Two Hedgehogs And A Badger

No the post title is not the opening line of joke, it is simply a description of the next two watercolours I will be working on. I have recently received a very exciting commission for five watercolours that depict whimsical scenes involving animal characters. The brief was to base them on the world of 'The Wind In The Willows'. Below you can see the first two approved sketches.

All the paintings will be 24x31cm. So far I have the final pencil work completed and I'm now ready to move in with the paint.

Royal Crescent Progress Pt.4

I'm still going but I think I'm on the bend just before the final straight. There's not much more I can say apart from I'll keep you posted.

Illustration For Financial Director

Here's a small spot illustration I completed recently for Financial Director magazine. It suggests the financial cost of absent employees to employers.

The final artwork was produced with watercolour and pencil crayon.

Royal Crescent Progress Pt.3

 

The painting has been put aside this week due to other illustration commitments but I hope to be picking up a brush next week and starting to work into the mass of grass. I'll then be able to view the painting as a whole and start adjusting contrasts and colours.

Brave New World Competition Entries

I received an email in the last few days informing me that my entries for the House Of Illustration & Folio Society Competition to illustrate 'Brave New World' by Aldous Huxley were unsuccessful. You win some, you lose some.

House Of Illustration had over 500 entries, they have picked a top 25 which can be seen on their website here. It's certainly very interesting to browse, the standard is very impressive and most of the illustrations are a mixture of traditional and digital media which is fitting for the story.

Below you can see two of my entries (two more to come). The first is a rough book binding design, created with ink spatters and pencil put together in Photoshop. The bleeding ink in the baby's head is a photograph I took using a full water jug and ink dropper. The second illustration is a watercolour painting based on John's encounter with a reporter.

Interview for HOW Magazine

I would have posted this much earlier but I didn't know the interview was published, I must check earlier next time. To read the short interview click here.

Royal Crescent Progress Pt.2

 
I'm still painting it! The sky packs more punch and the Royal Crescent houses are starting to emerge from the shadows.

Royal Crescent Progress

 
I have recently started a mammoth watercolour painting of the Royal Crescent, Bath. It is so big my stretcher board is a 6ft door. Every once in a while I shall post photos so you can see the gradual progression of my painting.  

BBC Wiltshire, The Sue Davies Show

I've just found out I am going to be interviewed LIVE by Sue Davies on BBC Wiltshire Radio Monday 18th Feb 2.45pm. You can listen to the show on the BBC iplayer under local stations.

Cripes, wish me luck!

Public Finance Cover 'One Nation?'

Over a fortnight ago I created a cover for Public Finance magazine. The Art Director, Gene Cornelius asked me to execute his concept based on a letterpress design, which I gladly did. In the end I did lots of different versions and learnt a lot in the process. Below you can see the illustration that was used and some of the other designs.

This was a fantastic job to work on and the cherry on the cake is being highlighted in Cover Junkie, you can view the page here.

I hope to get more jobs like this in the future because it's great fun to experiment with printing inks.