Dizzojay's Dean Dreams

Happy Post: Fun and larks at Purgatory

dizzojay — Sat, 30 May 2026 14:34:25 GMT

Hot on the heels of JIB, I took a few weeks then headed onto the European continent once again, this time to lovely Deutschland, headed to Purgatory convention in Dusseldorf.

Unlike Jus in Bello, this time I had a low level pass with nothing beyond entry to the con included. Therefore all my extras had to be purchased separately. There were several wonderful guests at Purgatory, but because of the extras situation, I decided to concentrate on J2 themed extras. Bet you're all shocked at that!!

I had a J2 with Impala photo, which was a first for me, and that devolved into hilarity because I was looking somewhere - who knows where - but it certainly wasn't at the photographer who I completely missed because she was standing amongst a group of people! The plus side of this is I got a wonderful head-thrown-back laugh from Jensen captured for posterity on my photo!

I got a great selfie pose from Jared and my J2M picture was awesome - I'm so happy with it! Jared and Misha's expressions are pure mischief while Jensen is deliberately looking very sensible at the front, seeming oblivious of the shenanigans going on behind him!

Highlight of the photos was our Jensen single. amberdreams and I had been scheming for a few weeks about a shared photo, along with our friend, Chris. We are three ladies of a similar vintage, and that vintage happens to be the vintage very much preferred by a certain Soldier Boy...

We had three matching T shirts made up saying 'Soldier Boy's type', and didn't tell Chris about it until the very last minute! We descended en masse upon the poor man in his photo op. I walked up to him and said, 'Soldier Boy, it's your lucky day!', gesturing to amberdreams and Chris beside me, and Jensen loved it. He said, "it sure is - get in here." We had a riot during the photo ops and Jensen threw himself into the joke with gusto!

On Saturday evening I had both of my autograph with Jensen and Jared, and had a moment to have a lovely conversation with them both. Jensen complimented me on my hair - I can die happy now - and Jared talked very positively about my art. Somehow we also got on the subject of Pokemon which I know absolutely nothing about. I said to him that I believe Pokemon came out in the mid 90's? I was nearly thirty then, so I wasn't exactly their target demographic. When I said that, I could see the wheels start turning in mathlete Jared's head, and I said, it's ok, you can do the sum - I'm fifty eight! He was a complete gentleman and exclaimed, "no, never!" Whethher or not he meant it, who knows? XD

By then, however, the con had run about two hours late. I was hot, exhausted and hungry - I felt every day of those fifty eight years and then some!!!

I produced a scan of some artwork for Jensen to sign

And Jared signed my Mister Marathon portrait

As well as the convention and all the fabulous interactions with J2, as always, a big highlight of the con is catching up with lovely friends. Such a large part of the reason why I still do it!

This was taken Saturday evening after autos when I had finally got the opportunity to sit down, take a breath and have some dinner with these awesome German ladies: L-R Kerstin, Birgit, me, stellamira, herminekurotowa

Then in the panel hall Sunday morning
L-R stellamira, amberdreams, Chris, herminekurotowa, me, Natalie

I'm a very lucky and very grateful Dizzo to be surrounded by so many awesome friends!

Extra big thanks to herminekurotowa for once again, kindly opening her home to me and allowing me to stay over the con weekend (big thanks also to her husband for putting up with me too!)

Bunnies!

dizzojay — Tue, 19 May 2026 17:23:24 GMT

It's been a while since I posted any bunny content.

I think it's fair to say that these bunnies are ridiculously spoiled, and we have finally realised that our living room has finally been given over to the two little ratbags. Their toys and enrichment items have taken over the room, and we have accepted that floor space is a thing of the past in our house.

At least we still have the couch ... for now!

Happy post: Arrivederci Roma!

dizzojay — Sun, 03 May 2026 08:31:34 GMT

Following on from yesterday's post, after we took the train down from Florence to Rome, and made our way to the all too familiar Fumicino Airport Hilton hotel, it was late afternoon, so we had time to get into our rooms, freshen up and then go downstairs to register for the con. During that time, we met up with our other partners in crime, including amberdreams, heavenli24, stellamira and dean_hugs_sammy.

