Spirit of the New Year

Meet Spirit, he is a character in my next Children's book. 'Kirill goes to the USA'. In the background of the scene I have painted, El Capitan' a magnificent mountain in New Mexico in the range of the Guadalupe mountains in the South East of New Mexico. This is my first effort using oils and I am delighted with the result. Thank you , yet again to Raisa for my 'Masterclass'. I am already sketching the next image for Spirit and the other characters for the next episode of Kirill the Kostroma Crocodile, as he searches for the truth and his family.


Using oil is a completely different experience from the watercolours that I have been using for my illustrations. The techniques are fascinating and I would like to explore more.

To do more drawing and painting are one of my New year's resolutions. It helps me relax and chill out. I went into the session with a massive headache after the stress of an online English class with a group of 3 x 5 year old Chinese kids and a neighbour who decided to start drilling the moment the class started!

Oh the joy of living in a Kruschovka block of flats!
Paper thin walls and neighbours from Hell!

A start to a decade that I will begin very soon as a retired person ' officially in August 2021. How strange to think that I will be of retirement age anyway!

But then again isn't it what you are supposed to do when you are retired~? Paint , draw, write and do things you never really had time to do before?

Lets see if it happens! I will probably work for the rest of my life! I certainly hope so anyway, at least to the point of doing what I want to do and not what everybody else wants me to do!

Quite apt that I was wearing my Texas t shirt. A visit to the USA that I will never forget, an amazing part of the world!

January is a month that I will visit one of the most famous Russian cities in history.  The city of Stalingrad, now known as Volgograd,
An adventure I am really looking forward to and writing about.