Linzie Hunter

Coney Prints!

2008-09-30T18:10:24+00:00

My NY drawger friends probably know about my fondness for Coney Island...

And to coincide with the Hot Rods and Hairy Beasts show this new limited edition print is released today by www.20x200.com 11"x8.5" Edition of 200 each $20. 22"x17" Edition of 20 each $200. 40"x30" Edition of 2 each $2000.

The Hot Rods and Hairy Beasts Show runs all this week, and it's looking pretty good even If I do say so myself:)

We're having a Private View on Thursday night so if any Londoners need hooked up with a invite then drop me an email.

Hot Rods & Hairy Beasts

2008-09-24T09:56:17+00:00

Just popping up to remind any of you around the London area that I'll be taking part in the Hot Rods & Hairy Beasts Exhibition which opens next week. The PV is on Thursday so drop me an email if you'd like an invite. It's going to be a great show. Full Show Blurb follows...

Hot Rods And Hairy Beasts
An Illustration show - Coningsby Gallery
Monday 29th September until Saturday 4th October 2008

Hot Rods, Hula Girls, Hairy Beasts, Himalayan Head Hunters and the Holy Bible are just some of the subjects under discussion by illustrators Linzie Hunter, Rod Hunt, Nishant Choksi and Allan Sanders. No subject is too small for this group of seasoned professional illustrators and adventurers. With clients spanning the world of advertising, publishing, design and edtorial this band of battle scarred buccaneers are prepared for the eventuality of just about anything. Their motto is simple : to illustrate the obscure ...and beyond!

Linzie Hunter The terrifying Linzie Hunter originated from the barren highlands of Scotland but now resides in a North London suburb where she feasts on worms and grubs whilst working for clients including Random House, BBC, The Guardian & Little Brown. Linzie recently hit the headlines with her lettering work based on the spam e-mails in her inbox. Her book "Secret Weapon: 30 hand-painted spam postcards" is published by Chronicle Books in Autumn 2008.

Rod Hunt Born in rural Dorset, the diabolical Rod Hunt now inhabits the swampland of Greenwich, South London where he feeds mostly on shrubs and berries. Rod has developed a reputation for retro tinged illustrations & detailed character filled landscapes and among his client list he includes FHM, Maxim and Vodafone. Notably Rod illustrated the cover of the best selling book “Change the World 9 to 5” published by We Are What We Do. He is also Deputy Chairman of the Association of Illustrators.

Nishant Choksi The monstrous Nishant Choksi originated from a murky lagoon in the centre of London and is now often found foraging in the wooded areas of Crouch End. A real life B-Movie monster, Nishant is inspired by advertising of the 40’s and 50’s and has worked for The Washington Post, The Guardian, JWT, Macmillian and others. Nishant recently worked on a prominent print ad campaign for Vodafone and has just completed work on his first TV spot for them.

Allan Sanders Born in the frozen tundra of the Northern wastelands, the horrendous Allan Sanders, a mostly hairless biped, now resides near the water in a settlement known as Brighton. Existing on a diet of rock pool delicacies, Allan has produced quirky, character-based and often humorous illustrations for clients including New Scientist, The Economist, The Guardian and The LA Times. Last year Allan became the poster boy for The Oregon Humane Society’s “End Petlessness” campaign.

Hot Rods And Hairy Beasts is showing at the Coningsby Gallery, London from Monday 29th September until Saturday 4th October 2008.
Private View Thursday 2nd October from 6.30pm.

Old School at The Uppercase Gallery

2008-08-27T00:44:39+00:00

Living nowhere near Calgary, I was unable to attend the opening of the Old School show at the Uppercase Gallery at the weekend.

"The “Old School” theme celebrates the aesthetics of twentieth century education through an art exhibition and companion book, as well as curated objects. It is inspired by vintage flash cards, old desks, biology class, science fairs, crayons, card catalogs, textbooks, class photos, teachers, yearbooks, lunchboxes, gym class, maps, lockers, report cards, film strips, recess, spelling, chalk… and the list goes on!"

