Wednesday 29 April 2009

Rally



An illustration of mine was used widely on Saturday the 25th April in London.

The original piece was created for a peaceful protest display that sits opposite the Chinese Embassy in London. The vigil has been there 24/7 for about 8 years now, come rain or shine. Previously mentioned here.

In this instance it had been printed onto a handheld sign. I didn't know about this beforehand but was quite overwhelmed when I saw these photos posted up by a friend. It is very humbling to see ones artwork turned into such a bold statement.



More information on the Persecution of Falun Gong can be found at www.falunInfo.net.

Photos by Edward Stephens.

Broke Brogue



These lovely shoes are fantastic hand-me-downs from my Dad. They spent a long while, un-used in his wardrobe beforehand. I like them so much I decided to draw them, especially after they broke (for the second time) which added character.
I used to be very against proper shoes as I saw them as being symbolic of city worker drones slaving away in offices (Dolor). However, my good friends have shown me the way of vintage chic and even explained how they improve your posture and make you walk proper, which I am all for (as long as it looks good).



Above: Happy variation.
Below: It was said that I should make a video of my broken shoe talking, but it wasn't agreed on what it could say, or in what kind of voice. So with this, anyone can fill in the blank speech bubble.

Sunday 26 April 2009

Mentions

The nice peeps at TrackosaurusRex and Emerica skateboarding have featured my portfolio homepage image on their blogs recently. Much Appreciated!!


Click Here to Read


Click Here to Read

I am one lucky boy.

Wednesday 22 April 2009

Nobility



This illustration was created yesterday and published today. It's for the usual Epoch Times Art page, but to accompany an essay on 'Nobility' rather than the usual poetry column.
Just one week off the poetry and I feel like I really miss it!...Alas.

If you really want to, you can read the article HERE. I found it to be it quite in depth and had to read it over a good few times.
Just click on the page labelled '10 Art.pdf'.

So, my illustration depicts a scene from Homers' 'Iliad', which is mentioned in the very last paragraph. It was the most pictoral part for me to visualise.
In the scene Priam is asking Helen of Troy to name various soldiers he is pointing out from the army camp before them, pre big fight. You can read the proper text for this scene HERE.

Above I have shown the constellation Leo, with the bottom star 'Regulus' shining brightest. This star is rumoured in THIS BOOK to represent Agamemnon, who is the first character Helen is asked to name.

I'm not too keen on this image overall. I didn't quite have enough time to do it as I would have liked. However, I did do some homework on it beforehand.

Friday 17 April 2009

Eagle



Epoch Times UK, Poetry Analysis column on the Art & Culture page. Published 15/04/09.

A Reading of 'The Eagle' by Lord Alfred Tennyson



Drawing bold heroic looking animals is a good feeling.

Tuesday 14 April 2009

Puddy



Lastest Wall Clock Skateboard commission, completed and sold. Will hopefully look good in its new home in Cornwall.

Monday 13 April 2009

OJ



This piece was a last minute request from the Epoch Times to spruce up their otherwise run of the mill front cover teaser. So it was done rather swiftly but came out well due to my being well warmed up from drawing another piece for them earlier in the day.

The file I was sent as a reference to draw from was called 'HealthJuice_3.jpg', which gave me the impression that the article this image was run alongside was about the benefits of drinking lovely fruit juice.
When the paper finally came through my door however, I found it was quite the opposite, all about the risks to kids teeth, obesity levels, general health etc. I did wonder briefly if the general tone of the image would have come out differently if I had known this beforehand?
I will never know.



PS. Ths similarity in the titles of these last two posts was not planned.

Thursday 9 April 2009

J to the O to the...



A completed portrait for a happy customer.
Drawing a face straight on is very tricky for me. Trying to get the symmetrical-but-not-quite balance right is a precise task. This was drawn from a rejected passport photo, with the help of a little computer enlargement.



Time for me to start chasing more commissions.

Sunday 5 April 2009

Avast Ye



Latest effort for the Epoch Times poetry column, published 01/04/09.

To accompany 'A Reading of ‘Old Ironsides’ by Oliver Wendell Holmes'.



I really got into making lots of sweeping lines across the page to represent the heaving sea. Expect to see more sweeping lines in future work, I'm going to get them in wherever I can.