Facebook problems…and a newspaper cutting…

Hello, out there!

This is the only way I can contact my customers and readers, at the moment, as due to an electrical surge my laptop crashed and affected my Facebook account. Despite numerous attempts to get my Facebook account working, I have not been successful. What is even more frustrating is that there seems to be so little help in getting this issue resolved from Facebook (any advice would be greatly appreciated). When trying to find my account, I am even told in a message from Facebook that I have typed it too quickly and I have been temporarily blocked (eh, typing it too fast, what is that all about?).

So, in the meantime, if you are a customer or you need information about a book-signing event, please contact me if it’s urgent on my mobile telephone number. I may have to set up a new Facebook account if all else fails, but that would mean losing a few hundred people who are already following me on my Quinlyn Nixon Art Facebook account, which is obviously not ideal. Oh dear, the problems of technology…

As well as my above tale of woe, I would like to share this newspaper cutting that was kindly given to me at one of my latest book-signing events. Thank you, Margaret. It’s a true blast from my teddy bear past 🙂

And now, for a little watercolour…

A good number of years ago, I wrote another story about a teddy bear who went on to do an amazing thing in an adventurous tale that has everything in it from espionage, high society theft, mystery and intrigue.  It was of course a children’s book, one of which is still on the backburner of stories in my over-cluttered and very untidy study. 

As part of the illustrations for the book, I was planning to do some incidental watercolour and pen and ink illustrations, which would in-turn complement the more detailed full page coloured pencil illustrations. 

With some very rare time on my hands and a little paintbrush in my hand, I set to creating one of these watercolour illustrations from a still life set up in my study – of a cuddly teddy bear and a dog.  Watercolours is not my favourite medium, but I do enjoy creating the most pastel like tones with a tiny drop of paint and very little water (this painting was done in one colour: Vandyke Brown). 

This illustration features the hero of the story, namely – Augustus the bear (who my Bear-a-thought followers will surely remember from the cards and calendars I have produced over the years) and his faithful pet dog, called Conan. 

I have done a number of incidental drawings for this book, but if I show too many of them, I will be worried about giving away too much of the plot!  Let’s hope I don’t keep you waiting all too long…

Fun in the Snow

Well I. for one, am pleased that we did actually see some of the ‘white stuff’ this year before Christmas – as I am a big fan of snow (but not of the ice, it has to be said!).  I remember as a young boy that nearly every Christmas had snow and it was wonderful to see – falling from the sky on Christmas Eve night.  Somehow the snow just added to the magic of that time…

So, it’s a great December to include one of my Bear-a-thought teddy bear illustrations, called ‘Fun in the Snow’, which featured a handsome and hairy bear enjoying himself on a sledge.  I remember setting up this illustration quite near my home in Ebchester and I set off on a sunny day into a beautiful snow-covered landscape.  By the time I had reached the place I wanted to set this picture up, a blizzard had come from nowhere and I couldn’t see where I was going for the snow.  I had to wait quite a while before it subsided and could do the sketches (with freezing cold hands) before heading home to a large mug of cocoa and some gingerbread biscuits.

Many of my illustrations hold very poignant and significant memories for me and I can glance at an illustration and remarkably remember what I was feeling and doing in my life at that time, even to a conversation with a friend or a television programme playing in the background, as I sat scribbling away at my drawing board. 

The store of illustrations for my books, calendars and cards go hand-in-hand with so many memories – some of which I rejoice in remembering and some of which I would gladly like to forget…

Let’s hope that the majority of our memories for the next coming year are very good and that we can look back in a year’s time and smile.  I would like to wish you all a wonderful 2023 and thank you for reading my blog and supporting my work for the last year. 

Warmest wishes, Michael x

The Queen and Paddington Bear…

Since being a little boy, I have always had the greatest admiration for HM Queen Elizabeth II.  This was added to by my love of stamps, on which her face is featured on every British one – (and many other countries too, throughout the Commonwealth).

The Queen has been a source of constancy throughout my whole life, which in this ever-changing world has also been a source of comfort and permanency and strength for me. 

