some lovely pictures of Bella and Floss and myself out for a misty walk through the landscape in The Seal Children.

I have also been working on invitations for the exhibition in Walcot Chapel, Bath, in November, and paintings for the exhibition at the new gallery, Against the Grain, in St Davids, in October.

By the end of August Little Brown sent through photocopies of the text with pictures and the cover set with the text. Everything is looking lovely, and the cover is strong and elegant. I wanted it to show the moment when Mary is alone with her child for the first time. I remember that close intimacy with my children when they were first born, particularly the smell of them and the warmth of them, holding them close and safe for the first time.

There are now at least 6 seal pups on the beach and the September page will have photos as the pups grow and more seals arrive.

next..........