Thursday, 19 June 2025

Happy Sun Illustration and Animated Gif Free Download

Hello there

Just in time for the summer solstice here in the Northern Hemisphere, here's a shining sun illustration that you're welcome to download and use if you'd like.


Image is a hand drawn smiling, happy sun in bright shades of orange and yellow.
Click, right-click or tap here to download this 
"Happy Sun" Illustration.



This bright and fun sun will add light and warmth to any social media post, newsletter or website. Use to represent summer holidays, the summer solstice, or any time a post needs cheering up. 

 It's free to you as a subscriber or visitor to BoundingSquirrel.Com, to download for personal and small business use. 

Credit and links to Clare Walker at BoundingSquirrel.Com are always appreciated, but never required. Just please don't sell it separately (my full "angel policy" terms are here if you need them).


Get this a moving gif image if you prefer



If you'd prefer the moving version of this image, then please click or tap  here to see and download it.

Most of all, I hope this is as fun and uplifting for you as it was for me to create. Thanks so much, as ever, for being here (and for reading down this far).

Update after posting...

I wasn't going to do this, but something told me to pop this illustration onto some items at Redbubble...And they looked like this, for example...

The same Happy sun image from the rest of the post is shown here on a throw willow with an azurite blue background.
Happy Sun Throw Pillow


And now I really am going. But there will be...

Thursday, 12 June 2025

A New "Digital Gouache" Style and Nature Journal Illustrations

Hello there

First of all, hope all's well with you. Second, thanks so much for hanging in there and waiting whilst the blog has been...sporadic, shall we say? :-)


Image shows bright yellow gorse flowers in a flat colour inkled style. Some are along a gorse brand, one is a bud, and the third is a clos-up of a gorse flower.
"Yellow Gorse Flowers"
Nature Journal Page



Now though, I'm feeling (a bit!) happier and less nervous to unveil a new (to me) art style, that just turned up without warning and definitely seems to want to stick around. (AKA, I can't seem to do anything other than this at the moment). It started when I wanted to draw the flowers from a recent trip to Cumbria...And resulted in the gorse nature page above...

And these more dramatic Welsh poppies (also plentiful on the roadside in Cumbria a few weeks ago) that turned into a card for a friend.

Image is a square on which orange-yellow poppy like flowers, some scrubby vegetation and a white butterfly, are inked and arranged as an illustration , on a ble background.
"Welsh Poppies on Blue"




What is this style?

I'm not even sure how to describe this style yet. So instead, I'll just tell you how it appears to want to be done. It isn't gouache (ie completely opaque water paint). No, this is digital, using just a fat ink brush in Krita, few layers, and a tiny bit of blending.

As for what to do with this new style, I don't have a clue about that either, (yet). 

But as it does seem to want to stick around, I thought it only right to share what I know, so far.

So, please watch this space as things evolve. And thanks again (soooo much) for your patience.

Friday, 30 May 2025

Cards for Men: A New Cartoon and Some Ideas

Hello there

It's time for a complete change of pace today. And especially time to focus on cards for men. For upcoming Father's day cards, yes, but also occasions beyond that. Hence this barbeque cooking cartoon:

In this cartoon card featuring a hapless Dad and unsurprised family, the caption reads: Something made the rest of the family  suspect that Dad had been allowed  to barbecue unsupervised again...
Click or tap here to see the full
cartoon, available to personalise and
buy as a download or physical card on Zazzle.


And yes, if you've been following this blog a while, you might remember that my own dad died in 2023.

But in thinking about this, I decided to honour and celebrate him via a cartoon. Because many people in my life seem to love cartoons. But few have ever loved or appreciated a funny cartoon as much as my Dad did.

And in seeing the many Father's Day and "male birthday" cards around, I noticed that they all seem to assume that Dads are barbeque masters. And I'm sure many are. But my Dad simply wasn't. 

Socialising-for sure, he'd be first to chat. Opening wine or beer bottles and being a convivial host? Absolutely.

But spending happy and productive time making edible or unsinged food behind a barbeque grill? Nope. You would never have found him there willingly, for the sake of everyone's health and safety.

And so, in the great British tradition of celebrating ineptitude, I created this card to help everyone celebrate the lovable men in their life who might *not* (yet) be a barbeque king.


But if that's not your thing...

But if that's not your thing, my Zazzle store can still help out on the "cards for men," quest.

This bowls favourite is available for bowls enthusiasts,


or the cards I've posted more recently for bird watchers or golfers.

And if *your* dad, father-figure or man-who-needs -a-card likes (or has other strong feelings about) tech, there's also this one, 




Without forgetting of course, the old standby of beer:



(And yes, I know that plenty of women drink beer, love tech, play golf, or whatever else. "Cards for men," just happens to be the focus of attention in this post).


A practical point...

And, as a point of absolute practicality rather than false scarcity, if Father's Day 2025 (Sunday 15th June) is on your mind, it would make sense to buy physical cards sooner than later.

But...

But if you're reading this later, or simply would prefer to share a virtual image. these cards are all downloadable too. (And-at the time of writing, anyway- this use via the Zazzle licence extends to personal social media use, should you choose).

So, one way or another I hope there's something that works for a male card recipient in your life here.

Finally...

I don't plan always to post my new cartoons here. If you'd like to see them as they appear (not to a schedule !) please follow me on my CartoonsbyClare store directly.

And so this means...Yes, I will still be posting things other than cartoons too (watch this space for other artwork soon).

And more than anything, I hope all's well with you.

Thanks so much for being here, and for reading down this far.