Owner Janine Vangool has done a brilliant job converting the space into an old timey school classroom and with over 80 artists taking part it looks like a cool show

Here's my old school contribution to the show, a mixture of hand stamping, letraset and gocco printing.

My Secret Weapon!

2008-07-15T19:13:21+00:00

It's still pretty amazing to me that my spam lettering project from last November has drawn so much attention.

Yesterday, I received a couple of advance copies of my spam book Secret Weapon - 30 Hand painted Spam Postcards which is being published by Chronicle Books.

Both Christina and Kim at Chronicle were great to work with and I had a lot of say in the overall design of the book.

Keen beans can now pre-order a copy from Chronicle or Amazon.

The current August issue of How magazine also has a six page feature about the project and how the book came about.

Back by Popular Demand!

2008-06-23T15:58:43+00:00

Back by popular demand - not a phrase I get to say all that often.

My first set of alphabet tea towels I created with Yuko at Patapri.com sold out in a couple of hours, so Yuko has whipped up a second edition in new colour combinations.

Hopefully anyone who missed out the first time, can pick one up today.

www.patapri.etsy.com

Drawger on Wordle

2008-06-16T20:05:09+00:00

view larger version

A little Monday distraction - the front page of drawger as seen through the eyes of Wordle.net

Try it here

Nice Spine!

2008-06-13T02:23:25+00:00

Just sharing this novel which I picked up in a local charity shop the other day for a couple of pounds.

Among all the other books, on the shelf, this spine really stood out

I have no idea who the designer was but I'd like to shake his hand... if he's still alive that is.

The Day Khruschev Panicked
by George B Mair
1961 First Edition
Cassell & Co Ltd

Globe 100

2008-05-20T18:47:35+00:00

A couple of weeks back I was contacted by Greg Klee at the Boston Globe to do a bit of lettering this years Globe100 magazine featuring the best businesses in Massachusetts.

This year marks its 20th anniversary and I was asked to illustrate the magazines title for a column which looked back over different industries in the region over the last 20 years. Greg referenced the piece below that he had seen on Illoz, for colour scheme and feel.

I worked on some lettering on the computer and also on paper using some nice pentel brush pens which I have become quite addicted to buying.

Some roughs using the lettering samples and lots of scanned papers.

It was a fun, stress free gig and Greg was very nice to work with to boot.

Rob D was kind enough to drop me an email today when he saw the finished piece in print... It was nice that he recognised it as my work even though they seem to have missed off my credit.

Fortified With Optimism!

2008-05-16T23:45:20+00:00

A cool animated commerical for SoyJoy Bars by Portland based animation studio Laika and British Illustrator Simon Peplow

If you hang around for the final couple of seconds you'll see the wee bit of lettering I did for the campaign.

Address Book Sketch Book

2008-04-12T14:43:53+00:00

I've been clearing out my book cases and found 7 empty and/or out-of-date address books and diaries.

I feel really bad throwing them away, especially as they we mostly given to me as gifts... but really, how many address books do you need?

Got to find a use for them all...

brush and marker pen fun

>> Address Book Sketch Book Gallery

Patapri Collaboration

2008-04-09T22:10:28+00:00

One of the great things about the internet is being able to communicate and collaborate with other illustrators and artists in other continents.

I recently worked (albeit remotely) with Yuko Uemura ,a designer and printer originally from Tokyo but now living in Chicago.

Regular Etsy shoppers are probably already familiar with her range of lovely hand printed textiles - www.patapri.com

Anyways, with her top stichin' and printin' skiills, we turned the image above into these nifty household essentials...

Available in 3 different colour choices they are limited to just 50 and are available from Patapri online store from next week.

Fairly priced at $14 each. Get 'em while they are... ummm... dry?

Left or Right Brain?

2008-03-26T15:06:54+00:00

I'm sure many of you have done this test before.

Which way is figure moving - clockwise or anti-clockwise?

according to the Herald Sun article, if you focus hard enough you can make it move in the opposite direction - I managed it for a few seconds only.