After registration, we all headed into the hotel bar for dinner and a much needed catch up.

As you can see, I'm very excited about finally being registered :D

Friday was a quiet day. The con doesn't officially start until 4pm, however, they do run an activity with the guests out and about in Rome called Roman Holiday. I didn't do that one, so I was able to spend Friday morning, relaxing in the hotel bar, topping up my caffeine levels, studying the schedule and catching up with lovely people I hadn't seen since JIBcon last year.

Although Roman Holiday sounds like fun, I love that few hours calm before the storm, I find it so therapeutic. It really recharges my social battery ready for the convention mayhem!

J2 don't attend the convention on Friday, so when the convention eventually did kick off, my first destination was the autograph room to get as many autos as I can before the J2 excitement descends on Sarurday and Sunday. I had a productive afternoon...

So Saturday morning arrived, and the panel room was full to bursting and buzzing! When the sound system struck up the opening bars to 'the boys are back in town', the whole place erupted.

J2 walked onto the stage, and when I saw that Jensen was clean shaven, I may have let out a sound that only dogs can hear...

The rest of the wekeend passed in the usual, wonderful blur. Our little gang became ships that pass in the night (during the day), and then managed to catch up in the evenings to share stories of photo ops and J2 encounters.

I had my own story of my Jensen autograph.

Daniela was sitting with Jensen at the autographs when I walked up to the table and handed her my Soldier Boy artwork. She said 'where would you like him to sign?'. I replied, 'Anywhere on the white border - the picture is pastel, so it's like powder and will clog up the pen'.

Daniela slid my picture over to Jensen and pointed to the white border. So of course, Jensen signs it across the picture. And clogs up the pen.

Daniela and I shared a look, and I said, 'honestly, men!' She laughed.

After he signed the picture, Jensen picked it up and really studied it - then he grinned and said, 'he's in there. Yeah, I can see him!' He handed the pciture back to me with a smile and gave a chef's kiss!!!

I think I said something like, 'thanks, I'm so glad you like him!' And that was that. I was one happy Dizzo walking out of that room!

My Jared auto was no less entertaining. I had drawn a picture of Huntercorp Sam, and Jared burst out laughing when he saw it. He said, 'I love it, where did you get this?'

I replied, 'I drew it'. He said 'You drew it? It's awesome!'

I thanked him, and added 'I was aiming to make him look really snooty, but I think he's just come off looking a bit stoned!' Jared laughed, and said, 'nothing wrong with that - I like him even more now!'

Jared also didn't sign on the border, but at least he had the good sense to keep away from the pastel!

All my photo ops came and went, and unusually I like them all this year - apart from my JenMish because I was mid laugh about something Jensen had said and the photogtapher caught me looking completely deranged! XD

I love this one so much. Yes Jared, stop bragging, I know I'm a hobbit!

When Jensen invites you in for a hug, you get a lovely welcoming, respectful hug.

When Jared invites you in for a hug, you basically get your body parts rearranged.

Like I said, deranged...

Final photo op was with Ricky Whittle. He's a bit of a wildcard guest to JIB as he's never been in Supernatural, and has only just started watching it. In the few years before Covid, there was a multi-fandom convention on the two days before JIB called JIBland. Ricky was a guest at that a couple of times, and he was such an exuberarent character that he became a fan favourite. After Covid, Daniela retired JIBland to concentrate on JIB, but Ricky had been so popular, Daniela liked him, the fans liked him and he loved the whole JIB experience so much, he asked to be invited to JIB, and he's been a regular fixture ever since.

Of course, we had to also take our obligatory group photo - this time showing our support for a another JIB next year - which would be JIB 17.
And yes, it's happening!

On Monday, after the convention a day in Rome was order of the day, just mooching around and having a bit of lunch as we gradually made out way to the venue of the Monday concert

And finally, after the concert, to round up the whole lovely weekend, a selfie with Daniela

And finally, to Tuesday, heavenli24 and I were on the same flight home, and so decided to enjoy one last gelato together before we headed back to England.

Because, as the saying goes, when in Rome...

