Sunday 23 December 2007

Merry Christmas!


Here's one of this year's Christmas card. Every year I do four different designs. This year I've incorporated all four designs on each card, each member of the band has their turn on the front. Some of the previous years variations are on my website in the illustration section.

Thanks for all the great comments I've had since starting this blog and thanks to (amongst others) Drawn! and Forbidden Planet for giving it such a plug. There's plenty more to come next year. Y'all come back now, y'hear?

Sunday 18 November 2007

Winehouse




I always thought Amy Winehouse would be fun to draw - complicated hair, smoky eyes, interesting hands - well, I was right. Here she is along with the original pencil sketch which I think (as ALWAYS!) has a bit more energy to it.

Tuesday 13 November 2007

Behold... Felt Mistress!



Louise (my lil' lady) has now got a Flickr site of her very own. It features Mr Smashing and the tweed beasts we've designed together plus all the other toys she's made - Sugar Buzz's Pants Ant, a Yeti (pictured) and even a felt facsimile of JAKe (the notorious illustrator and all round "good egg") - and work from her day job as a bespoke wedding dress designer. Click HERE to have a look. Louise can also take on toy commissions. You can contact her through her Flickr site and via my email address.

Monday 5 November 2007

Guardian Office Hours cover.


The cover to today's Office Hours section of the Guardian. It was an article about a company that can supply you with a social life if you're new to London. I don't post a great deal of my commissioned work on here (as it's supposed to be mostly sketchbook work) but I liked the way this one turned out. The downside of newspaper work is that it's only around for one day although there have been occasions when that's been a blessing.

Thursday 1 November 2007

Martin Parr


I very rarely use photographic reference but today I'm making an exception. I love this photograph by Martin Parr and have wanted to draw it since the moment I first saw it. It's like a Renaissance tableau but with tomato sauce dispensers and hotdogs. I love the way the girl at the front is pushing down on the tomato sauce dispenser with her forearm whilst trying to hold onto her hotdog. It's the type of pose that you couldn't make up but gives a drawing a real authenticity. This photo also reminds me of all the holidays I had as a kid and all the fetes, carnivals and "fun" days I went to between the ages of 5 and 15. Proust had his madeleine I've got a purple slush puppy and a Westler's hamburger.

Saturday 6 October 2007

Mr Smashing on tour.


Mr Smashing (as previously posted about on this blog) is a toy designed by me and made by, my significant other, Louise. Here's another 6 variations soon to be available at the Here Gallery in Bristol. I've also added some badges to the shop on my website (where other versions of Mr Smashing are still available). I have had some problems with the PayPal link on my shop but it's all working fine now. So get spending!

Thursday 20 September 2007

Horizon Perfekt

As you well know I Heart Pencils but I also Heart Cameras. Here's a few shots taken on my recent trip to Japan with my trusty Horizon Perfekt. There's more (lots more!) on my Flickr site. The link's on the right of this page.Obmit
ShimbashiFuji Building, Odaiba
Fish sign, Shinjuku

Saturday 15 September 2007

Tokyo, Mon Amour!

Well, I'm back from Japan. It was my third trip in 3 years and as enjoyable as ever. We survived a Typhoon (slept through it, in fact), visited Kamakura and ate enough "Cake sets" to sink a ship. Once again, the book shops of Tokyo did their best to land me with an excess baggage charge (handy tip, stick all your books in your hand luggage. They don't weigh that.). Where else can you buy a book which is described as "A journey around Europe with matchbox labels", see a Jan Svankmajer retrospective in a department store or have an extensive choice of Czech animation DVDs in almost every book/DVD shop? It's a place where anyone who has an interest in illustration/design/architecture should visit at least once. I lost count of the number of times I wandered into shops which appeared to exist just for me. Dick Bruna seems to be as ubiquitous in Japan as Victoria Beckham is in Britain. I finally managed to acquire a Print Gocco in the brilliant Tokyu Hands (imagine a store where art supplies rub shoulders with dart boards, magicians supplies and stag beetles) and visited Ito-Ya, a six storey stationery store in Ginza. Below are just some of the items I brought back with me. So many pens, pencils and sketchbooks! So little time. Dave Shelton, if you're reading this, I think this is where you'll go when you die. Hopefully, I'll be posting some of the fruits of my purchases in the near future. Mata ne!

Thursday 16 August 2007

Caterer Magazine


Here's a recent illustration I did for Caterer & Hotelkeeper magazine. It was to accompany an article about restaurant's opening with it's menu prices set way too high. 16 quid for a starter!?!

Friday 10 August 2007

More Trees



As I stated earlier, I love drawing trees. Here's some tree sketches I did this week. Real trees. Out in the open. With a pencil. I wore shorts and got sunburn on my shins. That's it for me and the "great" outdoors.

