Black Sabbath

It's Friday, it's hot, it's a heavy Black Sabbath portrait for A Circus Mind ay it. Brummie gold.

New River Walk

Here's my entry for this year's Serco Prize for Illustration 2012 which had the theme of Secret London.  I chose the New River Walk in Canonbury, a picturesque waterway that runs near our flat and is a little oasis of calm from the city streets. I often see a big old heron hanging out with the ducks when walking through so made it the centrepiece of the illustration with the London Transport imagery worked into the borders. The piece didn't make it into the exhibition this year unfortunately but them's the breaks.

Hastings Jack

Bit of a delayed post but spent a barmy day in Hastings over the May bank holiday soaking up the madness of the annual Jack-In-The-Green parade. The Old Town is overrun by a huge procession of leafy folk and morris dancers wielding aloft effigies of mermaids and giants en route to the West Hill castle. It's proper bonkers with more than a whiff of the Wicker Man about it and it's huge fun. We stayed in a hotel opposite the once grand, now burnt and crumbling, pier I based an illustration on not so long ago, hopefully to be restored one day.

Wes Anderson

The director Wes Anderson for A Circus Mind in The Life Aquatic mode (without Steve Zissou).

Post View

After the success of last year's Post Nude show the folks at Horsebridge Arts Centre in Whitstable are at it again with a second exhibition of postcard artwork Post View. There was much painstaking consideration over which view to depict before I lifted my head up from the monitor to the studio window and grabbed the felt tips. Total voila!

James Brown

Here's the latest portrait for A Circus Mind, the sex machine-like James Brown.

BBC Focus

Here are some recent science and space themed illustrations for BBC Focus magazine that cover celestial X-ray binary objects and the history of British satellite technology. Cosmic.

Susan's Story

Here's a great commission I worked on  last year for Torre Lazur McCann that's just been published. It's an illustrated patient healthcare book called Susan's Story about identifying and coping with schizoaffective disorder. Each page visualises a step on the path from symptoms to diagnosis and treatment and is presented in a colourful hardback format.

The Lakes

Managed to escape the swirling smokes of 'Landan' over Easter and took my first trip to the Lake District for a spot of glamping. That's camping with mod cons, a proper roof, fire-pit and, if you're lucky, a glitter ball. We stayed at a lovely spot called Scales Plantation in our very own shepherd hut and journeyed around the gorgeous Lakes area for strolls in Keswick and Buttermere whilst dodging some serious raindrops. Managed to squeeze in a roaring fire and barbecue though so all was right with the world.

Jim Morrison

Time for another Circus Mind portrait of the legendary Jim Morrison, pictured here in the beardy Parisian last days.

Bum Note

Sometimes a job doesn't quite make it all the way to the finishing line for one reason or anther. Here's an illustration that was approved and went to a final stage before an overhaul in organisation client-side scuppered the whole campaign. Shame, as I was pleased with the work on this one. The brief was to create a colourful image about inspiration in making contemporary music. Cue the violins.

Kurt Vonnegut

Here's the latest Circus Mind portrait of the mind-bending Slaughterhouse 5 author Kurt Vonnegut. Zappy Easter to all!

Illustrator Exhibition

Spent last Saturday hanging an exhibition of recent self-initiated illustration work in Gallery 3 at Whitstable's Horsebridge Centre. The show is simply called Illustrator and features myself, my old mucker and former studio bud Mark Taplin and Sam Blown. If you find yourself in sunny Whitstable between the 1st and 29th April then check it out.

Holden Caulfield

Here's the latest illustration for A Circus Mind for a poem based on the classic teenage angst ridden protagonist of J.D. Salinger's A Catcher In The Rye, Holden Caulfield.

Web Off

Here's a recent cover illustration for French publication Europa Journal looking at issues of internet democracy. Click power!

The Tingler vs The Counter

A couple of last year's illustrations are doing well on the competition circuit this year. The Tingler film poster has been chosen as a winner in the Applied Arts 2012 Illustration Awards while East London Mornings' The Counter was accepted into the Society of Illustrators of Los Angeles 50th Illustration West competition and a runner-up in Creative Quarterly 27 competition. 2-1 to The Counter!

Ken Kesey

A literary themed portrait of counter cultural hero Ken Kesey for A Circus Mind rocking a fetching magic bus makeover.

Bring On The Beef

Here's a set of illustrations for the manly German food magazine BEEF! for a large feature on flavour combinations and taste sensations. On the menu were circular pop-art style collages for the main followed by a challenging design desert consisting of an elaborate flavour wheel with loads of ingredients...in german. Mmmm.

Alan Turing

Here's a recent commission that was a joy to work on, a cover and spot illustrations for the current issue of Nature magazine. It's for a feature on Alan Turing reappraising the undervalued and criminally mistreated godfather of artificial intelligence and computer science a 100 years on from his birth. 

Jane's Addiction

Latest drawing for A Circus Mind featuring a young Perry Farrell from Jane's Addiction and an imagined depiction of the titular drug abuser and former roommate of his that lent the band their name.