Always go the Pretty Way

My dad always used to say, “Let's go the pretty way.” This was usually when we were going somewhere in the car and there was a quick way and a scenic way. Dad would always choose the scenic route, although I'm not entirely convinced he knew where he was going half the time, hahahahaha.

Getting lost is part of going the Pretty Way

We got lost quite a lot, but we always saw something interesting along the way. I remember seeing lambs in the fields in springtime, heaps of snow in winter and miles and miles of countryside. There was always something to look at, even if it meant the journey took a bit longer than expected.

One of my favourite memories is from when I was on holiday with my best friend and her family. Dad and my stepmum were coming to collect me, but they were taking absolutely ages. Nobody knew where they'd got to, and when they eventually arrived, it turned out Dad had taken such a detour that they'd ended up catching a ferry across the Humber. I still don't know how you accidentally find yourself on a ferry when you're supposed to be collecting your daughter, but that was Dad. He'd gone the Pretty Way.

I don't think I realised how much that little saying had stuck with me until after we lost him. It was something he'd said for as long as I could remember, and I suppose I'd never really thought about it being anything other than something Dad said when we were going somewhere.

Over the years, though, I've realised that I do exactly the same thing. Not necessarily when I'm driving, because I'm quite happy to have Google Maps tell me where I'm going, thank you very much. It's more about the way I approach things in everyday life, especially when I'm being creative.

Ideas visit me all the time and often a lot at the same time

I can start with one idea and end up somewhere completely different because something catches my attention along the way. I'll be working on an illustration, notice something that gives me another idea and suddenly I'm off exploring that instead. Sometimes I have to remind myself what I was supposed to be doing in the first place!

My Far North Queensland Adventures Calendar is a good example of this. When I started, I wanted to create twelve illustrations based on our travels. That was pretty much the entire plan. As I started drawing, though, little things began to happen. The characters started collecting souvenirs, a backpack appeared and the illustrations gradually became connected. By the time I'd finished, I'd created a whole adventure that runs through the year, right down to the tiny calendar hanging on the Christmas tree on the cover.

I hadn't planned any of that when I started. It happened because I followed the ideas as they appeared, and I'm glad I did because I think the little details are what make the calendar special.

I suppose that's what going the Pretty Way means to me now. It's not necessarily about taking longer to do something or deliberately making life more complicated. It's about noticing the things along the way and being curious enough to see where they might lead. Sometimes they turn into something useful, sometimes they become another creative project and sometimes they're simply something that makes me smile.

Of course, there are times when I need to stop wandering off and actually finish what I'm doing. Dad might have enjoyed the scenic route, but I don't think he'd have been much help when I've got a deadline and three other ideas waiting to be started!

Has something stayed with you?

It's funny how something someone said when you were little can stay with you for the rest of your life. Dad probably never gave those words a second thought, but they've become part of the way I look at the world and the way I create things. I like to think he'd be rather pleased about that.

Although he'd probably want to know why I didn't take the ferry.

Do you have a saying or a little piece of advice from someone in your family that's stayed with you? I'd love to hear it.