The majority of people see it moving anti-clockwise and use more of their left brain:

LEFT BRAIN FUNCTIONS
uses logic
detail oriented
facts rule
words and language
present and past
math and science
can comprehend
knowing
acknowledges
order/pattern perception
knows object name
reality based
forms strategies
practical
safe

While those that see it moving clockwise, are right brainers:

RIGHT BRAIN FUNCTIONS
uses feeling
"big picture" oriented
imagination rules
symbols and images
present and future
philosophy & religion
can "get it" (i.e. meaning)
believes
appreciates
spatial perception
knows object function
fantasy based
presents possibilities
impetuous
risk taking

A few other left brain/right brain links:

new scientist article

Dan Eden article

quick quiz

Factory Sleeves

2008-03-16T11:32:20+00:00

Kroniger recently forwarded me the link to this blogger Kavel Rafferty's collection of nice company record sleeves.

I usually overlook the boxes of these in junk shops but a I spotted this one recently in a local chairty shop and had to buy it.

It makes me smile.

The artist credit is C.V.V ... Maybe someone out there might know who this is?

Beer, Chocolate, Waffles, Frites...

2008-02-26T14:43:37+00:00

...Thats how my tour book summarised the city of Brussels in Belgium.

Last weekend we took advantage of the cheapo Eurostar promotion thats currently running...How great to be able to travel to Belgium in 2 hours without the hassle of airport security.

It was my first visit to the city and for once was able to put my very basic french to good use..."How much for the waffle?", " I'm lost, but I'd like to go to the station" and "I'm sorry madame, I have lost my black hand clothes" were all verbal highlights you missed.

A must see for 50s enthusiasts is the 1958 worlds fair ATOMIUM... Sadly we were a bit early for the anniversary celebrations

But picked up a cool replica brochure

... And some postcards!

*Linzie's advice: if you visit, book in ADVANCE! And go when the Mini-Europe model village next door is actually open...

One of the things I most love when visiting other European cities is going shopping - first port of call was a kids book shop.

Beautiful French and Belgian books illustrated by Marc Boutavant, Benjamin Chaud, Oliver Latyk and Gwen Keraval

And then a quick visit to the famous flea market at Place du Jeau de Balle when I did my best to haggle in french.

One problem about starting a conversation in another language is that the person then assumes you can actually undertand what they are saying in return... Much of my haggling included the "happy face" and "very sad face" technique.

I left with an Interesting box of french letters and postcards from the 50s and 60s...

and too tatty old chidrens books for €1... The one with the creepy squirrel king actually has some really nice illustrations inside.

I did take a lot of photos of nice buildings like these in the Grand Place but sadly my camera is broken and I've lost most of them now... oh well

So instead, heres a tatty old resturant sign I liked!

One things Brussels is famous for is all the street art and murals on the sides of buildings.. they are everywhere!

And the best way to end any trip (or blog post) with a couple of beers at Cafe Novo

Until the end of the March Cafe Novo is hosting a nice exhibition of screenprints by Brussels artist Oreli and is well worth a visit if you find yourself in that neck of the woods!

Mind your manners!

2008-02-22T22:22:16+00:00

I'm pretty tied up with longer term projects right now so don't have much recent stuff to post right now.

Rather than neglect my drawger blog completely, I thought I'd post more about the things that inspire me or cool things I've dug up in charity shops...

I've been a big Scarry fan for a long time, but I hadn't seen his earlier stuff before... So I was pleased to find this LGB in a local charity shop

I have to say that being brought up proper-like, good manners go a long way in my book...and what better excuse to brush up...

Heres more scans from book for your reading pleasure:
Little Golden Book of Manners on Flickr

Some Spots

2008-01-12T03:40:58+00:00

Not a very exciting post I'm afraid, but as it's almost mid January (and well past 12th night) I sort of felt I had to knock the christmas post off the top of my page...

Here's a quick selection of recent work thats kept me busy for the last few weeks...

can't think of anything else to say...

Merry Christmas one and all

2007-12-14T21:42:28+00:00

It looks very unlikely that anyone will be getting a christmas card from me this year, so instead what better way to celebrate the festive winterval holiday than by posting some recent work. Sorry.

