Lost in London

Lost in London is a beautiful quarterly magazine about living simply in the city.  It initially caught my eye because of its natural bent and local attitude.  They also happen to make fantastic use of illustration between the covers.

For this latest issue, number 8, I was asked to illustrate the Starling murmuration (yep, I had to look it up too!) that happens over Rainham Marshes.

THE SPREADS

THE COVER

There are lots of gorgeous spreads in this issue and it would make a great present for any lost Londoners you might happen to know!  For £10 you can order a copy online or catch it in these stockists.

DETAILS

Summer Crush

It's a sunny afternoon in London and you should probably be outside enjoying it, rather than inside reading blog posts.  If you want something to look at while you're out bathing in the sunshine then why not pick up a copy of CRUSHfanzine?  You can enjoy my portrait of Novak Djokovic and loads of other stunning work on paper.  You don't need to hack an unsecured WiFi network or even have any battery left to enjoy it.

Bikini babes for Tesco Magazine

I was commissioned by Cedar Communications to supply some drawn elements for the last issue of Tesco Magazine.  The spread showcases swimwear for different body shapes and required lady-like silhouettes on which to show bikinis that had been photographed on a mannequin.  Magic.

The spread by Cedar Communications, showing my beach babes

Detail of the layout

The issue was May/June, so I'm not sure you'll find it in stores any more.  Just in case, here's the cover to look out for...

Image Hoard: Pink & Peach

This collection of images is a little less 'Skulls & Death' and a little more 'Light & Feathery' than usual.  I noticed that a lot of the images I have been collecting recently have a touch of salmon-hue about them.  Maybe it's because it's Summer, who knows...

Left: Cigarettes on sale at todokuyo.net
Right: Tiger Bone Wine by Sam Wolfe Connelly

by Alyssa Nassner

Altamira / William Merritt Chase colour comparison by Diana Moss from missmoss.co.za

Album artwork for Brother Mitya and Friends by Kristina Collantes

From Marie Claire May 2011

Illustration by Einar Nerman from Fairytales of the North

Source Unknown 

GTLK from Andrey Muratov on Vimeo.

Still from GTLK by Andrey Muratov

Source Unknown

Proposed tower to be added to Selfridges
via ianvisits.co.uk

Waxwing by Sam Wolfe Connelly

Mami Wata

Mami Wata is an African deity, revered in a number of African countries, the Caribbean and parts of North and South America.  They have a shrine to her at the Horniman Museum in South London; that's where I first learnt about her.  She is basically a mermaid; half fish, half beautiful woman.  Mami Wata is a water goddess, associated with rivers and seas, and often accompanied by a snake.  She is seductive, sometimes ensnaring men and then demanding fidelity.

Below is my own take on Mami Wata.  It's quite different to most traditional images of her, because I have enhanced the grotesque nature of a woman-fish hybrid.  I have also used the idea that mermaids are often reported to have hypnotic red eyes, and so the attraction becomes more sinister.

Mami Wata

a close up of the fish lady

I also have to tell you to go out and buy the latest issue of Disorder magazine, because my pic "The Hazards of Love" is in there alongside buckets of other good stuff.

The Hazards of Love

Chuffed

And Natalia Kills is on the cover.  Bonus.

Look out for this