Okay, okay, I lost a few days there somehow. Man, I really hate those random time-slips that just swirl up out of nowhere and suck you forward without the slightest warning, leaving you stunned wondering where the weekend went. Or is that the champagne?

But enough of this levity – back to the molto serioso business of Art Every Day. How are you guys getting on with creating something every day this month?

I had to go to London on Monday, and anyone who knows me knows that I freakin’ adore travelling into London for the day. NOT. The stress of four hours of cars, trains, tubes and crowds en route, along with noise, dirt, millions of people and too much pollution in the air, always means two things: one, I catch some hideous lurgy from the foul miasmas, and two, I need a day to recover afterwards. So yesterday was my recovery day, spent napping and nursing a headache, which had more to do with stress and travel than the champagne reception* the night before. Really, it did. I know this because I always get one from London and I certainly don’t always get champagne.

Despite that, I was determined to make the effort to at least do something tiny and creative. I had taken a Moleskine sketchbook with me to London, but I was on one of those new-fangled swingy, tilty Virgin trains on the way down, and believe me, if you’ve ever felt travel sick while reading in a car, you don’t want to be reading when that thing does its scrambler-fairground-ride corners at 100mph. Nuh-uh.

And on the way back, it was nearly midnight and there was the effect of the champagne to contend with as well, so I’m not really sure if that one was a swingy, tilty train or not.

Eventually, after my recovery day, though I finally managed to pull out that sketchbook and do some doodles while watching a film. I’ve been wanting to play with some line work for a while now, as there’s a style of illustration that really appeals to me, using a lot of strong line and vibrant colour. It seems to suit some fantastical subjects really well, and portrays things like drapery, costume and texture beautifully. So here’s my doodle from last night, which started out as swirling lines and somewhere along the way turned into a woman’s hair:

Line doodle that became hair

I’m not really sure where I’m going with this, whether it will filter into the textile work through stitched lines, or whether it’s something I need to pursue with traditional media. I did this with a black Pigma Micron pen because I wanted to force myself to commit to the lines and not continually sketch them until they were right. When you’re comfortable with a lot of redrawing in graphite, it can be intimidating to commit to ink straight away, so I’d like to develop more confidence in my line for when I need it.

I’d love to fill this notebook with nothing but black line doodles to explore all the possibilities here. Look out for more anon.

*The champagne reception? I still work part-time at the old day job with some lovely, creative, generous people and Monday was a big company meeting held at a West End theatre, followed by a champagne and canapé reception and a VIP visit to see the musical Jersey Boys at another West End theatre. With a backstage tour after the show. Very cool. And fun. And yes, I am a very lucky girl sometimes.

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