Welcome to another New Year
...and all the ups and downs that come with that.
Happy New Year Friends =)
Hoping December was good to you all, and if you celebrate the festive season, I hope it was full of merriment and good cheer.
If you read my last post you will know that Christmas features very highly in my yearly event calendar.
Since moving out to Australia I’ve had to make a bigger effort to conjure the magic of Christmas.
In Scotland it was easy. Ridiculously easy for an over excitable Christmas nerd like me. A simple stroll into town after sunset (so, 2pm basically), wrapped in a woolly scarf and winter coat, gingerbread latte in hand, to gaze in wonder at the decorated shopfronts with their glittering trees and shiny Christmas wares was all the festive tonic I needed.
The frosted streets and chestnut carts, the coal fires, carol singers, talking door wreaths, three ghosts, and a old man in a nightcap buying a turkey ……Ok, so that’s a Dickensian Christmas1 and not what happened, but you get the idea.
By comparison, Australia is a different experience altogether.
Building sandmen instead of snowmen and switching out roast dinner for a fresh papaya salad on the beach is all well and good, but as a self-confessed festive fanatic (say that five times fast), I need my yearly traditional Christmas fix in order to function the rest of the year.
Enter my advent calendar challenge.2
In order to instil some festive joy into my generally very sunny, very humid life here in the Tropics, I decided to set myself the goal of sketching a simple Christmas motif each day…
…which I then coloured in Procreate and shared to instagram.
By the end of the 24 days my imagined advent calendar was looking pretty smart and I, in turn, was feeling pretty Christmassy.
But alas, it is now the New Year and into it we must bravely go, with all its ups and downs, its possibilities and potential.
And that’s the interesting thing about working in illustration. You never know what’s around the corner, which can be both daunting but also fun - a bit like waiting to see what’s under the Christmas tree and hoping it’s the thing you asked for.
“Dear Santa,
I would like to work on a lovely book project about woodland animals in the snow.
I would also very much like a sunshine-yellow bicycle.”3
I realise I’ve swerved back into Christmas again. My apologies. It’s an issue us festive-types have. It can take us a while to wean ourselves off the seasonal magic. I should be back to almost normal by July.4
This year is set to be a busy one for me, on both the work and personal front. My husband and I have a big move ahead of us which will require some serious logistical organisation if we are to navigate our tight work schedules successfully, but we are excited about the new life our move will bring, and I think starting the new year looking forward to the NEW is always a good way to begin.
Looking forward then.
As my publishing projects start to gain some momentum I hope to be able to share more insights into my experiences in the children’s book industry, and to also share what I’ve been up to behind the scenes - agents, submissions, dummy books, writing etc, and also other stuff, like commissions and licensing work.
Hopefully it will make for a fun and useful read =)
Until next time.
Caroline ✏️✨
And as always, here’s a couple of resource’s, to kick off 2025.
The super talented (and productive) Steph Fizer Coleman is offering 12-months of sketchbooking guidance for $67 USD*
For those who aren’t looking to sign up to a full 12 months of sketch book advice, Steph is also offering a FREE guide:
10 Ways to Loosen Up in Your Sketch book
Along with some sketchbook focussed classes over on Skillshare:
An Easy Intro to Sketch Book Practice
If getting back to your sketchbook is a resolution of yours then Steph offers lots of options for stepping into the new year with a refreshed practice =)
*I’m not affiliated with Steph’s courses in any way but I have been a student of many and she always offers great value for money.
If you’ve read this far and you’d like to, please give the post a quick like - it will help me to better see who’s read and engaged with it - many thanks!
A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens - maybe you’ve heard of it?
I actually attempted this personal challenge Christmas 2023 but didn’t get much further than numbering 24 squares before I ran out of steam. Committing to my advent calendar illustrations this year was important to me from both an accomplishment perspective and a festive one =)
An apple-green bicycle would be equally acceptable, just please be sure to credit the talented elf who painted it.
Just in time for Christmas in July. What is Christmas in July?
It was a treat to see your advent calendar build throughout the month Caroline! And what an amazing finished piece! Makes me enjoy the holiday even more!
I loved seeing your advent pieces pop up all through the month of December, Caroline and so did the kids! I love that you embrace all things festive so wholeheartedly and am SO excited for the big things ahead for you this year, especially a move back to where your Christmas heart thrives. :) Cheers to 2025!