Heathbound Group Show. Hampstead, London…

If you are in the vicinity of Hampstead Heath between September 16 and 27th, you could see a picture I contributed to a group show curated by Lisa Swerling called Heathbound. The show is at Burgh House.

My picture is a charcoal drawing of a view looking up to Parliament Hill from near the dog pond. It’s on paper, with some collaged lettering of a line from John Keats’ poem. I drew a dozen or more charcoal drawings of various views, but this one felt right. It’s quite timeless somehow. Keats lived just west of here as the nightingale flies.

The drawing will be for sale, framed.

@heathbound #heathbound #heathboundartists

Poster © Jon Mackay.

The Natural History Museum, but with stickers…

If you are in South Kensington and in the need of a brand new – as seen on TV – activity book only for kids, you can do worse than this fine example from the Natural History Museum. As the official guide for children, it is stuffed with activities to do and things to learn, just like the Museum. It even has stickers in the back. And a spaceman.

PS Thanks to everyone in the publishing department for making this such an enjoyable project to work on. Before working on this, I thought I knew everything.

Wealden Festival: pizza, watermelon and green as grass…

Thank you to Wealden Festival and all the people who came along on a balmy (hot) solstice afternoon beneath the white tent in the garden. The festival tent was in the beautiful garden, and the green room was in the house. There was some terrific drawing on display, and a good time was had by all. And nobody even fainted.

Thank you: Wealden Festival, Josie, Debbie, Sevenoaks Book Shop, Show Me The Rabbit, milkmonitor.me,

Sort of like it was.

Where it was. Photos © showmetherabbit.com

After it was. Photo © showmetherabbit.com

Book Reading and Drawing Event at Wealden Literary Festival in Kent

I’m doing a book reading and drawing event at the Wealden Literary Festival on Sunday June the 21st at 2pm. Get tickets to the festival on their website.

We’ll be talking about My Dog, Hen and just drawing and having some fun. You don’t have to like drawing, or even dogs. But it’s about showing what you’re thinking and using drawing to let me know. You can even just show me what you like to draw or write, and show off a bit. That’s what I’ll be doing.

The event goes for about an hour, and there will be a book signing and copies of My Dog, Hen available.

Dave, have you ever heard about…

Last year, Russell Smith published a collection of nearly fifty of his poems, a result of many years of travelling, living dangerously and drumming in countless bands in Brisbane and beyond. Russell would sit in with The Adorable Plush and The Pretty Mules and when he wasn’t keeping time, he was telling a story and making Dave and me laugh. A reprint of his book was on the cards, but we just ran out of time. Farewell Russell.

Video and music © The Pretty Mules/profuselyillustrated. 2026.
Food for Thought: the Ramblings of A Fruitcake by Russell Smith published in 2025. Text © Russell Smith.

Drawing event with Lauren Child at Goodwoof 2026…

I’m doing a drawing event for children with Lauren Child at Goodwoof 2026 on Sunday May 17th. You can find out more at the Goodwoof website. This year’s theme is rescue dogs, like Hen. I will be selling copies of my only dog related book My Dog Hen through the official Goodwoof bookshop and will be happy to sign copies, or stamp them with a muddy paw. You may even bring your own dog – in fact there will be more dog things to do than human things, or maybe it’s even.

This dog is drawn by my goddaughter.

Thanks to The Hayling Island Bookshop.

The days are longer…

Spring and daisies came apace;
Grasses hide my hiding place;
Grasses run like a green sea
O’er the lawn up to my knee.

– From Robert Louis Stevenson’s The Dumb Soldier (A Child’s Garden of Verses, 1885).

Raining cats and dogs at The Ned…

At The Ned Hotel, the Little Neds showed me how to draw cats, and we listened to someone barking like a dog (it was very realistic). Mostly, we talked about cats, and how to make a cat character for an illustrated book. Everyone showed me their cover designs which were shortlist material. Maddie drew her cat Twinkle, and Zinny showed me some impressive line drawings of space and space cats. Noa made some very sensitive drawings of cats in graphite and red pencil. We all closed our eyes and drew a cat from memory and mine was better than everyone else. By far.

And afterwards, I had a fine lunch on the roof of the hotel and watched the sun trying to come out.

Thanks to everyone who came along before lunch: Maddie, Noa, Zina, Juno, Zinny, and Steven, to name a few. And thanks to all the parents who also added to the drawings. Big thanks to Victor and Naomi at The Ned for their five star help, and especially to Phil who keeps the toy train on the track.

If my memory serves me correctly. A good time was had by all.

Zinny’s spaceship drawing.

Postscript: Naomi wore a cat-themed cat suit by pure coincidence. What are the chances of that?

Goodbye Tom…

Calling All Cats at The Ned Hotel…

Are you a dog person, or a cat person? It doesn’t really matter, but we’ll all be cat people for this drawing event at The Ned Hotel (London) on February 8th at 10.30am. We’ll talk about and draw cats. What makes them so interesting? Where can you find inspiration for your character? How can you convey feelings and personality in your drawing of a cat? You don’t even need to be able to draw – or know anything about cats: just bring your brain. We’ll even find time to hear a story. This is a Little Neds Members only event: no pets allowed. Books available to be signed and drawn upon.

Watch a short video about this event.