This year I had the pleasure of illustrating MacFormat's annual Christmas Gift Guide. The AD (Alex Thomas) had a few ideas in mind based on a previous illustration of mine but was open to looking over some other sketches of mine, including doing some lettering. He's nice like that and always great to work with.

I usually do pencil sketches, but the deadline was quite tight so I worked them up on the computer - and thankfully he was able to make sense of them!

Well done if you have made it this far down the post!

I also did the illustrations for an animated flash e-card for recyclenow.com, a national campaign to encourage...um... recycling.

I know zero about flash, but I really enjoyed doing the illustrations for this one and it was a fun idea - decorating your tree with ornaments you can make out of household waste...

send your free e-card at www.recyclenow.com

I had a good time working with Torchbox, who did all the clever flash bit, and of course brilliant to be involved in such an important campaign!

Say Goodbye Love Failures & Loneliness!

2007-12-05T00:02:21+00:00

Laura L. recently blogged about her lovely Birds of the Rockies print available through Jen Beckman's 20x200 and I was delighted to be asked to contribute to the project too.

My limited edition print of Enter the world of Boundless Sensual Enjoyments* and Say Goodbye to Love Failures and Loneliness are both on sale from today with small prints priced at the highly afford $20.

Small - Edition of 200
Medium - Edition of 20
Large - Edition of 2

All editions come with a certificate of authenticity.

*Gents - Why not hang this on your door and really impress the ladies?

New York Times Magazine Interview

2007-12-01T20:27:15+00:00

A wee while ago I posted some experiments with lettering based on spam subject lines. Since then I have received lots of nice feedback and email requests for postcards or prints.

A couple of weeks ago I was also contacted by Rob Walker ( who writes for the NYT Magazine) asking if he could interview me for his Consumed column. The article is in print this weekend, but for those (like myself) on the wrong side of the pond, the article is online here.

I'm also happy to announce that just in time for Christmas some of the series are now available to buy as prints via Thumbtack Press with two limited edition prints also available soon via www.20x200.com

Thanks very much to all the nice people who have blogged about my work, including Boing Boing, Wired, Craft, Core 77, Netdiver and Drawn!

History of TV

2007-10-31T19:22:16+00:00

It's nice when a job comes in that you know is just up your street. Here's a recent illustration I did for a TV supplement for Media Week.

I was given some clear information on what elements and dates had to included but the AD was cool about me adding a view ideas of my own.

Not least, plonking a moustache on my Logie Baird "inspired" character. Don't all inventors have some form of facial decoration? I think it might be mandatory.

click here for larger version

I expect nearly all illustrators have a healthy stock of reference books at hand, and I'm no exception... it's good not having to always rely on the internet...

Just Doodlin'

2007-10-14T14:48:29+00:00

Last month I managed to meet up with ever so slightly AWOL drawger Aaron Leighton in Toronto and he was kind enough to invite me along to previously blogged Pen club.

As well as being able to sink a few beers and meet some great folks (thanks to everyone who made me feel so welcome!) it also really reminded me of the importance of drawing and doodling purely for fun.

Working digitally, it very easy for my work to just get all a bit static so I've been trying to spend more time doodling without worrying about the outcome.

I've admired Aarons and Rob D's sketchbooks for ages, so I'm really enjoying keeping a daily sketchbook and have become quite obsessed with buying brush pens all of a sudden.

I've always drawn every day but I just always ended up with piles of old letters and envelopes with drawings on them that just always end up going into the recycling bin.

I'm pretty messy sometimes (ok, always) so it takes a little more discipline for me to keep everything in a book... but it's worth the effort! When I get some free time I'll scan some pages and upload.

The outcome has also crossed into my digital work, heres some photoshop doodles while on the phone the other day... quite surprising what you come up with when you are not paying attention.

The outcome has also crossed into my digital work, heres some photoshop doodles while on the phone the other day... quite surprising what you come up with when you are not paying attention.

