Mind The Creative

I pop up in this months Digital Arts magazine wearing my guru cap offering advice on how to be more creative when the inspiration well has dried up. You know, insider tricks like drinking rivers of coffee, escaping on your bike, watching daytime TV, doodling aimlessly til dawn. Essentially anything that resets your noggin and saves you headbutting the monitor out of sheer frustration. Arhhh, too late.

Six Chunks Of Road Warrior

Had some fun condensing one of my favourite B-movies Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior into a six panel comic strip for a recent Little White Lies competition. The brief was to keep it black and white, no greyscale, and to stick to the panel system they provided. If only Tina Turner had been in this sequel too. Click to enlarge

Still Feeling Minnesota

Revisited the cover of the Minneapolis/Saint Paul Twin Cities Visitor Guide for another illustration this year. Would be cool to actually physically visit the twins in the flesh one day without my lasso tool. For sure.

CSI: Crime Scene Illustration

Here's a recent spread illustration for Canada's Readers Digest. It's about the elaborate forensic investigation behind the capture of an elusive hit & run perp. Nasty business.

Pencilled Out

I had a great time last Thursday at the ICA's Heavy Pencil event shootin' hot lead (and ink) with John Slade. We had a couple of hours to put some imagery to our sounds, the playlist loosely revolving around film themes and general inspiration, with the results being projected live on the bar wall . Here's a selection of snaps from the night courtesy of Tom Bunning and Rich Sinclair and some of the creations, more of which can be seen on John's blog. Thanks to all the people that came and a big cheers to John for getting me involved and to Gemma Tortella for putting on a great night.

Some of the tunes for these drawings included...

Queen - The Hero (Flash Gordon OST)

Company Flow - Population Control

John Carpenter - Escape From New York theme

Johnny Greenwood - Prospector's Arrive (There Will Be Blood OST)

Beck - Broken Drum (Boards Of Canada Remix)

Elsie Mae - Do You Really Want To Rescue Me?

Vangelis - Salome's Dance (Blade Runner Esper Edition OST)

Goodbye Horses - Q Lazzarus

The Sad Skinhead - Faust

Memories Project

I've been invited to contribute some artwork to the Memories Project which looks at the thoughts and experiences of individuals who have survived cancer. The project is launched in the Summer by DAHRA (Designers Against Human Rights Abuse), Subism, OneTenEleven Media and Garrick Webster. There's some fantastic artists on board and I'm proud to be a part of it, will keep you posted.

Puritanical

It's a grey Monday morning and a window has opened for a timely re-entry into the blogosphere to catch up on recent happenings. I wanted to mention a great gig I went to a couple of weeks ago, These New Puritans at Bush Hall in Shepherds Bush, London. Their new album 'Hidden' is an innovative beast, a rousing soundscape of electronic rhythms, massive drums, children's choirs and woodwind/brass instrumentation which is at once futuristic and ancient. It was reproduced to wonderful effect live on the night with the woodwind/brass section, huge drum and chains all present and correct. It was unlike anything I've seen or heard for quite some time. Inspiring stuff.

Love Letter

Blue Velvet's Frank Booth, a pyscho for the ages

Plisken

Just call me Snake

Redhead

It's a doodly kind of day...

Heavy Pencil

I will be sporting a particularly heavy pencil, and maybe a brush pen or two, at the ICA's regular live drawing/drinking event on Thursday February 4th. Good friend and fellow illustrator John Slade was invited to the event and asked me to partner up with him for some vaguely cinematic musical doodlings for a couple of hours. The event is free so come along if you can.

You BETT

More exhibition based work for the Futurelab crew and their stand at the BETT 2010 education and technology event in Earls Court, London. The exhibition, which also featured the Spark illustrations I recently finished for them, needed an overall banner design to tie everything together under the header 'Bringing Learning To Life'. A photo shoot of local school kids in Bristol was arranged by Futurelab and lovingly shot by Tom Bunning for the final illustration.

Buffalo Driver

Been thinking about some of my favourite cinematic basketcases recently and thought I'd treat myself to a Buffalo Bill from Silence Of The Lambs followed by a Travis Bickle from Taxi Driver. Delicious.

Them's the breaks

Here's one of those jobs that got away. A couple of pitch illustrations for a Heineken ad campaign that seemed to go down well until said campaign strategy was nuked. Oh well, I'll just have to sup on Pabst Blue Ribbon from now on.

Dope Agent!

My agent Anna Goodson Management have revamped their website and it's looking pretty sweet. Lots of new features and work from fantastic illustrators such as Paul Blow, Michelle Thompson, Mario Wagner, Phil Wheeler and Daniel Stolle to name a few. Get some.

Open All Hours

The store is finally open on my website if you need to spruce up your walls with signed, limited edition prints. I can tell you do...I can just tell. Snap 'em up right here

Cornish Chrimbo

Had a lovely time in Cornwall over the holiday with the lady wife. We spent Chrimbo week in gorgeous St.Ives and visited regular haunts Sennen, Godrevy Point and the ultra-cosy Xmas light show at Mousehole. The natural light down there is something else. Ok, enough whimsy, work starts in earnest tomorrow after I get shot of this cold. Keep em peeled.

Non Gherkin

Happy New Year peeps, 2010 and still no flying cars...what the hell?! The builders are aiming for the sky in London again though (nice segue) after a bout of crane stalling during the recession. I'm stuck in the flat with a bunged up head lamenting the loss of my own little view of the 'Gherkin' from the upstairs window. The Heron Tower is going up in front of it like some blocking-view-son-of-a-bitch thing!

Xmash!

It's that time of year again so sit up and be Merry will you!!!
Happy Christmas to one and all from Pottsville.

Spark me up

Here's one of the bigger projects I've been working on recently for the good folk of Futurelab in Bristol. Multiple illustrations to cover various pieces of a mobile exhibition called Spark: Igniting Innovation In Education. It's to showcase new technologies that support innovative practice in education. Should keep em' off the streeets at the very least.