Saturday 4 August 2007

Bongo Lewis - King of Dogs


Another toy. Same as last time - designed by me, made by Louise. Made from vintage tweed and approx 15 inches tall. Available soon from the shop on my website. One of my Bongo Lewis strips was blown up to fill the windows above Borders on Oxford Street about 6/7 years ago. I never saw this (despite walking beneath it a few times, if only I'd crossed the road!). If anyone, by some bizarre fluke, happens to have photos of this I'd love to see them.

Wednesday 1 August 2007

Creature Print


A recently commissioned fabric print featuring a cavalcade of creatures dragged kicking and screaming from my sketchbook (look there's Inspector Cumulus!). If all goes well this should be appearing on a hooded top near you sometime in the next couple of months.

Thursday 12 July 2007

Inspector Cumulus


Does anybody remember those cool old black and white films about Inspector Cumulus, the cloud-headed detective? What about the old Pan paperbacks written by Barrington Chendy (yes, THAT Barrington Chendy!) that you used to be able to pick up cheap in charity shops? No? Oh right, I must have just made it up then.

Monday 2 July 2007

Octobus Stop.


The stuff you see at bus stops. Honestly, only yesterday. Waiting for the X94.

Sunday 1 July 2007

Mr Smashing.


Introducing Mr Smashing. A collaboration between me and my very significant other, Louise. Mr Smashing was originally designed for some of our smaller friends but is now available to buy from the shop on my website. He's the perfect house guest and is guaranteed to liven up any room. More to follow....

Friday 29 June 2007

"As if by magic, the shopkeeper appears..."


I've just set up a shop on my website. First up is my comic from 1999, Aunt Connie & the Plague of Beards. 36 pages of gangsters, werewolves, pensioners and George Bernard Shaw. It's just crying out to be made into a musical so get in on the ground floor and tell all your friends you were there before it was the West End/Broadway sensation it's destined to become. Alternatively, help me clear a bit of space in my loft. It's available in English and French (Tante Connie et les Homme a Barbe) and all copies sold will be signed with a sketch. Coming soon - badges and toys! Watch this space. Just go to my website and click on "Shop".

Friday 22 June 2007

Jack'n'Meg.


I've been meaning to draw this pair for ages. They've got a great iconic look and a built in colour scheme that's hard to resist. So, seeing as they've got a new album out I thought I'd give them a go.

Tuesday 19 June 2007

Two-Coats McWhinnie (1999)





Here's an unpublished strip (again from the Carney/Edwards dream factory) from way back in 1999. It was intended to be a Missive Device - an ingenious comic strip/postcard venture published by Slab-O-Concrete. Unfortunately Slab went belly up before Two-Coats was ever printed. Here it is now in all it's technicolour, tear-jerking glory. Classic Carney. I remember when I first finished this I was so pleased with it but now looking back 8 years on (!) it looks rough and scruffy. That's always a bit disconcerting but I suppose it's better than looking back at old work and thinking it's better than your current stuff. Anyway, without further ado.....

Saturday 9 June 2007

Sir Jeremiah G'Aaargg

My entry in Sam Hiti's brilliant Fist-A-Cuffs tournament. I went out in the first Battle Royale but I don't feel too bad as I lost to the overall winner, Knitty Gritty. Hell hath no fury like a women scorned (armed with knitting needles). Sir Jeremiah has now gone back to his attic room to finish his Sudoku.

Late Night




A three page comic strip I did some time last year with Ian Carney for Delaine Derry Green's "Not My Small Diary"comic. All the strips in it are autobiographical. I had the pleasure of illustrating just one incident from the teenage life of Wirral legend, Ian Carney. "There are eight million stories in the naked city, this is just one of them."

Friday 1 June 2007

Two Velvets


A pic of Lou and Sterling from the Velvet Underground that I did about a year ago and completely forgot about until I found it buried in the depths of my hard drive. I think I put it to one side until I'd drawn the rest of them. If I ever get round to it I'll let you know. Incidentally, the Velvet Underground was the first pop star comic strip I did for Deadline way back in 1993. Ah, memories!

Wednesday 30 May 2007

Tree/Girl Montage



This is my attempt at a montage illustration (the type of thing that Robert McGinnis or Sergio Toppi do much, much better). Ideally it'd be the cover to some trashy Baroque/Gothic romance paperback with an embossed gold title along the bottom. Below it is the original page of sketches that it came from. Obviously, the sketch is far better than the finished inked piece. Ain't that always the way!

More Brush Pen stuff.



More brush pen sketches.

Thursday 24 May 2007

Brush Pens


Here's some recent sketches drawn with a set of Faber Castell PITT artist brush pens. I've never really found a pen I like to sketch with as much as a pencil but that was before I'd tried these. 1 black pen and 3 shades of grey. They're a joy to draw with. I liked them so much... I bought the company! (Not really, I just bought another 3 pens).

Wednesday 23 May 2007

Ponk! Ponk!


Here's my latest Threadless submission. It's my tribute to the humble cowbell. Ponk, ponk y'all!

Tuesday 22 May 2007