Coincidentally Argentinean illustrator Super DD and myself have also established an flickr group for five minute doodles on a weekly theme... sort of good for people who like Illustration Friday but who are super short on time...the current theme is "your weirdest neighbour". It's an open invitation group so if you're a flickr-er-er then stop by: http://www.flickr.com/groups/5minutedoodle/

Above: Super DD's neighbourly contribution!

I've also been playing around in photoshop with some lettering. I've added a new gallery of quick lettering sketches I did over they weekend... these based on the contents of my spam folder... its not the most original idea but the bizarre-o subject lines have been great starting point and I've enjoyed not trying to clean up or correct any mistakes... just seeing what happens...

More Spam one liners here

End Petlessness / Allan Sanders

2007-10-02T10:07:21+00:00

Brilliant animated commercial by friend and fellow illustrator Allan Sanders.

For the Orgeon Humane Society.

Try and watch it without smiling even just a little bit. Great Job, Mr S.

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=KSo5eApMYZ4

Lo-Fi Fun

2007-09-13T06:57:32+00:00

I recently picked up a whole bunch of very cool 50/60s matchbook labels from East Europe.

Even though it was painstakingly boring, I've uploaded the best of them (about 90 in total) to flickr. I've posted a few select images below and for anyone who is interested, here's the link to the rest of the gallery:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/linzie/sets/72157601961559416/

Anyways, I was feeling pretty inspired by the simplicity and limited colours on these and had a bash at doing some 2 colour photocopying with an old analog copier I picked up for all of £1.70 on ebay ( I outbid the other bidder by a whole 20p)

It's a very basic and pretty tempromental machine, but you can get different colour cartridges which you can swap the black one for.

I hear you can go to fancy copy shops to do this, but I've only seen full colour copiers...

The nice thing about working with photocopiers is that allows you not to be too precious and enjoy the "rough and ready" way your work comes out... which is a good exercise for me.

While I'd like to say it was a breeze, the prep time is massive due to the large element of trial and error involved... particulary when it comes to working in half tone and trying to work out the registration...

and my copier wins no prizes for speed.

Looking at it now, theres lots of things I'd do differently... but over I'm quite pleased... and I'm managed to recycle a whole lot of old manilla folders.

Roman City of Bath

2007-09-12T17:47:29+00:00

A wee while ago, you might remember I created this roadside attractions map. Since plonking it on a postcard, I'm happy to say that it's brought in quite a few interesting map and diagram type commissions.

One of them has been some walking tour maps for Junior Magazine. This is the first in a series of three : Bath

For those not completely au fait with English History and Geography ( a group in which I'd include myself) :

Bath is a city in Somerset, England most famous for its historic baths fed by three hot springs. It is situated 99 miles (159 km) west of Central London and 13 miles (21 km) south east of Bristol.

The city is founded around the only naturally occurring hot springs and Roman spa. The waters from its spring were believed to be a cure for many afflictions. From Elizabethan to Georgian times it was a resort city for the wealthy. As a result of its popularity during the latter period, the city contains many fine examples of Georgian architecture, most notably the Royal Crescent. The city has a population of over 90,144 and is a World Heritage Site.

thanks wikipedia!

And here's my map... to enjoy the larger version in all its glory click here

Ok thats enough maps for now... just think you've got Glasgow to look forward to next month!

Earmint gallery

2007-08-24T22:44:45+00:00

A while back I was contacted by Earmint (a cool chicago hip hop musician type person) to contribute to a CD cover art project he was planning.

A whole bunch of artists and illustrators were asked to essentially 'colour in' in any way they liked a line drawing of the man himself

The results are now online at www.earmint-gallery.com and are available to download along side his new album.

It's cool to see how each person had made the image their own.

Heres just a small selection from the site:

Top row: Allan Sanders, Catherine LePage, Nick Deakin
2nd row: Jordy Van Den Nieuwendijk, Sarajo Frieden, Natty Kocsis
3rd row: Eyeport, Tommy Kane, Me
Bottom row: Bubi Au Yeung, Logan Bay, Andreas Karaoulanis

Draw - The easy way!

2007-08-21T14:11:08+00:00

it's uncanny that I saw Lou Brooks' gallery post right on the very same day that I was confinced that all my own drawing worries were over for good.

