Have you been out today?

Normally at this point I would make some rash promise about writing more soon but having recently discovered a rich online vein of Paul Slater's very fine illustration work I may well have to spend rather a long time perusing the wonders therein and then weeping copiously at my own inadequacy. Thus I may well be kept from my blogging duties for even longer.

Many years ago when I was a mere stripling of an illustration student Mr Slater visited the college I was at to show his work and bestow upon us many words of the wisest wisdom about the worthy trade of illustration. I can't actually remember anything he said but what I do remember is that a) he seemed like a lovely bloke and b) he had the most amazing sketchbooks. Big, thick, hardbound volumes they were (I think he said they came from Paris which just made them lovelier) full of the outpourings of a clearly very lively mind; more ideas in each one than I will have in a lifetime and all finely rendered and gorgeous. The bugger.

See also his related (but seemingly sadly not updated since 2002) Practical Nudity site.