A day of surfing, sunbathing and sketching

Sam has been trying to convince me to have a go at surfing here because apparently, if I can't do it here, I can't do it anywhere! So, I plucked up the courage and today I had a go.

I came, I surfed, I conquered

I was pleased I managed to stand up and go along on a wave, but I still think it's a lot of effort for just a few seconds of fun!

Every day we've been eating in either of the two little cafes right next to the beach. The banana pancakes for breakfast are fantastic, I really like the lemon tea too - great for the cold I have at the moment!

Lemon tea

Here's the drawing I've been doing for a few mornings now, it's coming along, just a few more mornings to go and I think it'll be finished!

Garden sketch

The green pencil from the cheap pack I bought is a bit vibrant, so I toned it down a bit with black to keep the grass from looking too luminescent!

Almost finished...

Sam went surfing (in a thunderstorm!) this afternoon, so, as it was raining, I stayed in the bungalow and did a pencil drawing of the dog we saw yesterday. What do you think?

Sketchbook page

 It was tricky taking a photo of the drawing, especially as the thunderstorm had made it so dark!

Dog pencil drawing

Today's Every Day in May challenge was to draw the inside of your closet. As I'm lacking a closet right now, I drew my rucksack!

We're just waiting for our chicken and chips for dinner now so I'll leave you with this photo of some surfboards...

Surfboards

If you like what you see, please follow my blog using one of the buttons on the right-hand-side at the top :)

Yesterday I partied at Hickory Trail, Beyond the Picket Fence and Savvy Southern Style.

Today's the day...we did nothing!

We've had a very relaxing day, doing nothing but sunbathing, reading and eating...lots of eating! The food here is amazing! Well, perhaps not amazing, but when you haven't had chicken and chips for a while it tastes delicious, I can tell you!

Today's the day...we did nothing!

We've really being enjoying waking up early to make the most of the daylight as it get's dark very early here. It's so relaxing to sit on the veranda enjoying a cup of coffee first thing.

Coffee on the veranda every morning.

The veranda is a lovely place to chill out.

This morning, sitting right there, I did a little more of the drawing I started yesterday. As you can see, it still has a way to go. I think the pace of life here has slowed me right down, I seem to be even less productive with loads of time on my hands!

Garden drawing coming along.

While we were eating lunch this little fellow was hanging around. It was his lucky day today, someone fed him a juicy bit of chicken which was left on their plate.

The Every Day in May challenge today was to draw something from a pet's point of view. I thought it would be funny to imagine if I were a cat being picked up by a person. Sam was my willing (?) model for the face! 

Here, kitty kitty!

I drew this pen for the 10 Minute Warm-Up feature on Diana Evan's blog. It was a very cheap purchase in a £1 shop but it's been a trusty friend while we've been away so I thought it deserved a sketch!

Here are the lovely link up parties I linked to yesterday - Creating Really Awesome Free Things, Balzer Designs, Cornerstone Confessions and Diana Evans Illustration and Design.

Sunbathing and drawing in Batu Karas

Well, what a relaxing day in Batu Karas! I've spent most of it sunbathing and reading a book while Sam's been surfing and we went for a couple of walks too. Just had a great thunderstorm too (I love a good storm!).

What holidays are all about

(Sorry about the quality of this photo, I would take another one but I'm seizing the opportunity to use the internet when it's working quickly!)

We're staying in a lovely bungalow with a great garden to sunbathe in.

Sunbathing in the garden

While I was sitting on the veranda I did a sketch of what I could see. I'm planning on colouring it in when I get around to it. It took quite a long time, there are a lot of lines going on there!

Line drawing of the garden

What I was drawing

The drawing and the view together

 Sam snapped this photo of me by the beach after a long sunbathing session!

I love the boats here, they're all painted lovely colours and they look so interesting with all the fishing equipment in them. I'm going to have to sketch one while I'm here.

Batu Karas

Here's where I spent most of my day!

The beach in Batu Karas

I did a couple of sketches over the last few days which I couldn't upload due to the internet speed so here they are now!

This one's a strange one! The Every Day in May challenge for 26th May was 'draw a screw', so here's mine.

Draw a screw

While in the airport waiting for our flight I did another sneaky drawing of a fellow passenger. Nice headband!

I did a quick line drawing of my open bag. That dog-type thing is a cute pencil case which Sam gave me as a birthday present.

Line drawing

I couldn't be bothered to colour this next one in completely, so I settled for just shading the little platform thingy in the sea.

Fishing platform

Page of my sketchbook

We're just about to tuck into a delicious evening meal at a lovely beachside café, so I'll leave you with one more photo snapped on the bus on the way here. Looks a lot like Vietnam we think!

Rice paddies in Java

PS. It's still not too late to vote for my drawing in the Doodler's Anonymous competition! Please head over to the submissions page here and click on the star next to 'faves' to vote for me! 

PPS. Sorry I haven't replied to any recent comments, when I've got more reliable internet I promise I'll write back to all of you!

A double whammy

Hello from Java! I didn't get chance to post yesterday as we were travelling all day and now we're here the internet is completely pants and uploading pictures is taking ages! I had lots of lovely photos of my sketches edited and ready to go but my plans have been foiled! So, for now, here are the last couple of days from my comic strip journal.