So, as you can imagine, I have loved the last couple of weeks in which Queen Elizabeth’s historic reign of seventy years has been celebrated in the form of a wonderful and uplifting ‘trooping of the colour’, a service of thanksgiving, a star-studded concert and an astounding and very vivacious pageant.  I have loved every minute of the Jubilee celebrations and I have sat in my bunting and flag-festooned house, (enjoying the largest pot of tea) and watched every aspect of it.  Gosh, when the pageant was going through the Mall, I could not believe all of those wonderful outfits and floats – the amount of work that has gone into that amazing piece of history!  Oh, if anyone can tell me where I could get one of those giraffe outfits (the ones with the top hat etc), I would be very grateful 🙂

I could write about this Jubilee for England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales, but I will do my best to keep this blog post succinct.  Of course, the highlight for me, apart from the aeroplanes ‘forming’ 70 in the sky (!) was the little scene where Paddington Bear meets the Queen at Buckingham Palace.

I was so touched when I saw this little cameo of the Queen and Paddington; it was so charming and endearing, as well as gentle and humorous.  Being a big fan of both Her Majesty the Queen and teddy bears in general, I could not pass up the opportunity to do a little, gentle illustration, featuring two of my favourite personages, some Union Jack bunting, a stand of marmalade sandwiches, some cups of tea, some musical spoons and an inquisitive (or is he hungry?) Corgi.  I was also encouraged by my students ‘to capture this special moment’ on paper.

A friend who saw this drawing, when I completed it, today, said, “Oh, you must send that to the Queen”.  I am not really sure it’s an illustration ‘fit for a Queen’, but, who knows, I might just post it off to Buckingham Palace…but, one will have to wait and see… Thank you, Ma’am…

May Flowers

I had to feature this floral illustration for this month as my garden and hanging baskets are currently full of violas and pansies and they are unsurpassed with their beauty and fragrance.  I hadn’t realised when choosing this illustration that it was completed twenty years ago.  Quite where those twenty years have gone, I cannot say…

The teddy bear in this illustration was named, Ashley, after one of my brother-in-laws.  He wasn’t a jointed bear, but he was the most cuddly and fluffy bear that had the most soulful eyes and endearing lost expression. 

In 2002, my garden was in full bloom and it was in this setting that I placed Ashley on top of a stone planter, which was festooned with violas.  I remember the violas varieties that I planted that year and they were ‘Rebecca’ (the lemon-yellow/cream and purple ones) and ‘Elaine Quin’ (the magenta and white striped, solitary flower at the bottom of the illustration). 

I love the look of nearly all flowers, and pansies, violets and violas are definitely on my favourite list.  The word ‘pansy’ comes from the French word ‘pensée’ referring to the ‘pensive’ or ‘thoughtful’ facial expression on the flowers that can often be seen.  As well as the look of flowers, I also love their scent and violas and violets have the most wonderful honeyed-scent, making them one of my favourites.  My favourite scent of all time is the smell of April or Parma violets – it brings back such wonderful memories of my childhood and using my Grandmother Lake’s Yardley ‘April Violets’ soap (I still have a few old bars of this nestled amongst the clothes in dressing table).

This illustration was used on my 2004 Bear-a-thought calendar, and later became a greeting card design; the card included a little rhyme that I wrote to accompany the illustration:

In the garden – now it’s May,
the flowers blossom day-by-day.
Lots of things yet still to do,
underneath the sky of blue.

George and Mildred – Bear-a-thought Illustration

As most of my good friends (and some of my clients) know I am a BIG fan of the British seventies sitcom ‘George and Mildred’ (1976-1979), starring the excellent pairing of Yootha Joyce and Brian Murphy.  From being a small child, I would delight in watching this programme; obviously enjoying the slapstick comedy of it, as most of the innuendo would have gone straight over my head.  The one thing I do remember is Yootha’s facial expressions – her look of disdain was classic!

After watching this series for most of my life – I have got a real affection for the two actors who play the main characters and in particular Yootha.  I have even done a fair amount of research about her and have an autograph or two, as well.This teddy bear illustration, was created in July 2003 for my Bear-a-thought 2004 calendar.  I decided to feature this illustration on my blog this month as, unbelievably, it is the 40^th anniversary of Yootha Joyce’s death this year.  On a happier note, August was also her birth month, so a doubly-good reason to feature my tribute to these characters.

My friend, Jennifer A. Stephenson created the wonderful outfits that ‘George’ and ‘Mildred’ are wearing in this picture.  We wanted to cover George in an almost Victorian style bathing suit, which belies his prudishness.  On the other hand, Mildred, is looking much more modern and slightly garish compared to her conservative husband.  I know Jennifer enjoyed dressing these two bears and we had fun working out what earrings to give Mildred (what to choose…sea anemones, giant daisies?).  We also had to throw in a bit of fake leopard print fabric for Mildred, as well as put her in a yellow top, which happened to be Yootha’s favourite colour.

