I’m really ploughing through drafts and redrafts of the book now, and even coming to nearly-final drafts of a few of them eeeeeep! I would NEVER have redrafted work before I started ADHD medication. I couldn’t physically make myself. So this is a fabulous symptom of treating the very much not made-up ADHD.

Because I’m doing multiple reworks of each page I’m finding a unique and beautifully style for the illustrations which is exactly what I’ve been aiming for. I want the illustrations to reflect life inside families. It needs to be intricate, sometimes messy, lots of light and dark, and texture.

I’ve been using granulating watercolours for the texture, and selected a gorgeous palette of vibrant tones for the book, including deep dark tones that are also multi-tonal and delicate even though they’re dark. I’ve used the same vibrant yellow for the idea of light on each page, because no matter how hard it gets there is always a little tiny bit of light.

The cherry on each page has been adding some Sashiko-inspired stitching on some pages. I love how regular the patterns are, and that they’re so attractive to the eyes - they also hint at the skilful weaving of parenting and care-giver skills in managing complex households. Visible mending of hard moments and creating a warm and safe space even in times of difficulty. 

I don’t want to stomp all over a craft that’s already in the limelight right now though, so I’ve been working my way through ‘Sashiko: the untold story’, a book full of the history and culture of the embroidery within lots of areas of Japan. It’s fascinating and I recommend reading it if you would like to learn more about the craft from the right source. I’m never going to teach this stitch-work, but it’s incredibly inspiring.

I hope you’re enjoying the sneak peaks of imagery and if you would be interested in updates on the book’s progress I have created a list that will be updated more closer to the book launch so people can place pre-orders and get updates on postage dates without everybody else getting bored stiff! Please join the list here: https://badibidu.com/pages/the-beautiful-boat-illustrated-book

Hope you’re all well and see you soon!