Happy Post: Four go nuts in Florence

dizzojay — Sat, 02 May 2026 18:18:18 GMT

Last week was Jus in Bello con (more on that later), however, before the convention, I, herminekurotowa, and our non-Lj friends, Wendy and Stephanie spent a few days in lovely Florence.

With places like the Uffizi and the Galleria del'accedemia, Florence is a bit of a Mecca for an art geek like me, so to say I was excited was understatement of the year!

We started off the week with visits to a couple of Florence's many beautiful churches and basilicas. The main one was the Duomo which was spectacular from the outside.

There was a tour to go up into the dome, which was about 450 steps up. herminekurotowa and Wendy decided to tackle the staircase. Stephanie and i decided to sit and drink coffee alfresco instead!

Wednesday was Uffizi day, and we spent hours enjoying beautiful works by every renaissance master you could name. The highlight for e was the beautiful Birth of Venus by Botticelli.

After our visit to the Uffizi, herminekurotowa and I headed back over the Pontevecchio, another of Florence's must-see treasures!

View from the Pontevecchio

Thursday was the day we were due to take the train from Florence down to Rome, but that was the afternoon. In the morning, we visited the Galleria del-accedemia, the home of Michaelangelo's statue of David.

It was such a privilege to be standing in front of such skill and such beauty. It was quite the spiritual moment for me, and yes, there were a few tears!

Finally, a big thanks to the three lovely ladies who shared this brilliant experience with me!

Dizzo update

dizzojay — Sun, 12 Apr 2026 18:59:21 GMT

Some of you may be aware that we have been undertaking some garden work over the last six months.

Our back garden was comprised of a patio which was almost 30 years old and time, together with a freaking great big tree root, had not been kind to it.

In short, it was a wreck!

Because of that, we had lost interest in maintainng it, so over the last two or three years it never got cleaned or patched up.

This was what it looked like in October 2025.

We had it relaid in October 2025, and since then, over the winter we had worked on it, in terms of storage and bunny proofing.

Then, this Easter, with a nice bit of birthday money in my pocket, we treated ourselves to some nice garden furniture so we could finally sit out and enjoy our lovely new patio.

This is what it looks like now.

We are so thrilled with it, and christened it with a bottle of wine on Good Friday.

We will have a few more little jobs to do in it (you can't see the big messy rubbish tip pile in the photo because it was behind me), and one of those jobs is smartening up the stone animals in the garden that are all a bit weathered and worn. The weather wasn't nice enough this weekend to sit out and really get stuck in to hours of paining, but I did manage to paint a couple of little decorative tiles.

When the original patio was laid, it was finshed on my thirtieth birthday, and as a surprise birthday present, the builder snuck a couple of little fun tiles into the patio for us to discover later. One was a horseshoe for me, because I was big into horse riding back then, and one was a smiley face for Barry.

The smiley face was built into the doorstep which is still there, and we retrieved the horseshoe before the old patio went. We'll find a home for it in the new garden.

They were both fairly sorry looking as you would expect for something that had been exposed to the British weather for so many years, so this weekend I was able to give them both some TLC, ready for their next few years with us!

Five years

dizzojay — Thu, 09 Apr 2026 18:44:25 GMT

It's five years today since we lost jj1564 (June), and I can't believe how we're suddenly here five years on. I've been thinking about her a lot today, and raised a glass to her earlier.

This might be a nice opportunity to hop on over to her journal and comment or visit her AO3 page and read one of her fics, leave a kudos!

We all have our favourite memories of June, and this is one of mine. When I bought Jensen for June's birthday one year, and he became quite a fixture in her life. She loved to torture Sam, and her sister, Brenda by leaving him in unexpected places around the house. Screams upon stepping out of the bathroom was a regular occurrence in June's house! XD

Speaking of Sam, he shared the below picture on June's memorial Facebook page earlier today, and I'm sure he won't mind me sharing it here, because it sums up our darling June better than any words I could ever use!!

Can I be cheeky?

dizzojay — Mon, 06 Apr 2026 18:34:48 GMT

You may be aware of two things about me:

One, I had a birthday last week and two, I kind of like rabbits a bit.

