God Baiting Pt.2

Despite the best efforts of the backwards nurse whose voice echoes in decibles early Napalm Death, Emily has been sleeping soundly. She wakes up at three A.M. Our sentence has been extended by three days as she's developed an aversion to drinking. She's aspirating while she swallows. She chooses instead to suck water from a toothbrush - a habit I happily indulge. For thirty minutes. 'Sleep now'. Shakes head. 'Still thirsty?' Nods head. 'Want a drink from your cup?' Panics, shakes head. 'Well, it's late and you need your sleep. You can have more in the morning.' Cries, shakes head. 'Look, drinking from the cup is much quicker. Either have a drink from the cup or go to sleep.' Cries, rolls over in a huff...sits up...throws me a glance of malice...furiously signs cup... starts drinking...water spurts out of her tube but she keeps going...downs two hundred mls in about twenty seconds. She is coughing like mad but asks for more. Same again..., another cup gone...falls fast alseep straight after. We are released first thing in the morning when the doctor sees her.

God Baiting

So I'm walking out for my seventeenth cigarette of the morning. I walk under the cancer ward and by the smokers that have decided to smoke by the air vents there. I walk past the mother, fag in one hand and baby in the other. She is barking at her son who is running up the slide. Everywhere I look I see men in long shorts and trainers. The accent starts to grate on me. The slang and the laziness of the pronunciation. I see the same faces walking back and forth. One guy - best summed up as a troll, has a stoop and a bottle of irn bru in his pocket. His son looks up adoringly. I befriend a lady called Wendy whos son has had to have heart surgery twice in two days. I last saw her standing outside intensive care. I come back into the ward and find that the obnoxious nurse I had a run in with has made Clare cry, in front of Emily. I try to reason in my head why a nurse would deny a child who'd had major surgery pain relief because she doesn't like the parents. Come back in five minutes - she's getting physio and every time she does she vomits. No point having paracetamol if you're going to puke it up. An hour later the fight started. I ponder red tape - and if it has a place in child care. The second fight was over a fold down bed and why Emily was not allowed to lie with her mother on it. I snap at everyone through sleep deprevation. I reason with Emily why she's going through so much pain and she understands. I read people's facebook updates when I get home. I wish I could relate. I wonder about Clare tonight and how she'll handle two hours sleep. I think about the stocking tops of the doctor in HDU. I curse noisy visitors and dream of isolation. I think about the rosary beads one of Clare's clients gave her, and how they glow in the dark.

Illustrapedia - July challenge

Good evening. Yes, I photoshopped the vapour trails...only because my scanner is about to meet a violent death at the hands of Mr Hammer. Mixed media - watercolour, pencil and chalk. If I was to make this a folio piece I think I'll do an ink version.

Edited 10/7/09 - I reworked and cropped the image. The second which was overkill and killed the pic stone dead.

Watched the bat tonight at twilight...man, he's got a charmed life.

I've completed the text on a book I'm working on. Sketches to come.

Illustrapedia

I'm making an attempt to join the real world again after a two year sabbatical from the human race. These are sketches for a flikr group I've joined called Illustrapedia. Each month is a new theme. It keeps me occupied and my mind off Em's operation in two weeks. Hopefully I'll get a painting of the witch sketch done. The colour dino one is a photo as I have a crappy A4 scanner. Oh, and the little blobs on the witch sketch are solidified hairspray...don't ask.