String Section

Here's an image I did last week.  The brief was quite open; just a drawing of a violin really.  

Whenever a drawing requires some inky parts I go a bit crazy, 'just in case'.  I will definitely use some of these other ones for something or other...

And just for good measure here's a video of Owen Pallett doing some unexpected things with a violin.

One Thousand And One Nights

I found myself with power yesterday.  EDF installed a new electricity meter and all my plug points just stopped working.  We were abruptly thrown into chaos, and the thing we were most concerned about was not the fact that the fridge can't cool, or that there's no hot water, it was that the internet stopped.  

I took it as a chance to put off some of my lesser-relished promotional-type tasks and just sit down and draw instead.  Perhaps it was to vent frustration, but I chose this grizzly scene from 'One Thouand and One Nights' by Hanan Al-Shaykh.  King Shahrayar finds out that his wife and his ten concubines have been cheating on him and so he metes out swift and final justice to all concerned.

King Shahrayar's revenge

This guy can't believe what just happened!

Stories within stories within stories

Novak Djokovic for Crush Fanzine

Novak Djokovic was the Laureus World Sportsman of the Year 2011, and is world tennis number one with five Grand Slam titles to his name.  Aside from that he's just a really likeable character and I had the pleasure of drawing the tennis star for the next issue of CRUSHFanzine.  

This is issue # six of the quarterly publication, entitled 'Eastern Promises'.  As stated on their website it's a "New York and Paris based fanzine that explores the exquisite details of obsessions."  

You can order the issue here.

• Other Contributors include...
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• Jenny Holzer, Projection Artist whose truisms light up cities at night
• 
  
• Elmgreen & Dragset, Installation Art duo who built a Prada store in the middle of the desert  

• Martynka Wawrzyniak, Photographer & Artist who was gunned down with ketchup by a bunch of kids
• 
  

• Kirill Shevyakov, Graphic Designer who made Crush Fanzine's excellent website  

• 
  
• Josh McNey, Photographer who likes real Wrestlers and Cowboys and is not a player

My Favourite Weapon

I recently read an article in Oh Comely issue 10 about artists' favourite tools.  In one double page spread, eight artists from various disciplines waxed lyrical about their favourite tool to work with, accompanied by photos of said instruments.  I really enjoyed reading the piece and thought you might like to know what my favourite tool is.

The item I chose is a Faber Castell Pitt oil base pencil in Extra Soft with a Lyra pencil extender.
I like pencils; the feel of drawing with them, the look of them on paper, the variety of line weight and the not-wholly-defined ambiguity of the marks.  In my own work I often felt like inking ruined a drawing, like I was trying to pin down a butterfly with a nine inch nail.
I specifically like these pencils because they're black as opposed to the usual grey.  The solid colour means they scan well and details aren't lost in the translation to digital.  They do not, however, erase well.  Once your mark is made it will probably stay there (over 100 years if it's kept in museum conditions) so I will often make a light initial drawing with a normal pencil and then work on top with the Pitt pencil.
They're soft and they wear down quite quickly, but I like to have a sharp point on it so I keep a good sharpener on hand.  I use the extender so that I can keep on going to the last few centimeters.

For example...

I used one for my Nirvana line work along with Quink ink.
In my Austra illustration I used Photoshop to invert the pencil drawing and give the impression of light on dark.

If you want to give them a go they're £1.60 each from Cornelissen in all weights, and they have the pencil extender too.  I'm not getting paid for this by the way.

If you're an artist, what's your favourite tools to use?  If you have a "real job", what's your favourite piece of equipment in the work place?

What The Butler Saw (at Leeds Castle)

Tuesday was a bright sunny day and I seized the chance to visit Leeds Castle.  An exhibition, entitled 'What The Butler Saw', opened at the castle at the beginning of May that features some of my illustration work and I thought it was high time I went to take a look.  The exhibition is about Lady Baillie (who purchased the castle in 1926 and used it as her weekend pile for outrageous parties during the 1930s) and her small army of staff.  I had never visited the castle before and it's not in Leeds, as you might think, but about an hour outside London in Kent.  Très convenient.  

There's a bit of a walk from the entrance to the castle but it's pretty spectacular.  I have clearly gotten used to living in London because all that open space was kind of a shock.  There are geese, ducks, swans, peacocks, some crazy plants and water everywhere.  Needless to say, I took some photos on my way...

Leeds Castle

The castle door knocker // One of many peacocks milling about

The castle from a distance // One of the more ornate ceilings inside

Remains of the medieval barbican

I did the illustrations with Art Direction from Andy Spencer, who designed the rest of the exhibition.  You can see my portfolio page with my end of the project here.  I had a ball listening to 1930s swing music and researching servants' dress for the pictures.

Entering the castle

The Butler

First info display, designed by Andy Spencer with staff illustrations by me
(note the black silhouettes on the right are not mine)

The entrance display with my 'Staff Line-up'

Part of the display, with costume example from Angels

The Housekeeper

The Housekeeper's hands

The Butler

The Butler ushering guests out

Thank you, come again!

I really enjoyed the exhibition and it was quite informative about the elite and the staff of the day.  The castle really is a very charming place and the grounds are just amazing.  I spent an afternoon there, but I was rushing it a bit.  I could have easily spent a full day.  Or even longer in Lady Baillie's lemon yellow wardrobe room, with shoe closet, marble bathroom and secret staircase.  I defy any woman not to find that magical.

Electric Witches

I recently entered a competition run by Solestruck.com to design a shoebox for Miista's new shoe collection entitled Electric Witches.  I love the London-based company's designs and since the prize included free shoes I just couldn't resist entering.  I mean, who wouldn't want to win these?

Ori in Black

Even just the title 'Electric Witches' is a feast of inspiration.  I set about creating a magical mandala.

My Psychedelic Mandala

For my shoe box design I drew inspiration from ancient cultures and rave culture alike.  I looked to the signs and symbols of magick. The visual language of mysticism is often arranged in concentric circles like a wheel or mandala, representing the universe and infinity.
I drew my own mandala and chose to drape it over the lid; the void around draws everything inwards, to the eye at its heart.
I wanted electrifying colours: an inky blend of bright cyan, magenta and yellow, creating a rainbow mess. The black background provides a weight and darkness so that the design really pops. 

Miista Shoe Box Design

Part of the entry was to make a Pinterest board with your inspiration images.  Here's a link to mine.

The Art of Packaging

Here is a bit of work I did recently under the direction of Khary Simon for Jansy Packaging.  

Jansy Packaging design and manufacture packaging and accessories for cosmetics.  It was really interesting to study and portray the glass, acrylic and metal (and bristles) used.  I combined pencil drawings with ink for some variation in texture and colour.

After my part was done the individual drawings were arranged in a layout which will run as a print ad in a trade publication.  Voilà.