So, I have combined the two and set up a birthday fundraiser on Facebook for the Rabbit Welfare Association and Fund.

https://rabbitwelfare.co.uk/

The RWAF is the UK's largest charity devoted entirely to improving the lives of pet rabbits. Their work includes education and awareness campaigns as wel as lobbying to ensure that rabbit welfare best practice is adopted wherever necessary. They also provide information and support to owners, rescues, and vets.

If you can spare a few pennies to donate to this amazing charity, you will have made my birthday very happy indeed! The fundraiser runs until the 12th April.

https://www.facebook.com/donate/1617337276255200/10166975668291754/

Juniper and Nutmeg (and I) say thank you!

Happy Easter!

dizzojay — Sun, 05 Apr 2026 08:42:10 GMT

Wishing you all a very happy Easter from me and my resident Easter bunnies.

Unfortunately my Easter bunnies haven't given me any chocolate eggs, but they have left a few other little round surprises lying around the place!!

Tree time!

dizzojay — Sun, 29 Mar 2026 09:01:22 GMT

So, as you may be aware, after we lost darling jj1564, her family planted a memorial tree at her favourite place, Hever Castle. The tree is a flowering cherry tree and it's absolutely thriving!

Flowering cherry trees produce blossom in the Springtime, usually pink or white, and are such beautiful trees when they are in full blossom. However, their blossom period doesn't tend to last very long. You're lucky if you get three weeks out of them.

I've visited June's tree multiple times, but over the four plus years since it's been at Hever, I've never managed to see it in full blossom. Multiple circumstances such as covid, traffic strife and many and varied other commitments have meant that I've never been able to get there in that brief blossom window.

Yesterday, I finally managed to buck that trend!

Mr D and I took a trip down to Hever to meet up with Brenda and Barbara, two of June's sisters, and June's lovely tree put on a magnificent show for us!
It was beautiful - even prettier than I imagined it to be!

Jensen time..

dizzojay — Wed, 25 Mar 2026 18:38:20 GMT

So, there's been all sorts of Jensen goodies floating around with all the Boys publicity, and so it woud be rude of me not ro share some of the pretty here!

Jensen time...

dizzojay — Wed, 11 Mar 2026 19:11:29 GMT

something a bit different today - a post from Jensen's IG page.
All I can say in response is, where to I apply to get this job?

View this post on Instagram
A post shared by Jensen Ackles (@jensenackles)

Happy Birthday Bunnies

dizzojay — Mon, 09 Mar 2026 20:30:41 GMT

Yesterday, my two little ratbags celebrated their bunny birthdays. Their fifth birthday!

How on earth have they become five years old already?

We got them when they were 16 weeks old and it feels like two months ago! I want to say that now they've hit middle age, they've got all the sass and attitude that goes with it, but they've had that since day one!!! XD

Anyway, happy birthday bubbubs!

Happy post: Happy International Women's Day

dizzojay — Sun, 08 Mar 2026 17:58:13 GMT

It's international women's day, and I want to take this moment to give thanks to the many amazing, strong and inspirational women that are part of my life. Not just the ones I know in person, but those of you that live in my laptop too.

Thank you for being my friend, thank you for being part of my life, and thank you for being awesome!

💜🤍💚

Here are just some of the fabulous women I am proud to call friends - there are many more:

Who could forget this amazing lady!

Of course, the most amazing woman of them all, the one that gave birth to me! She's a proud south London girl, a Mama Bear, a cancer survivor and someone I love to the moon and back. Plus she puts up with all my Dad's shenanigans without strangling him, so that's worth an honorable mention in and of itself!

Here she is at her 80th birthday dinner in her red blouse.

Soldier Boy

dizzojay — Sat, 07 Mar 2026 19:27:57 GMT

Soldier Boy is back on everyone's minds with Season 5 of the Boys Imminent and Jensen's Boys prequel nearing the end of production, so I couldn't resist jumping on that bandwagon!

I spent this afternoon working on my first portrait for signing at JIB con at the end of April...