I first saw this ad way back in the autumn of '56 and sure it may have taken some 51 years for my purchase to arrive, ...but hey what's a half a century...when I can now design clothes, copy comic heroes*, draw pets, family, animals - ALL The EASY WAY!

*excluding all copyrighted characters and material for commercial and non commercial work.

So here it is, in the flesh: the Magic Image Projector

Either I'm missing a bit or it's just not OS X compliant

I wonder how long it will take for a refund?

Recent Work

2007-08-21T13:01:58+00:00

I've been quite busy over the last few weeks so, other than a few days in Dublin (and tickets to a cool REM gig), there's been not much chance for any summer holiday and/or relaxation yet.

I'm going to be Toronto for a few days next month so will appreciate any tips or recommendations from drawgers and non-drawgers alike. Hopefully I'll get the chance to meet up with Drawger Leighton while I'm there.

In the meantime, heres a few work-related illustrations I've done recently for the office hours section of The Guardian...

How popular are you??

2007-08-16T04:46:19+00:00

I know it's a question you're asking yourself so here's a little quiz courtesy of Readers Digest (c.1950) to help boost your ego.

I won't tell you my score, but let's just say there was no surprise second count. Damn. I think question 13 could have been the deal breaker ...

Pippi Longstocking II

2007-07-23T13:35:18+00:00

Following on from Rob's Pippi Longstocking, here's my contribution to the same exhibition: www.illustrakids.com

Sometimes when I've not got a client to please, I'll work completely in photoshop rather than drawing a pencil rough on paper.

I'm not sure this is the best way of working really, especially as I'm try to spend less time staring at the screen, rather than more...

Above is, I suppose, the digital version of a sketchbook page where I doodle and play about with colours and textures.

I quite liked the face on the Pippi but wasn't sure how I was going to fit her onto the square format... I also knew I wanted to add some lettering.

I ended up blowing her head up (!) and moving her head and shoulders to the bottom on the canvas... her pigtails didn't fit...so I made them a little crazier and plonked her house and trees in between...

The finished Pippi Illustration...ummm thats it.

Quilting, cooler than you'd think...

2007-06-19T22:19:53+00:00

I've just contributed to a pretty cool project which is being organised by paper collager Dawbis.

The concept goes like this:

"Over the course of a year, artists from around the world will be invited to create 12 individual paper quilts. Each month 12 new artists will create a collage interpreting the project's theme, "A Day in my Life," and share their story. Each story will then be sewn together to create a paper quilt. At the end of the year, each paper quilt will either be auctioned off or donated to a charitable cause. The goal is to bring together artists from different countries to allow them to share their lives, their culture, and their art with one another."

Each artist is sent a small collect of different patterned papers and printed ephemera and the only real rule is that you only use the paper that you have been given.

There's been plenty of great contributions so far and heres a few of my favourites so far

I have to admit that my personal traditional collage skills haven't progressed much past the macaroni, glitter and milk-bottle-top pre-school stage but thought I'd give it my best shot.

Heres my attempt. I tried to avoid using the pretty flowery papers and played it save with a topic close to my heart!

It's notable that the majority of the contributions are from females, so it would be nice to see more of the boys get involved. I believe that Dawbis is still looking for contributors for later in the year.

LINKS:

The PAPER QUILT PROJECT website
Paper Quilt Blog
Paper Quilt Group on Flickr

Vroom Varoom!

2007-06-06T22:55:22+00:00

The other day I picked up an 'AUTO UNIVERSUM 1964' for £1 in a charity shop near me. From what I can tell it'ss a swiss yearbook published to mark the Henry Ford Centennial.

I could have spent all day scanning images from it. It's packed full of catalogue photos of cars and plenty of illustration too. Sadly no picture credits though.

Heres a few I thought I'd share...

I've uploaded some more photo and illustration scans here on flickr

Roadside Attractions

2007-04-28T15:06:19+00:00

I hope one day to do a proper American road trip. When I was a foolhardy student, I set off on my own mini version ( Boston > NYC > Phily > D.C > Atlanta > Memphis > Miami > St Louis > Chicago ) but lack of time and mostly money, meant that I never made it to the WEST coast. I recently found the travel journal from this trip which made some pretty interesting reading.. its a bewildering insight into 19 year old Linzie. I don't remember a lot of what I'd written about and it felt strangely like reading someone else's diary.

