My Mum turned up yesterday bearing gifts, and a lot of stuff she’s clearing out from the loft. One box contained collected items that are somewhat mice-nibbled, but are an archive of my childhood craft activities and school books. The above painting of ‘a train’ is perhaps one of my first forays into painting, aged 3½.

This is a Mother’s Day card – complete with insert reading ‘to mummy with love from Neil’. Not a bad first collage at the age of 5, March 1976.

Perfectly apt for this time of year, this snowman was a wax on sugar paper masterpiece when I was living near Dubai in 1978, aged 7. About as far from snow as I could get at that point!

We’ve no idea whose guinea pigs these were as I think we were still living in Dubai at the time – I was 8. Notice the rosettes in the hair – I last had guinea pigs five years ago, and think I’d probably draw them similarly now 😉

This treasure island is undated, but probably from around the same time. It’s that time in drawing development when ‘sky’ meets ‘ground’ – although I wonder if it’s sea at the top with the sails of the ship appearing above the hill. May be a first foray into distance and perspective?