Post 101

Mary Rose cottage (Lazily)

He loves me

He loves me not

He loves me

He loves me not

He loves me - the dirty old fool.

Post 100

Captain cat in the sea dreaming of Rosie Proburt. I started by sticking a section of an A to Z map as background. The blue block had a page number which I decided to colour fill and also seems somewhat distracting.

I started with some quick thumbnails, but decided to work more intuitively here. I found a picture in my 'morgue' of the old Chelsea football club boss Avram Grant which I'd taken from the Guardian. Most of my images come from that newspaper.

I drew Mr cat out with the rotring then pasted him into the background.

I found some paper hand towels which I stuck on top of Mr cat for the 'water.'

Then I moved from the studio to the PC and scanned the image through...manipulating In image ready and photoshop.

I've also worked into these using the opacity tool in photoshop. I want this image to illuminate the text as opposed to being something that is directly representation whilst retaining some of my looser drawing qualities, which I feel I've achieved in the latest series of images.

I found an abstract form from another image and used the cut and paste tool in photoshop. I might review this choice in another draft of the image.

I'm also unsure about the amount of fingers the ol' capt'n has, so I'll research this further...

Post 99

I'm currently working on Mrs Pugh after deciding that recent ideas and images have been very tight. I've almost felt that any enjoyment in making images had gone. I felt that I was wrestling too much with a concept that just wasn't working and proving to be very restrictive.

I started making images of Mr Pugh on A5 using pencil and then drawing over in the rotring...still too rigid. I did another 3 or 4 images and then moved onto Mrs Pugh. I used my as a model for the body. I then cut out the figure and stuck in onto the distressed background, with the idea of the school house in mind.

Photoshop image ready....messing about with the opacity an conjunction with the lasso tools.

I may have to live with the cut paper edge around the figure - exposing this could be part of my style along with the move tool in photoshop. I think I'm going to stick with some portraits to allow myself the room to feel at ease with the book, but will continue to develop some concept based pieces through initial thumbnails.

I'll continue to work on this image, but wanted to post up the development.

Post 98

Here is my updated image of the september issue of article...

Collage background, rotring ef, looser style copied from previous image...which was actually an initial thumbnail...

Post 97

In the blind-drawn dark dining room of school house, dusty and echoing as a dining room in a vault, Mr and Mrs Pugh are silent over cold grey cottage pie. Mr Pugh reads, as he forks the shroud meat in, from 'lives of the great poisoners'. He has bound a plain brown-paper cover round the book. Slyly, between slow mouthfuls, he sidespies up at Mrs Pugh, poisons her with his eye, then goes on reading. He underlines certain passages and smiles in secret.

Post 96

I've been continuing the production of images for Mr and Mrs Pugh...another loveless relationship in Under Milk Wood. The atmosphere is stifling, steely, icy...

I've given Mr Pugh some of the features of a pig...image drawn from google image search. I'm determined to stick with this image in the same ways as those I've produced for The Guardian mock ups. Here I've used the rotring extra fine pen and the lighter sketching is with a refill pencil.

Post 95

A bit of useful or less info here....

I do 2 -3 postcard mailshots per yeat to about 1400 contacts each time. It's good to send something perminent & most creative departments will have a pinboard full of artists cards. Postcards are one of my most effective marketing tools. Contact the art editor or the art director on magazines. They usually do the commissioning. Keep it simple. No need to send a long letter to each contact & will they read it? The work should speak for it's self. I sometimes put an A5 slip of paper in with the postcards with very short biog, recent clients & any big news, like my website being redesigned. On the postcard put your name, telephone, email & website address

I've always been torn what to put on postcards - single or multi-image?

I always do double sided cards. And if one image doesn't appeal, maybe the other one will.

Nicked this from the web....In Under Milk Wood the theme of love is very prominent. For the characters in the book it plays an important part of their lives, and adds both humour and tragedy to the play.
The interaction between married couples is one way in which Dylan Thomas adds humour to the play. It is the lack of love that is so comical. For example Mr. Pugh as he brings his wife her tea says to himself '"here's your arsenic, dear."' and throughout the play is plotting ways to murder his wife, although he never is actually brave enough to go through with his plans.

I'm concentrating on the first main conversation between Mr and Mrs Pugh.

Post 94

...and here is my illustration for the annual local Open Studio event. Brushes to the ready and let the battle begin!

Post 93

I've continued to focus my attention on the direct briefs from the guardian. This one was about the arranged marriage...

My parents said I do not have to have an arranged marriage if i don't want to but will it hurt them deeply if I don't? what should I do?

Tonal variations may need looking at again.

more detail on the cardboard background? I want to keep this one fairly simple but not too 'studenty'.

hints made to the washing line, domesticity...

The article title...'Love by numbers' went for a literal take on the text here...

Post 92

here is my completed image (ish). It's felt satisfying sticking from start to finish. It was also interesting to see the illustration used for the Guardian publication. I feel my concept was certainly stronger, but the rendering by the commissioned artist was stronger than my own. this has certainly been a satisfying learning curve for me. I'll try and draw this again when my brand new rotring arrives...

Post 91

Here is that little ga ga goo goo...

Post 90

I've continued to work on my 'recipes' in the attempt to find a style. I've decided to go with the elements I used in an image on my AOI portfolio (road, mountain, car, to the left) which has had to most hits, even though it was only added a few months ago. So the recipe is:





1. Hand drawn elements using a rotring fine pen (or the mitsubishi fine liner). These are cut out and stuck on.





2. Mainly plain, uniformly coloured background. Can also do this in photoshop and print out.





3. Collage





4. Image is scanned and then reworked in photoshop.








I'm going to keep my work consistent and stick within these parameters in the attempt to create a consistent 'look'.





I'm also getting a friend to find illustrated articles from The Guardian, cutting out the image and presenting me with the task of illustrating from the text only. I'm going to give myself time limits on these projects, so I'll be able to continue the dream series and my final project of Under Milk Wood.





The article this week is from the 'family forum' section under the title...I'd like a 3rd baby, but would I regret it? i've started by producing some pencil sketches...freeform on an A3 sketchbook. I moved onto some simple thumbs and looked at the composition etc. Then I moved onto the computer and did some google image searching and drew an A5 image in pencil. I'll make one thats 'contrived' and try another copy of that in a looser style.

The image above is the first draft for the Guardian image. I'm going for the potential of the baby as the innocent puppet master in waiting. I was thinking about some kind of 'third coming' take. In the case of the article this child is a kind of question mark, the future in waiting, other worldly.



I've got the child sitting or hovering over a blanket of cash. I ythink the general feel of the article is one of caution. Here is the question mum poses to her agony aunt readership:

I have two wonderful daughters and a very happy family life, but would like another baby. we live on a lo0w income and I am a stay at home mum. Would my children lose or gain from another sibling? If I decide not to have a third baby would I be happy in the long term?

So the article a question...there are suggestions made by the readers, but ultimately the decision lies with the parents. I think its sometimes best to start with the intuitive response and perhaps check out other aspects whilst going through the process. I also think that a more intuitive response will enable me to try and avoid literal responses, although this is illustration, not fine art....that's a debate for another day.

Post 89

I'm still working to the loose theme of 'Under Milk Wood' although must confess that the visual response is just that! I'm using a combination of existing images in conjunction with newer sketches.

I feel that a lot of my work has an 'unfinished' look...perhaps the fine artist in me...???

I've started to make a style recipe book in the hope of making my work more commercially viable. I'm also interested in trying out animation as part of my final project....I'd really like to develop a new skill!