Anyways, I guess quirky and kitschy tourist attractions have also held my interest. Heres a little map project I set myself... I've probably employed a fair bit of artistic license and taken the odd liberty or two. I still feel the urge to teak, change and correct a few things but I've put it to one side as yesterday all the text and pixel-pushing gave me a cracking migraine...

larger version: http://farm1.static.flickr.com/174/475568285_06e250aac1_o.jpg

Tuck Shop

2007-04-23T19:44:00+00:00

A couple of months ago I did this sketch for a kids publisher which never got past the roughs stage due to contractual issues (e.g. I wasn't prepared to part with copyright for the fee offered)

To be fair, they did honour the rejection/cancellation fee clause and I was happy to walk away with my drawing.

A 'tuck shop' for those not familiar with the phrase is basically a hole-in-the-wall affair where schools (or youth clubs) sell snacks and unhealthy crap to their pupils. I remember my own schools 'tucky' very well .... and the excitement every year at Christmas when kids would scan their purchase with Willy Wonka style enthusiasm for a lucky sticker meaning that you'd won an even larger box of chocolate.

I'm sure since the healthy eating reforms in schools here, this sort of things is probably very much a thing of the past.

I'd quite enjoyed doing it so rather than resigning it to my "things to file away one day" folder on my desktop, I decided to play around with it a bit. The original brief called for a mixture of healthy and unhealthy snacks, so being my own AD now I was able to leave the healthy stuff out!

I'm still very much a novice when it comes to screen printing and still find my sessions at the print studio a slightly stressful affair... but thought I'd give it a pop...

Stamps from Mongolia

2007-04-14T15:28:27+00:00

I thought I'd share these stamps from Mongolia which I got in a lucky dip stamp assortment.

I know zip about stamps or collecting them but think they are pretty delicious and worth sharing.

Greek Art Theft!

2007-04-13T20:29:38+00:00

When I was at uni I took a whole semester of Greek Art of which I have absolutely no recollection. While having a clear out the other day I found a pile of old art history essays which I don't remember writing either. Hmmm... Gothic Art & Architecture and Colonial American Art are pretty blurry memories too.

Anyways, after flicking through an old Greek Art book (did I buy that?) these funny little terracotta sculptures caught my eye...

And 'inspired' me...

I'm not sure I'm entirely happy with it, but it was a good challenge working in only a few colours.

Not like when I were a lass...

2007-04-03T14:53:45+00:00

March was a funny month for me. I'd been struggling with working at computer for a while as I began to notice there was something not quite right with my vision. Its partly the reason I haven't posted anything in a while as typing for any length of time has been giving me bad headaches.

At first I just put it down to eye strain but as things weren't getting any better I booked myself in for an eye test, and discovered that I have one eye mildly shortsighted and one mildly longsighted. And basically its confusing my brain. Hardly a superhero skill, is it?

Anyways, I have new specs now though my brain still hasn't adapted...

Excuses for not blogging aside, heres a rush job I did last week for an education supplement with The Guardian

It was sort of a complicated brief. I had to illustrate the ideas laid out in an flowchart type infographic created by the QCA regarding reform to the school curriculum... basically about a broader types of subjects, flexible teaching for each student, and more involvement within the community, etc

I think originally the flowchart was going to be printed then pulled, hence the 24 hour deadline. With this amount of detail it would have been handy to have a little more time, but sometimes it's good just to get your head down and get on with it.

It's all different then when I was a school and I had to double check all the subject abbreviations... there was no 'D&T' or 'Citizenship' when I was at high school and French was just French and not 'Modern Foriegn Languages'. Apparently Mandarin is the MFL of choice these days.

At my school there was just a lot of metalwork and home economics...oh and secretarial studies. I still have no idea where the home keys are though.

How to have a Happy Birthday...

