A New Thistle Painting and Card Front...

Hello there, and hope all is safe and well wherever you are when you're reading this.

It turns out that thistles (yup, those spiky plants) are deeply satisfying to draw, and come in the prettiest shades of purple and sage green, too.

The original digital watercolour was hand drawn and painted with a graphics pen.

And swiftly found its way into being a great card front for St Andrew's day, thistle-themed weddings, and all things Scottish.

Purple Thistle printable card front-click here for info

(You can download a sheet to print out right now-plus yummy matching inserts and backgrounds-from my Craftsuprint shop, here).

And whatever you're up to this week, have a good one.

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Free October Pumpkin Illustration, And Some News...

Click, tap or right-click here to download this illustration

Hello there

Yes, it's early in the week again, but thought you would appreciate having chance to see (and download, if you'd like), the free illustration for October.

About this image: The end of a series

The original image was a sketch in Inktense paint pans and pen, (finished with gold gel pen dots) which I then scanned into the computer, and boosted a little in Photoshop, so that it got back to its pre-scanning brightness.

More importantly though, image is a landmark in that it's also the end of a series. Over the last year or so, I have created at least one free illustration for each of the months (sometimes more than one) and also for other events,  most recently, the Equinox.

With this October drawing, this "seasonal," set of illustrations feels complete, at least for now. The free seasonal illustrations will all stay here as long as the blog does. I have no plans to move them, and you're absolutely welcome to use them (as set out in my angel policy) for as long as I can foresee when writing this.

What's next?

Moving forward, am feeling a real pull to take this blog back to its roots. I used to post simply whenever there was something I really wanted to share with you (which often meant that I posted more than I do now, rather than less). I really want to go back to posting in this way, rather than on a schedule, that can end up feeling a bit forced for all of us.

I also used to post art (like the pic below) related to my participating in online challenges, and I may do that again too.

"Yay!" One of my "Art Every Day Month"
images from November 2019

Honestly, it isn't all worked out yet...I just know I need to go back to the simplicity and joy of sharing work I enjoyed, along with the story of how it came be, and where it has ended up (be that a commercial design, or someone else simply enjoying it in their hands, or showing of what they've made based upon my design).

One of my first pieces of digital art,
from exactly 10 years ago-along with its story, here.

Honestly, there may also be more "how to", posts, because if I can learn to do this, really *anyone* who feels they really want to, can do it too, and I'd love more people to be able to experience the kind of joy that the last 10 years or so of art have brought me, for themselves.

There are also likely to be more (fun!) experiments as I love to share and try new things, and it keeps the energy high. Am thinking of things like this quiz, for instance...

Click here for the quiz...

What will the blog be like now?

Blogs at their best always feel to me like a cosy place in which stories like this can be shared, much more easily  than they can on other social media. (Which, I have to be honest, am using less and less. Please sign up here so that you always get to hear about my blog posts, if you currently follow me mostly on other social media).

So it feels as if  what's coming is that this can be a space of joy for all of us, rather than posting-or-reading-just-because-it's-Friday.

Will there still be freebies?

One thing you can be pretty confident about is that there will still be freebies. I've offered them whenever I can for the entire ten-years-plus of this blog, and I can't see that changing.

Most of all though...

Thank you *so much* for being here, for reading down this far, and for sticking around. It means a lot.

Watch out for new beginnings...soon...

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Equinox Spinning Globe Animated Gif

Click here to get this image without the watermark

Hello there, and hope all's well with you today.

Yes, I know it's extremely early in the week for me to be in touch. 

But it's September 20th already, so thought you might like this image to use in your projects or posts.

Researching the matter a bit more, it turns out that the Equinox this month seems to be taking place later than usual...Reports vary, and some even put the actual moment of Equilux (equal day and night around the globe) as late as Sept. 23rd, or even 25th. Can  you tell I'm not an astronomer :-) ?

Anyway...

What if you don't want to use it signed/watermarked?

If  you'd like to use it without the "BoundingSquirrel" signature, please consider  get it here. I've specifically designed it so that it's relevant for any Equinox, and as I type this, you can click here to grab it for an experimental pay-what-you-want price (including free).

That's all for now, but thanks so much for dropping by, and more soon.

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A Splooting Squirrel "Take It Easy" Gif...

 Download this squirrel gif here if you wish

Hello there.

What a week. Don't know about you, but I'm left baffled and wondering about so many things this week.

Without boring you with any of them, it also meant that when this squirrelly figure and his or her most important message demanded to be drawn, I was more than willing.

For one thing, when would I not draw a squirrel? (This is "BoundingSquirrel.Com after all. And there's not easier way to cheer up-IMHO (!)-than by drawing a squirrel).

For another, am just feeling a tad exhausted (we also received sad news about a friend's death on a personal and *not* global level this week) and really needed the reminder to take things easy. 

There's a lot "in the air" right now for all of us, whether you're feeling it personally or not. So maybe am not the only one.

But I still haven't answered your most important question, have I? Which is probably...

What the heck is "splooting", anyway?

Splooting (don't you just love the word, without more?) it turns out, is the name for that posture that squirrels (and other furry mammals) do when they lead to lose maximum heat on a hot day, and so lie flat and stretched out with their bellies against the coldest surface they can find.

By doing this, they lose heat from the maximum surface area they can in the shortest time, apparently. (And in the most comfortable, and most exertion-free way too, am guessing).

It seems that the original name for this was "heat-dumping,". But there's no contest between the two, is there? "Splooting," just describes the posture so well, and almost viscerally.

Sooo...

So that's the week in a nutshell, folks (sorry, couldn't resist the pun). Please *do* take this as you permission slip (if you need one) to take things easy as well.

And feel free to download and share the gif with anyone else you think might like or appreciate it.

Take care, and more soon.
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Quick Sketch of a Corgi

Hello there

It's Friday, but very hard to know what, if anything, to post on a day like this. 

Here in London, the atmosphere is so...quiet.

Whatever a person's opinion about royalty as a concept, anyone who spent 70 years  opening hospitals and listening to pontificating politicians at dull dinners,  deserves at least a nod, and thanks for their service.

That got me to thinking about, by contrast, how important and enjoyable her corgis might have been for her. 

So, in very much a change to the post I was planning this week, here's a digital line and wash painting of a corgi. It was a quick affair, this morning, obviously,  in Krita.

Quick corgi sketch-download here

 But I hope it makes you smile. And feel free to use it if you need it in a project, either now, or later.

More soon.

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