Betcha can't guess who I decided to draw? XD

Jensen time... Jensen birthday edition

dizzojay — Sun, 01 Mar 2026 17:46:26 GMT

It would be very remiss of me to miss such an auspicious occasion, and not take this opportunity to wish the happiest of happy birthdays to the fabulous man whose existence accounts for about 80% of this journal's content.

To Jensen - 48 years old and maturing like the finest wine!
Happy Birthday!

credit Monica D Photography
Blue Sky
Insta

Happy Post: Life, the Universe and Everything...

dizzojay — Tue, 10 Feb 2026 19:21:51 GMT

On Saturday, Mr D and I headed up to London for my (very) early birthday treat. The Hitch Hikers Guide to the Galaxy immersive stage show.

For those of you who know my birthday is in April, the reason this was so early was because the show's run ends on the 15th February.

I love the HHGTTG. I first read the book when I was about 14, and then all the subsequent sequels, and have always counted it as one of my favourite stories.

The show was a musical reinterpretation of the story and it did a great job (I mean, it did have to fit five books into 90 minutes). It brought in Arthur Dent's love interest, Fenchurch, from book 4. The show was energetic and fun, and very respectful of the HHG universe. I had a fab time, I think I got more out of it than Mr D because I'm so much more familiar with the story. Mr D had never read past book 2, so had no idea who Fenchurch was. But he said, once he wrapped his head around the story, he really got into it, and wished he could see it again because he'd enjoy it so much more. Sadly it comes off soon, so unless it's resurrected somewhere else, that's unlikely!

Highlights of a great show was us drinking our Pan Galactic Gargle Blasters (I wouldn't say it felt like having our brains smashed out by a slice of lemon wrapped around a large gold brick, but it was yummy all the same) and me having a conversation with Marvin the Paranoid Android that went thus:

Marvin: what is your name?
Me: I'm Jane
Marvin: I don't care. Jane, I've been practicing giving people compliments. May I give you a compliment?
Me: of course!
Marvin: You are wearing shoes. That's very sensible.
Me: Thank you. I've had worse compliments than that!
Marvin: I don't care

Of course, anyone who's familiar with the HHG universe knows that any self-respecting hitch hiker never forgets their towel, so of course, I had to treat myself to one!

I did have a few tears when there was a tribute to Douglas Adams at the end of the show. So much love and respect for that man and his exceptional mind.

Altogether a fabulous day! Here are a few more pics - official ones because photography wasn't allowed!

Jensen time...

dizzojay — Thu, 05 Feb 2026 18:32:41 GMT

How is it possible that this is my first Jensen time of 2026?

OK, so I need to right this wrong and go hunting for lots more delicious Jensen pictures... such hardship.

Anyway, to start us off, here are a few shots of Jensen at the recent Norfolk con - credit as per watermark.

Snowflake Challenge 2026 - day 15

dizzojay — Sat, 31 Jan 2026 16:23:05 GMT

Challenge #15

How Did the Fandom Snowflake Challenge Go?

Another really enjoyable challenge. As I said right at the beginning, it’s a great little reset, and gets my brain working again after the stagnation of the Christmas break.

I lost a little momentum toward the end as I spent a few days visiting my parents and deliberately didn’t take my laptop as I wanted to concentrate on them, not my screen, so I missed challenge 13 and 14, but overall, I’m happy with this year’s challenge, and sad it’s at an end.

Thanks, as always, to the mods who work so hard to bring us this lovely little event!

See you next year!

Snowflake challenge 2026 - day 12

dizzojay — Tue, 27 Jan 2026 18:27:41 GMT

Challenge #12

Make an appreciation post to those who enhance your fandom life. Appreciate them in bullet points, prose, poetry, a moodboard, a song... whatever moves you!

It can never be denied that the main factor in my wonderful fandom experience is the friends I’ve made

Whether they are friends who have crossed over from online to real life friends or those who still live in my laptop, the joy of shooting the breeze with an awesome bunch of people from all over the world is something I will always be grateful to fandom for.

Thanks to my fandom friends, I’ve gained confidence, I’ve learned new skills, I’ve travelled, I’ve humiliated myself (GISH, I’m looking at you), I’ve met famous people and I’ve found myself in ways that I’d never even considered before.

