This is where I share a mix of my illustration and a touch of pretty things and places I've discovered in my day.

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Tuesday, June 21, 2011

Hot-potting in Miaoli

We went to have some hotpot to end the weekend with that one last nice meal ( It was before the summer reached this melting heat). Hot pot is one of the Taiwanese's favourite meals and you see lots of restaurants with the steam rising up from all the individual tables. It's basically your own pot with a flavoured soup or stock that you cook your food inside. Our choice was a spacious and 'modern' (please note that it doesn't necessarily mean tasteful or cool) all you can eat buffet. So first you can choose your pot's flavour - for example kimchi, traditional chinese herbs or miso. Then you go and dish up! Trays full of vegetables, meat and seafood are available containing known and unknown bits to cook in your pot. There is a sauce counter where you can mix your favuorite ingredients to dip your food bits in when you take it out of the hotpot. My favourite would be a mix of soya sauce, garlic, a touch of vinegar, coriander, lime, fresh chilli and spring onion all mixed with the original dipping sauce. Yum! It's so social to sit around a table cooking your own food. After being to full to eat the soup too - it's desert time. I chose the ice desert - basically a bowl full of shaved ice that you top with all different fruit purees, conserves and jellies and add some condensed milk to round it off. Delish. What a nice evening out. I can understand why it's so popular! I need to lie down now.

Thursday, June 9, 2011

May-hem

If you've missed my blog in May - I'm happy to hear that :) I've had a crazy deadline month. I first received the email on Tuesday the 16th of May. I had to illustrate about 117 full color drawings. Right. Start with the roughs - they need to be finished a week later. A few days later word came through ALL illustrations full colour had to be finished in 10 days time! WHAT! Right. I drew, and drew and drew - and I taught in between - it was actually really good to get away from my lightbox and be active with some kids. I had no free time whatsoever. I finished 4pm SA time deadline day. I had a shot of vodka, and then I cried. The relief was huge. The next day I had a work hangover - and couldn't relax, so strange. The whole process was really awesome in an insane way :)

So here are some examples - it's all the easy drawings - the rest were actual scenarios with different events happening - to appear on my website soon!

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