Caroline McFarlane-Watts: January 2016

A couple of years ago I resolved not to eat sugar anymore. Well, I wasn't so strict as to give up alcohol or things where there just had to be some sugar, but yep - I pretty much gave up sugar for the past two years. No desserts, no chocolate or sweets. no fizzy drink (US = soda), no salad dressings or breads etc that contained sugar. Felt great (no afternoon grogginess), but the downside was that weight just fell off me and I actually found it hard to stay a normal / healthy size.

This year I've resolved to eat sugar again, but just be sensible about it. Why am I rambling about sugar and resolutions? Because on my 11 hour flight back to LA from London I was sandwiched between two men who were taller and all-around larger than me. They took the armrests and maybe 20% of my seat! I spent the first part of the flight being as passive-aggressively moody as only a Brit can be until it started to dawn on me that I wasn't just having to tolerate these guys squishing me, but that they were having to tolerate the moody redhead in the middle.

So....I softened... and came up with my New Year's Resolution for 2016 - a different kind of self-improvement - tolerance and patience. Or to put it a better way - to be nicer in situations like this! Poor blokes. I felt guilty for my huffing and tutting. Sure, it was annoying that my expensive flight procured me less than a whole seat and no armrests but when is an 11 hour flight ever comfortable? They were after-all doing their best to give me space, and be nice to me - I knew that.

I had a free morning so I sketched and coloured this drawing for fun and to practice using Photoshop (drawing like this is still quite new to me - see others from last year here).

Hope you see the humour in the drawing and see that the bad guy in the image is me - the angry Brit in the middle, sandwiched between two men who actually did have these looks of trepidation on their faces.

In other news, I did my year's end 'round up' in my last post here! Stay tuned for new works soon and thank you so much for those that continue to read my blog and participate on FB and Instagram. I appreciate each and every one of you.

cartoons about flying, cartoons about fat people, fat people on airplanes, fat people flying

British comedian Michael McIntyre said something funny (which I've forgotten and Google wont help me) about when it becomes too late to say "Happy New Year". It probably is, but since I only just got back from my travels I'll say it anyway! Hope you all had a fantastic Christmas and are starting 2016 off on the right foot.

I spent three weeks in England which is the longest I've spent in the UK in some time and it made me remember how wonderful the UK really is. I also realised, for perhaps the first time, how fantastic London is.

This is what I realised about London... wherever you turn it's like you stumbled onto the set of Harry Potter or some Charles Dickens adaptation. The London Underground looks like a series of tiled Hobbit holes and they'll take you anywhere you want to go with a 2 minute waiting time. The food is outstanding and hugely varied, the people are wonderful and the museums.... free entry and probably the best in the world. To sum up - London = fantastic. Who knew?!

Recommendation - if you're in London, go and see the Celts exhibition they have there until the end of Jan 2016. It's the most exciting, exhilarating thing since Neil Oliver. Details here.

iPhone snaps

The British Museum

The Natural History Museum

The year's round up - the highlights of my 2015. The year started in the US after I'd just returned from exhibiting some of my miniature sets in Shanghai, China. I started sculpting witch characters for 'Good Witches Bad Witches' and made a total of 10 whilst advancing the development of the project including concept sketches and a large illustration. More magazine features and an appearance in a book ('Curiouser & Curiouser' - published by CTN), Alice in Wonderland piece in exhibition at Center Stage Gallery, Burbank. I redesigned my Tall Tales Productions website (which you can see here) and joined Instagram to show my works in progress etc (here). I opened a print shop (here) and have sold many prints of my work including prints on T-shirts, tote bags and even iPhone cases. The year ended with a commission for a miniature model ark for a commercial, and this was something I worked on right up until I caught my plane home for Christmas! Shot to look like a 50 foot ark, I can't wait to share this project with you soon. In my personal life; a trip to the north of England for Easter, camping trips to Yosemite, breaks in Vegas and San Diego, Comic-Con, drawing cartoons about anything silly which comes to mind, and as you'd expect... more than one ball...!