Yesterday was horrible, we spent most of the day on buses, squished in with people smoking, driving down really bumpy roads and with no air conditioning in the last bus. I'm not surprised I now have a cold!

18 Hours of non-stop puplic transport

Today has been a lot better. We reached Batu Karas where we're going to be staying for the last couple of weeks of our 8 month adventure. It's a small town with a good surfing beach, which Sam loves. The aim of these next two weeks for me is to chill out and get lots of drawing and crafting done!

Final destination - Batu Karas

I managed to upload one more photo, my Every Day in May contribution - the challenge today was, draw something sticky. I'm afraid mine isn't very imaginative!

That's all for now, over the next couple of weeks I'll try to get online as much as possible to update my blog but it's going to be difficult with the internet here! 

Don't forget to follow me if you haven't already using one of the buttons on the right at the top :)

New art materials and and early night

This is going to be a very quick post today as we have to get up in the early hours of the morning for our flight to Java! I'm not sure what internet access I'll have over the next few days but I'll try and update my blog when I can.

Last day in Malaysia

We had quite a lot of time waiting around today in between bus transfers. We took these photos in a moment of boredom!

Waiting for the bus.

Balanced load.

This morning, while Sam went out to try and find a rash vest for surfing in Java (which he couldn't by the way), I had quite a lot of time on my hands. I decided to put it to good use to do today's drawing for the Every Day in May challenge. Today's subject was a 'tote bag'. Initially I thought this would be really boring, but I quite like the way mine has turned out!

Every Day in May - Draw a tote bag

While we were waiting for our washing to finish in the launderette I popped out to stock up on some new art materials to take to Java (just in case they don't have shops, you know). Here are my purchases. The box is a set of cheap colouring pencils so I can add a bit of colour to my drawings!

New art shizzle.

Finally, just a quick plea to vote for my drawing in the Doodler's Anonymous competition here. Just click on the little star next to my picture where it says '- faves'. Here's (another) reminder of my entry.

That's all for now, told you it was going to be a short one!

I shared yesterday's post at the following lovely link up parties - Thirty Handmade Days, The Shabby Nest, Paint Party Friday, The Girl Creative, Tatertots and Jello and Young and Crafty.

Culture, curry and gecko poo

We've been enjoying the cultural side of Melaka today with visits to a museum, art gallery, markets and churches.

Culture and curry in Melaka.

When we walked into the Indian restaurant at lunchtime we were faced with a dilemma. We had no idea what we were expected to do! All the food was laid out on a stand, some people were filling little plastic bags with curry sauces and others were eating from big banana leaves with their hands. We must have looked pretty clueless as one of the waiters sat us down at a table and heaped every imaginable curry looking thing onto some metal trays in front of us. Just when we thought he'd finished he'd come back with something else to add. It was a huge meal and we were waiting for a huge bill to match at the end but were surprised that it only came out as just over 2 USD each. Bargain!

Banana leaf curry (minus the banana leaf)

Now, you may be wondering where gecko poo fits into all this. Well, we stopped for a drink at a canal-side café and while I was happily drinking my iced lemon juice a drip landed on my head - or so I thought. I looked up, as you do, reaching for my hair at the same time, and spotted a gecko - the ONLY gecko in the whole place - directly above my head as if it had lined up intentionally, with its little tail in the air like it was saying, 'yep, that was me'. I asked Sam if he thought it was luckier than having a bird poop on you and he said definitely. So that's some consolation.

Here are a few shots I snapped on our walk.

The view from St Paul's Church

The art gallery had some very good paintings from contemporary artists.

Art Gallery

Tonight we ate in the same Chinese food hall as yesterday. I just love their Laksa!

Chinese food hall

I had chance to finish the little purse I started yesterday. I completely abandoned the little hand held sewing machine today, it was just too fiddly.

This picture shows the card pocket on the right hand side. The stitching inside isn't too neat but I was pleased with the outside.

The open purse

I sewed along the spine (do purses even have spines?) to keep the lining from bagging away from the outer fabric. This time it was neat inside and out! I also sewed along the edge of the main pocket to give it a better finish.

The purse's 'spine' from the inside.

I'm quite pleased with how the rounded corners came out considering it's the first time I've tried!

Finished purse

It could be a bit stiffer, but I don't have any interfacing with me in my rucksack! It also needs a bit of an iron, but I don't have one of them either!

Finished purse

Some way to stop money falling out would be good too, but that'll have to wait until I'm home. Sam suggested a zip down the middle inside which straddles both pockets - I thought that was a very clever idea!

Today's challenge on 'Every Day in May' was to draw something that makes you laugh. At first I couldn't think of anything, then I remembered a video of a mother panda jumping with fright when her baby sneezes. It's hilarious, so I had to draw that!

 

Don't forget to follow me by clicking one of the buttons on the right at the top!

I shared yesterday's post in the following lovely link up parties: The Train to Crazy, The Shabby Creek Cottage, Beyond the Picket Fence, Domesblissity and Rhinestone Beagle.