Winter Warmings

Here is my longer winter greeting, as promised! How do you do once more.

As those who celebrate will be so painfully aware, preparations for Christmas are in full swing: in my house, that means FOOD! (And drink of course, I journeyed with my dad today to pick up his special Christmas beer keg!)

I read the other day that winter always feels like the oldest season: the smells that so many of us might associate with this period (pine, certain spices/fruits, and woodsmoke) always have the power, if you shut your eyes, to take you back to many years past… I always think back to what life would have been like for our ancestors, and how preparations for winter would be something you would share with your family and friends. I suppose, for me, this season of chilly toes and rosy cheeks just reminds me of how many lovely people I have to share life with 🙂 Today, grab a friend and tell them just how much you love them: just because you can!!

I just want to thank a friend of mine, (who owns a blog which follows this one, Kay Draws, found at http://kaydraws.wordpress.com/check her out!) for providing me with my first Norwegian lesson too: fascinating, and so much fun! Hopefully some day I will be near-fluent, but for now, I can express my excitement with one choice phrase:

Jeg vil reise til Norge!

(I want to travel to Norway!)

As promised, here’s an update on what I’ve been working Illustration-wise, too!

This week just gone, I participated in a laser-cutting workshop. Fantastic fun, and with some results I was very proud of:

And of Erik’s journeys, he’s coming along well! He has a finalised outfit, and appearance:

I’ve begun to sketch out some initial ideas for spreads for a final book of his quest, one incident being his night spent in a modern-day park, under a blanket of pigeons; I’ve felt somewhat like a cat when I see pigeons outside, as I have to stalk them with a pad and pencil without them seeing me…

Again, pretty happy with the studies I’ve completed for this so far!

The top left pigeon was a colour study rather than a primary sketch from life:

All that remains to be said this year, as it draws to a close, is a huge thankyou to everyone who had read my blog in its first few months, I can’t tell you how much your readership has meant to me. I hope you’ll keep coming back!

Also, this may well be my final post of this year, so a Happy New Year to all.

Peace, love and joy to all this winter!

– The AutumnHobbit.

© Carina Roberts and AutumnHobbit, 2013. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Carina Roberts and AutumnHobbit with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.