Eagled-eyed readers may have noticed that I have set this picture in Whitby, which is one of my very favourite haunts.  I thought Blackpool was more ‘George and Mildred’, but in the end chose the Yorkshire coast.  I set up these characters on a quiet part of the beach to do the initial sketches, but as usual got a crowd of interested spectators around me, wanting to have their photograph taken with the bears.  Perhaps they thought that the message on the beach towel was an invitation 🙂

 Yootha Joyce, b: 20 August 1927 – d: 24 August 1980
Yootha was an animal lover and had many rescue dogs and cats in her home. 
I also know that she loved teddy bears too, so I do hope she would have liked this illustration.

Are you being rendered?

I don’t get a great deal of time to relax (not sure if many freelance artists do), but last week I sat down with a big mug of Ringtons’ tea and turned on the television set. Quite by chance, one of my favourite comedies was just coming on, ‘Are you being served?’, which was a popular programme airing between 1972 to 1985. I have always loved this comedy created by David Croft and Jeremy Lloyd, which featured a range of bizarre and quirky characters working in a department store by the name of Grace Bros.

My favourite character was the multi-coloured hairdo owner, Mrs Slocombe – played by the wonderful comedy actress, Mollie Sugden (b:1922-d: 2009). Her facial expressions, ranging from scorn, disbelief to polite arrogance still amazes me and makes me laugh.

This programme is quite poignant to me, as I had drawn some quick pen and ink illustrations of three of the main characters for an advertising campaign, when I was working at the Cumbrian Gazette in Carlisle. I thoroughly enjoyed drawing Mrs Slocombe, “I’m FREE!” Mr Humphries (played by John Inman) and Captain Peacock (played by Frank Thornton). The publicity campaign went well…thankfully.

But, years later I was to become personally acquainted with Mollie Sudgen, when I began my Bear-a-thought calendars in 2002. Can you imagine my delight when she confessed that she was a ‘fan’ of my teddy bears? I still have a cheque from Mollie Sugden, which I couldn’t cash in of course, because it was such a souvenir! Becoming a regular customer of my teddy bear-themed calendars over the years, Mollie ordered many for her family, but on one occasion she sent far too much money on the cheque.

Seeing her error and wanting to rectify it as quickly as possible, I rang her on her home telephone number in Surrey. Despite it being an atrociously bad connection, I had the most marvellous conversation with this very charming lady, who happened to be ‘smack bang’ in the middle of cooking preparations for her 80^th birthday! I did not want the meals she was making to be ruined, so just had a quick call, but it was something that I will always remember with fondness. She later wrote me a letter, informing me that the meals were not ruined and she had not expected so many guests (her birthday being in July and people having arranged holidays), but to her great surprise a great many of the cast of ‘Are you being served?’ along with some of the cast of ‘The Liver Birds’ had attended.

Looking back, I do think Andy Warhol whilst doing those marvellous screen prints of movie icons Marilyn Monroe and Elizabeth Taylor missed a golden opportunity with the character of Mollie’s Mrs Slocombe. Just look at this quick screen-print I have done – with all of those coloured coiffures.
Keep the lilac, Mrs Slocombe, I think it looks great…

Stan & Ollie – Bear-a-thought Illustration

I am excited about going to see the ‘Stan and Ollie’ film released in the United Kingdom today, which is based on the lives of the actors and comedians Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy.  It stars actors Steve Coogan and John C. Reilly in the respective roles.  It reminded me of a teddy bear illustration that I did of the famous black-and-white comedy duo many years ago…

Whilst working on one of my teddy bear calendar themes, in 2003, I came up with the idea of famous bears and made a list of the many characters that I like, that are very recognisable by their costume or attire.  The list was very long, but some suggestions had to be scrapped and a smaller list compiled.  One of the suggestions on the list that appealed to me was Laurel and Hardy.  I had a discussion with Jennifer A. Stephenson, my friend who kindly made the outfits and other paraphernalia for the teddy bears, and she was also drawn to the idea of Laurel and Hardy too.  

