I thought about how sturdy those little baby books were... You know, the ones that you read to your kids when they were 2 or 3? Chipboard construction, I think it is... Anyway, I sanded the pages, gessoed them, and painted them with acrylics so that they would already have fun, exciting backgrounds. This one is about 5x6". Like miniature canvases.... So portable and sturdy. All you need is this, three tubes of acrylic, plus white, one or two brushes, and you're good to go....

As my kids will tell you, I have a thing for "mack" ladies...As in "mackintosh-wearing old ladies that trundle around the streets and shops of the northwest of England, usually with a shopping back, a sensible pair of shoes, a scarf and a plastic hood over the perm, if it's raining. (They get extra marks for a short-legged dog of unknown origin). I will unashamedly pose one of my children close to them and take photos of them going about their business. This is one of my daughter (on the left, looks a bit like a pole dancer in ski jacket) and winter shoppers on Lord Street, Southport.

When you can find mack ladies sitting having a sandwich, like on Blackpool Pier, you can draw them from life if you're discreet. I have found that, when people are eating, they literally "zone out". That's why I do most of my figure drawing from life at Macaroni Grill, drawing on the table cloth with crayons!