The Sketchbook Project 2013

Finally finished my sketchbook for the Brooklyn Museum, which is good news. A whole sketchbook dedicated to the art of frottage, consisting of 34 pieces. I will be uploading 12 of my favourite images onto my website sometime this week. In the meantime, here are a few of my images.

Dominoes

Beetle Larvae

Fossils

Shells

Telford and Wrekin Open Art Exhibition

Thought this was a nice opportunity for artists.  For more information click the link:

http://www.telford.gov.uk/info/200006/arts_and_entertainment/1183/open_art_exhibition_2013

It costs £5 for each piece of original artwork (maximum of two). Submissions in person on Saturday, 12 January 2013.

Pitt Rivers Museum, Oxford

My visit to the Pitt Rivers Museum in Oxford was really interesting and my work is being displayed there until the end of November.  It was really good to see a range of illustrations displayed in the museum and also to hear Isabel Greenberg talk about her illustration work and new graphic novel to be published next year. My images were based on the idea of seed germination and were produced by using charcoal (frottage) and pen.  Images were finalised in Photoshop,

Cheltenham Illustration Awards

Good News! My work is going up in the exhibition at the Pitt Rivers Museum in Oxford from this Saturday. I've booked tickets already so it should be a great day out and I'm looking forward to seeing all the illustrations in the show. The show runs until the 25th November 2012.

http://www.cheltenham-illustration-awards.com

Birmingham Eye Candy Festival

Well, made it to Hurst Street and even though there were no stalls on the sidewalk, it was a nice event and gave me a lot to think about. If I don't get anywhere with the Jonathan Cape competition (I hope they received my entry), I'll most certainly push my graphic novel short story further and possibly make it into a zine or small hardback book for sale. Lots of ideas for an art stand etc - so quite inspiring and I got a good contact for printing zines.

Birmingham Eye Candy Festival

Just thought I'd let people know that this weekend there will be an independent publishing fair at Sidewalk, Hurst Street in Birmingham. This coincides with an event that Ammo Magazine are running at Le Truc, so it should be a good day out for comic fans.  Lots of other things happening too, check out this link www.eyecandyfestival.co.uk and go to "timetable" on the left for more info.

Jonathan Cape Competition

Waiting Room

I found this competition a little late and only had 4 days to come up with a storyline and complete the artwork. I decided that I wanted to draw the artwork, so I looked at the work of Edward Gorey for inspiration. This is one of my images from a total of 23 that completed my final 4 page entry. I will post the final spreads on my website when the competition is over. This project was a bit of a learning curve for me, but I think the end result turned out okay.

Rough Character Sketches

Rough Character Sketches

Just a few sketches for a very short graphic novel (4 pages), that I am trying to finish this week. The character is based on my mum's mad dog and so is the story. This is my first attempt at a graphic novel so it will be really good experience and I am looking forward to starting on the artwork. If you're interested in entering the Jonathan Cape competition, here's the link.

http://www.vintage-books.co.uk/Graphicshortstoryprize/

Lost Bird from Sudan

Lost Bird from Sudan

I bought a little bone statue from a junk shop, he had one wing and an eye missing but I fell in love with him. I was going to use him for a still life (which I still might do) but I got carried away and painted him in a woodland scene. This is a mixed media piece using, charcoal, pen, acrylic and watercolour paint. While I was painting, three faces appeared, so I went with it and brought them out with my pen. You might have to click on the picture to find them. There are other faces but I didn't want to go overboard.