I’ve laughed with you guys and I’ve cried with you guys, and I can’t find the words to tell you how much I appreciate you all.

Therefore, I have decided to abandon words, and demonstrate my appreciation through the medium of Jared, Jensen and Misha...

via GIPHY

Snowflake Challenge 2026 - day 11

dizzojay — Mon, 26 Jan 2026 18:30:49 GMT

I've been away visiting family for a few days, so I've fallen behind on the Snowflake a little, so this is me - catching up!

In your own space, grant someone's wish from Challenge #5

So, for this challenge, I decided to grant some wishes for a long standing friend, both here and on Livejournal:

fairyniamh

I have commented and given kudos on some of your wonderful works over on AO3, and as time permits, I'll definitely get to reading some more.

And here's the hug that you asked for. I would love to provide a real, in person, hug, but as we are separated by an ocean, here's a virtual hug provided by three lovely gentlemen instead. The love behind it remains the same as a real hug!

Snowflake Challenge 2026 - day 10

dizzojay — Tue, 20 Jan 2026 19:04:36 GMT

Challenge #10: Big Mood (Board)

CHOOSE SOMETHING YOU LOVE AND CREATE A MINI MOOD COLLECTION OF THREE (or more) ITEMS THAT EVOKE YOUR FEELINGS ABOUT IT. You don’t have to limit yourself to visual media, or collect the items into a special format like a square (though you can if you’d like).

So for this challenge, I thought I would concentrate on something that is prominent in my mind at the moment. My first convention of the year is hurtling toward me, only three months away.

Those who know me well know I operate almost exclusively in the Supernatural fandom, and Supernatural conventions are my happy place.

That's where I can be me. I can meet up with the fabulous friends I've made through fandom. I can catch up with Supernatural's awesome cast. I can create art for autographs. I get to travel and broaden my horizons - in recent years, apart from my homeland of the UK, my Supernatural travels have taken me to France, Germany and Italy.

So yes, this is a happy, joyful convention mood board...

Snowflake Challenge 2026 - day 9

dizzojay — Sat, 17 Jan 2026 18:23:35 GMT

Talk about your favorite tropes in media or transformative works. (Feel free to substitute in theme/motif/cliche if "trope" doesn't resonate with you.)

I guess my go to trope in fan fiction is Hurt/Comfort.

I’ve no idea why I love H/C, I always have, even before I knew fanfiction existed, or that hurt/comfort was a ‘thing’. I love the idea of a strong, independent person becoming vulnerable, hopefully temporarily because I'm a sucker for happy endings - and being forced to accept help and sympathy. In a way, this can apply to the comforter too, where the comforter maybe someone who is not used to being tactile or nurturing in the usual course of their lives, and has to act outside of their comfort zone - for instance, someone like Castiel in Supernatural.

There doesn’t have to be a point to all this; I’m not bothered if the story doesn’t lead to any significant character growth or development. I simply want to immerse myself in the mood and mental images of the strife and suffering of the victim and the caring and nurturing of the comforter. It's chocolate cake for my soul!

I’m only really active in the Supernatural fandom, for me, H/C has to be Dean-centric, or in terms of RPF, Jensen-centric, as he is generally regarded as the more stoic partner in J2. That also applies to any story where Dean or Jensen's facade of strength is broken, and an inner vulnerability is exposed, whether it be physical, like an illness or a weakness, or psychological, like low self-esteem or shyness, it all works for me!

I believe touch and closeness is an enormous part of the human bonding experience. I'm very tactile, and an enthusiastic hugger (and huggee!) so for me, to experience that closeness as an onlooker is every bit as satisfying. That touch doesn’t have to be sexual, it can be completely platonic but a well-written H/C that ramps up the hurt and manages to tread the line of helplessness and vulnerability without crossing over into melodrama can grab me on such an intense and sub-conscious level, that it can literally leave me mesmerised.

I'm happy to read H/C which is both gen and slash, but for me in a slash H/C, the sex element, however well it's written, is completely incidental and to the hurt/comfort element of the story.