In deference to the comedy duo’s fine slapstick humour, we decided to dress them in dungarees (rather than their formal black suit and ties), but, of course, we had to include the bowler hats and their distinctive neckties.  To go along with the dungarees, we created a decorating scenario with ladders, wallpaper and paint (my father, Robert, kindly made the ladders and toolbox).  Luckily one of Jennifer’s friends, the late Pat Holmes (nee Boustead – a well-known singer in the County Durham area) was decorating her home at this time, so this proved to be the ideal place in which to create our ‘Hollywood film set’. 

As it happened, shortly after the photographs were taken and the sketches were drawn, we disassembled the scene and I slipped and spilled the whole pot of banana custard coloured paint all over the floorboards.  Pat wasn’t too annoyed, as she was planning on a carpet anyway, but she could have easily used Oliver Hardy’s famous quote and stated, “Well, here’s another nice mess you’ve gotten me into”.

I remember watching Laurel and Hardy when I was young and they always made me laugh with their funny and inoffensive humour.  Stan Laurel (b: 1890 – d:1965) was my favourite, as I loved the way he scratched his head when perplexed, but Oliver Hardy (b: 1892 – d:1957) had the most amazing face, which was full of disbelief one minute and wreathed in wonderful smiles the next.

When I was a little boy, I remember my Grandfather Lake telling me that Stan Laurel had lived in County Durham for a while, but that he had been born in Cumbria.  Both of these English counties have tributes to these two wonderful men who brought so much joy to so many people’s lives.

The illustration ‘Stan & Ollie’ was started on 18 April and completed on the 5 May 2003.

Witch Hazel – Bear-a-thought Illustration

I’ve done many teddy bear illustrations over the years, but some of them I do forget, but this isn’t one of them.  Although I am not a great fan of Hallowe’en, I do love the colour and imagery that I had to capture in this drawing.

I was asked by a big company in America, to illustrate one of their many beautiful teddies and after looking through their glossy catalogue several times, I was ‘taken’ to this little witch bear, with her sequinned cape and starry hat.  I liked drawing this teddy bear ‘as she was’, which included her rather sad looking face.  A number of my customers used to say, “Can you draw that teddy bear smiling?” and I replied, “I draw the bears as they present themselves”.  Teddy bears have individual characters: some happy some sad – just like human beings.

I remember my youngest niece, Cora, was just a baby when I started this illustration and the small wizard or witch that was coming out of the jack-o-lantern resembled her a little bit (she will be cross with me for putting this on here!), so I had to include him/her in the illustration.  Many of my teddy bear illustrations have a soft pastel theme, but with this one I could use the strong colours of green, orange and purple without hesitation.  I loved doing the confectionery: lollipops, cupcakes and biscuits with the ghosts and black cat cake toppings.  It was a great deal of fun (I think I ate them ALL afterwards!).

Whatever you have done or are doing for Hallowe’en, I do hope that you get a lot more treats than tricks!  Enjoy yourself and be safe…

When autumn leaves start to fall – Bear-a-thought illustration

It seems many, many years ago that I was working on this ‘When autumn leaves start to fall’ illustration.  All of the Bear-a-thought illustrations take me right back to the time I was drawing them.  This was an illustration that appeared in my 2006 calendar and was inspired by a famous song performed by the immortal Nat King Cole. 

I was chatting to a good friend recently who mentioned the  song and I thought that this illustration would make a very good blog post this month.  I have to be honest and say that I have a bit of a ‘downer’ about November and it’s my least favourite month, as I dislike being plunged into the dark days of autumn at the end of October.

In this illustration, I have tried to show November at it’s best with golden leaves and azure blue skies.  I chose one of my new teddy bears, named Raymond, for the illustration as I just thought he was so appealing in his blue duffle coat and I loved illustrating the cord buttons on his coat that are keeping him warm from the autumn chills.  I also really enjoyed drawing the golden-leafed oak tree in the background and I do remember putting some shapes in amongst the foliage.  I think there was a heart, a gingerbread man and a goldfish to name a few, though looking at the illustration now I can’t see them.

The leaves that our lovely little bear is bouncing on were quite difficult and rather monotonous to draw, but I wanted to give them the appearance of looking dry, brittle and ‘crackly’; the kind of bone-dry leaves you cannot resist running through and then watch them being whisked-off by the cool autumn breezes…

Autumn leaves of red, orange and brown, to the ground come fluttering down.
Raymond jumps to catch them as they fall, from the trees above – so big and tall.