the graphic canon

in some mighty fine company here:

The Graphic Canon, edited by Russ Kick.

i'm in Vol. 3 with some Borges

the bloody chamber and other stories

 

The Bloody Chamber: ' I could contain myself no longer. I telephoned my mother. And astonished myself by bursting into tears when i heard her voice. No, nothing was the matter. Mother, i have gold bath taps. I said, gold bath taps !'

Puss in Boots: ' I'll swear he lives for Sunday morning, though never before was he a religious man. Saturday nights, he bathes himself punctiliously, even, i'm glad to see, washes behind his ears,'

The Company of Wolves: ' she is dressed and ready and it is christmas eve. The malign door to the solstice still swings upon it's hinges but she has been too much loved  ever to feel scared'

Idea for the binding: monocle- she is surveyed as a 'purchase' nod to Poiret drawing, ' i hid behind my furs as if they were a system of soft shields. My husband liked me to wear my opal over my kid glove, a showy, theatrical trick.' general theme of characters using clothing or disguise to overcome inhospitable environments

this is my entry for the Folio Society / House of Illustration competition, the prize is the commission to fully illustrate the book.

 http://competitions.houseofillustration.org.uk/folio-2011/about-2/

http://www.gmfreeze.org/

there is a GM wheat trial planned for hertfordshire, uk, this spring, containing a synthetic cow gene ...

they asked me to design this fellow to help let people know why it might not be such a great idea.

when bankers were good

on the iplayer this week:

Ian Hislop: When Bankers Were Good

http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b017nf4k/Ian_Hislop_When_Bankers_Were_Good/

perennial - for illustration friday

any excuse to draw old ladies.

Guidance

this is what i'm going to enter for the cheltenham illustration award this year. the theme is: Tree Time Tales - 

"Tree time is much longer than human time. From a long time ago -to the present day. We invite you to illustrate stories which may come from the past but have familiar and current themes; that have relevance to both ancient and very modern contemporary experience."

so this is about how, throughout all of time, humanity has looked to the stars for guidance and now it's GPS that gets us home.

pencil drawing with colour added digitally.

finding this to be a really good area of study, and the lived in ones are infinitely more interesting.

face practice

i just got a copy of The Sartorialist, it's a really good source of masses of interesting faces.

worth fighting for ?

worth fighting for ?

commission for Canterbury Festival Schools' Poetry competition  2011

the year of all the threes

year of the threes

thirty-nine, not me.

lucky number 2687

i'm entrant number 2687 for the folio society / house of illustration 'inside the outsider' competition.

that's my lucky number !

i really enjoyed doing these.

good luck everyone !

The Do Gooders are coming

a very nice surprise to see the do-gooders in the Radio Times today.

commissioned by Wingspan Productions, i created a scene for each of the 16 do-gooders featured in this new bbc2 series. the drawings were then animated for the show which starts next monday at 9pm on bbc2. it was the best kind of project, interesting, fun and a lovely and supportive client.

see the whole gang over here

The Alchemist's Tale

this is my entry for the Observer / Jonathan Cape graphic short story competition 2010

the library of babel

the garden of forking paths

the circular ruins

illustrations for three wonderful Borges stories

We All Do Good Things, Part 2.

I was asked by People United to create a series of illustrations inspired by my visits to charity shops in Herne Bay. These drawings represent the stories and acts of kindness that I discovered there.

At the Dogs Trust shop I found a beautiful accordion and some drums.

At the RSPCA shop I found lots of treasured vinyl.

At the Seaside charity shop I found a statue of a horse, lots of golf equipment and several sausage dogs (not for sale).

And at the Demelza shop I found lots of hand-knitted stripey scarves, two boxes of magic tricks and some owl ornaments.

All of these objects donated in kindness.

the illustrations have been framed and are now on display in their respective shops and also at a wonderful exhibition at the Herne Bay Museum until the end of june.

We All Do Good Things

i've been working with People United on a really cool project, promoting and celebrating acts of kindness across herne bay.

i drew this map leaflet - graphic design is by nebulo strata for the project which is called 'we all do good things'

this is the second in a series of three leaflets and i have also been commissioned to make some illustrations based on stories of kindness that i have discovered in the town's charity shops.

they are very lovely people to be working with

more in the body parts + emotions series, here's
Suffocation

and Anticipation

to go with acceptance

dinosaurs in love

a commission for an illustrated poem as a wedding gift
a nice project :)

i've started work on a graphic novel. there. i've said it now.

here's the first go at the first pages, and i am already seeing things i need to change. i imagine the urge to obsess over each individual image may pass after the first, say, hundred or so ? indeed, as i thought.

the latest homemades

latest homemades:

1.crochet baby blanket for fifi
2.crochet blanket, for a spring wedding present
3.vintage knitted top, from the book 'a stitch in time' original pattern from 1935 woman and home
4.habu silk, one shoulder crochet top. improvised pattern
5.crochet bracelet
6.garden rosehip syrup