10 days in Los Angeles.

L.A proved to be an excellent trip. The jet lag was uncompromising at times but the experience was well worth it. We arrived on the Wednesday and headed to Dresdens for a few beers. Thursday morning I was up early to sketch Todd & Liz's cat, and to avoid the pillow talk from Boris.

We headed up to the Getty and spent a great day amongst the permanent collections, the Cacti and the view!

The next day was the CTN-X. I thoroughly enjoyed meeting other artists face to face. There was some formidable talent on display. I have huge thanks to pay to all the interesting people I met both in the halls and in the bar, and shall do so in due course. Matt Jones snuck down to the event in a large DVD box, and it was fantastic to hold a hairy welshman in my arms again. Highlights for me included meeting Ronnie Del Carmen, Noah Klocek, Scott Watanabe and a memorable night on the tiles with Alberto Mielgo and Co. Both Noah and Alberto gave excellent presentations on their work the following day. I even attended a gesture class in the hallway to draw a cowboy.

There was no time to rest after the event as we headed over to Manhatten Beach on the Sunday for a viscious volley ball contest with Tim Watts and his family. Fuelled by 6 large pancakes each battle commenced for at least 15 minutes.

I spent 2 memorable days with Wilbert Plijnaar relaxing in the sanctuary of his incredible garden. I was daunted to learn that he wanted me to add something artistic to his garden. With only 1 day to hand I began to paint a witch doctor onto one of the posts of his outdoor hut, hoping to return one day to continue it.

Wednesday was a chance to see old friends and faces from Disney. Thursday was Thanksgiving and all my plans went belly up. I traveled solo over to Santa Monica just in time to see the sun drop into the North Pacific. Walking down to Venice I found "The Other Room", a bar I visited many moons ago. I sat at the bar and drew on the matchboxes from the bowl. One thing led to another and I ended up at a giant house party until the small hours, ending my last night In L.A with a bang. Small things do matter!

And so it was all over. I'm hugely indebted to Todd & Liz, Wilbert Plijnaar, Sally Umstead, Jim Fielding, Stephane Kardos, Jeff Shelly, Tim Watts and whoever the hell I met at the aforementioned house party for your outstanding generosity!

The last day I went from the 69 degree heat of L.A to the minus 3 degree warmth of the Hammersmith bus terminal!