Snowflake Challenge 2026 - Day 8

dizzojay — Sat, 17 Jan 2026 09:47:39 GMT

My main creativity at the moment is art. I work in pastel pencils and my process, such as it is, is as follows:

First of all I decide what I'm going to draw. Now, this might be driven by a commission,or it might be that I've got a convention coming up and I want to create something for signing, or it might be that I'm just randomly inspired to draw something to put on my stall and sell.

My next step is to look out reference pictures. If it's a commission, I would have already asked for photos of the person/pet, so I will look through these and decide which one/s to use.

If it's for a convention, I'll trawl the internet for pictures of the character that I want to draw until I find one that I like.

If it's a random picture, a reference might not be necessary, as in these cases I often work from imagination, but in some cases I still like a reference picture.

Once I have the idea and the reference picture, then I sort out the pencils that I'm going use, and the paper that I'm going to work on. I love working on black paper, and when I draw my convention portraits and my stall pictures, I am, in effect my own client, so I can choose black paper as my preference. However, when I do commissions, my client is someone else and I have to accept that black is probably not their preference so I tend to stick to very neutral colours such as grey, cream or sand.

Then I draw the picture.

And that's about it as far as a process goes!

Here are a few examples:

This was a commission, so taken directly from reference photos and drawn on pale grey Ingres paper.

This picture of Frodo was drawn for a convention last year for Elijah Wood to sign. This was drawn from a reference picture.

There was no reference photo involved in this picture, this was drawn for my stall and is now sold.

This Pegasus picture was also drawn from imagination, however, I did refer to pictures so that I could incorporate the Pegasus constellation into it, so I had to check what that looked like correctly!

Snowflake Challenge 2026 - day 7

dizzojay — Wed, 14 Jan 2026 18:14:01 GMT

LIST THREE (or more) THINGS YOU LIKE ABOUT YOURSELF. They don’t have to be your favorite things, just things that you think are good. Feel free to expand as much or as little as you want.

Hmmm… I had to think about this one!

Okay, here goes…

1. I’m tenacious, I’ll move heaven and earth to finish a task or project.
2. I’m loyal to those I love and care about.
3. Nature has blessed me with good health. Of course, I have my niggles, but on balance, when I see what other people have to deal with, I’m very grateful for the robust health I have.

Snowflake Challenge 2026 - day 6

dizzojay — Mon, 12 Jan 2026 19:21:34 GMT

Top 10 Challenge

For this challenge, I decided to go for something a little different, and so I have done a top ten of my favourite places in the UK.
So, here goes…

1. Glastonbury
I am completely aware that Glastonbury is not everyone’s cup of tea, but I love it. It’s dripping in history and mythology, and is regarded to be the fabled Isle of Avalon, What’s not to love?

2. Avebury
A neolithic stone circle so big there’s a small village inside it – no to mention a lovely pub. Seriously though, thousand’s of years of history under your fingertips and under your feet. A very spiritual place.

3. White Horse Hill

A 3,000 year old chalk hill carving set in Oxfordshire’s gorgeous rolling hills. Another very spiritual place for me.

4. London
Yes, I know, London is a big place, but it’s also the city of my birth and so holds a special place in my heart.

5. Batcombe Vale
A beautiful valley deep in the heart of Somerset where Mr D and I always used to go Camping. We haven’t been camping for around 10 years, but I haven’t given up hope that we’ll go there again. I’m just not sure Mr D’s back is up to sleeping in a tent any more!

6. Stratford upon Avon
A beautiful town with lots of Shakespearean connections. Also the home of the Royal Shakespeare Company, and seeing a performance of Shakespeare there is a truly immersive experience.

7. York
More History than you can shake a stick at. York has a unique feel due to it’s strong Viking heritage

8. Inverness
Where My D and I had our honeymoon. A small and elegant city that sits at the mouth of Loch Ness.

9. New Forest
Which, oddly enough, is very old. Home to several beautiful villages, acres of sprawling woodland and a whole population of very sassy wild ponies

10. Home

I’s nothing special But it’s my home and I’m very happy there!