Herbs in different style. Sylveco wants to change something this year, and this is one of directions to be checked. But the news of the day is that I’ll be doing this Rainbow Babies book! So, there’s more sketching to do this weekend.
Last thing to do was a cover picture, to be wrapped all around the book. The rest of text will be added by author (keep warm, Patsy!). I feel very much like making big tea, wrapping in a blanket and reading The Clash of Kings for the rest of afternoon; Daenerys has just found a ship and she’s going to Seven Kingdoms. Her return will surely make the situation still more interesting. But this would be awfully lazy… OK, maybe in the evening. I still have a few things to do at the desk. Sylveco doesn’t want more herbs now, but they want a stylized plant ornament. There’s a lady in Warsaw, who wants an elf. Lets do something. Big tea is still an option, anyway.
Several babies are sketched and now the author needs a bit of time to think… final decision isn’t taken yet, she was checking more illustrators then just one. She’s got all rights to do it, of course. Weather is getting better, only -5 C and we have made with Basia full-length ride today. When there was big frost, our trips were very short. My horse is old! I hope winter will end early this year, it’s bad time for our retired animals. We take the dog home, when it’s too cold – I mean the other dog, Telesfor The Mongrel (Lori The Princess always stays home). Unfortunately there’s no way to take mares in. Sure they have their stable, but when its -18 at night, the stable freezes all over. When they were young, it was easier for them, now they are miserable after long cold night.
Last herb in this series is ready; just in time, because something has shown up on the horizon. Children poem consisting of 12 lines, one illustration per line; I’ll be sketching Rainbow Babies today. It’s always big pleasure to start: this is when you can use imagination. Later you just color your sketches and this is not so exciting (not that I complain… there are things I like much less then coloring pictures). What else? I will take Basia for a short walk in snow, dinner is almost ready and I don’t have to cook much, and in the evening we are going to see The Wolf of Wall Street. If only it was a little warmer (now it’s -15 C), I would call it a perfect day.
There are four more herbs to do for Sylveco; this is probably the nicest plant in this series. Ink drawing with digital coloring. 
It’s one of my favourite parts of “Snow Queen” story; Gerda was looking for Kay in a royal palace, and she found a prince and a princess sleeping in flower-shaped beds instead. I always thought this palace must have been a weird place; if beds were shaped like flowers, probably so was everything else. Blue ink and crayons.
Botanical illustration for Sylveco, old client of mine. Now they don’t call for drawings too often, as I have already drawn for them almost every possible herb. Black mallow is this year’s addition (good heavens, what can it be good for?)
I’m an owner of beautiful smooth beige paper; I’ve bought it a few months ago and now I’ve got it out of a drawer at last. What brand can it be? I’ve no idea. Anyway it’s a good for crayons, Ive just made a test.
Finished! Background is painted with watercolor paints, and the rest is done with watercolor pencils. I have recorded some work-in-progress stuff and now I need to think how to use it. But not at once. Now sun is shining and our animals want to go out.
