My Studio...(spring clean)

Visitors to this time, this place...

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The above is a piece of hand lettering I created of one of my favourite pieces of text. It's an Australian Aboriginal proverb and I think it's just lovely.

I love creating lettering and find it really relaxing. More of this to be posted soon, I hope!

1948.

My grandparents, Sid and Alice.

Primping under the sea...

Here's a doodle I did in my sketchbook of a little mermaid primping under the sea...

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And I couldn't resist colouring her in...

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I've had a busy few weeks with various book projects all coming to completion. I'll hopefully be back to blogging more regularly soon, and will fill you in with lots of exciting things.

In the mean time, why not have a read of this article written by me about my sketchbook secrets

Also, I'd love you to follow me on Twitter. I regularly post pictures from my sketchbooks there. (Also photos of my dogs...)
I'm @Alex_T_Smith 

What I Wore Today... (yesterday)

I wish my hair really did look just like this. It's sadly a bit shorter and always windswept. It caused my baby godson to stop the other day, point at it and then say 'oooh'... in a slightly alarmed fashion... :-(

Happy Valentine's Day

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SNEAK PEAK: Primrose

I'm VERY excited to be able to share with you a few sneak peaks at my forthcoming picture book 'PRIMROSE'.

Primrose is a princess. She has the pretty pink tiara, the pretty pink palace and the two prancing pink ponies to prove it. 

But being a princess, she thinks, isn't that fun. Everyone at the palace is so serious ALL the time and it's boring, boring, BORING.

Primrose and her little pug Percy like doing not very princessy things like climbing trees in the Royal Orchard and jumping on her bed and dressing up in monkey suits, but none of these things are deemed Proper.

Her Mum and Dad - the King and Queen are very worried about her as they want her to behave properly like a Proper Princess...

The King explains that trees aren't for climbing, they are for sitting under ON A CHAIR and practising your Princess Homework ( How To Wave Properly When Travelling In The Royal Carriage)...

It's the same everywhere she turns in the palace. She's not allowed to play board games, or dig up vegetables in the royal garden or even make cupcakes in the Royal Kitchen ( as she might drop egg down her dress and that would be Awful!)

There's only one thing for it. 

Grandmama will have to be summoned. 

If anyone can make Primrose into a Proper Princess, it's her...

But Grandmama has her own take on the problem and she soon gets the King and Queen joining in, with some surprising results...

You see, it simply doesn't do to be serious ALL the time....

Even Kings and Queens and Royal Grandmamas need to have some fun sometimes...

Primrose will be published in the UK by Scholastic Children's Books in April 2013. It's available to pre order online, but don't forget to support your local high street and independent book sellers