2007-02-26T12:25:52+00:00

... when you have to go to work in the office.

I've never really minded going into work on my birthday.. in fact it does give you the excuse to slack off and get everyone to buy you a drink.

Working freelance, you miss out on the up downs and of office culture which I guess in some ways is a very good thing...

The whole Edel experience...

2007-02-24T23:17:02+00:00

Once Edel has assigned you a job for TIME is seems the drawger norm to post your original sketches and and wax lyrical for a bit about how cool and talented an AD he is to work with...

I was hoping to be able to buck the trend and dish the dirt on the "real" Edel but I have to admit that all that has been said before is indeed true. And have to echo Bob's recent post too.

The article was to be about people in later life deciding whether to start up their own non-profit or not.

Edel gave me a couple of angles and referenced a couple of pieces in my porfolio...

Edel and his editors went for the donation boxes idea, and he came back with a few tweaks and suggestions on colour scheme that were spot on.

The finished artwork.

It was totally painless and dare I say it, highly enjoyable. I got a kick out of drawing the building donation boxes.

Cheers Edel :)

ABC Words

2007-02-24T20:59:09+00:00

I picked this old childrens educational book up today in a local oxfam charity shop for 79p.

Sadly there's no date or illustrator credited but thought I'd share a few of the interior illustrations as they are quite nice I think.

Following on from the discussion of the updated Richard Scarry book on A. Richard Allen's post, heres a few that might not make it into the 2007 edition...

How Very Camp!

2007-02-19T13:26:35+00:00

Something light and fluffy for Monday morning.

A couple of illustrations on the subject of kids camps for a regional magazine over the other side of the pond.

The whole summer camp culture is something that doesn't really happen too much here in the UK. As children, we are just made to go on holiday with our parents...

Edgar Allan...

2007-02-12T18:49:20+00:00

Not wanting to feel left out...

did I get it wrong again?

Japanese Eye Candy

2007-02-04T17:29:00+00:00

I don't know why but I always think food packaging from other countries looks infinitely more interesting than those you find back home. No more so than with Japanese sweety packaging. I'm quietly working my way through eating this bunch of recent purchases... the nifty graphics are very much making up for the E numbers.

I realise that the title of this post could be a bit misleading...

How to work from home...

2007-01-08T14:18:21+00:00

I figured it was about time I posted some of my own work for a change.

This is an illustration for todays Guardian about the perks and pitfalls of working at home.

illoz.com

2007-01-03T13:29:54+00:00

www.illoz.com

New Years Greetings

2006-12-31T17:20:42+00:00

While home in Oban, I've been able to reclaim a few more postcards purchased in my youff.

Sadly I didn't seem to have very good taste when I was 10 as the majority of the designs aren't all that inspiring!

More interesting is reading the messages so I've posted some more scans and messages from the reverse on Flickr

and a few timely ones below...

Wishing drawger-ers and non-drawger-er's alike all the best for 2007!

Anyone got a stamp?

2006-12-10T02:34:47+00:00

'Oh Great, here comes Linzie with lots more old crap to share'

I don't really collect old postcards, but I do seem to have bought a hell of a lot of them. They are just one of those things that easy to find and cheap to buy. I like the randomness of what you can find, and though it makes me feel a little bit sad/guilty the best ones are the ones that have actually been sent and show you a glimpse into someone life.

I've twice been to a local charity shop and picked up a stack of these 50s postcards... They were so cheap and the temptation was too great...

To be honest though, when I was about 10 I used to collect victorian birthday postcards which I hoping to hunt down when I go home over the holidays. When other girls were spending their pocket money on My Little Pony, I used to spend the weekend with my parents staking out flea markets and antique stalls... It will be interesting to find my old collection and see what I considered cool then... I seem to recall I really liked the embroidered ones (oh dear!) from the turn of the century and would turn my nose up at anything post 1930...

I like this Notre Dame one... and it got a really nice matt finish... and even my beginners french is good enough to understand it

This little fellow cracks me up!

But I have no idea whats going on in this one...anyone? Answers on a postcard please.. boom boom. Man, I'm in the wrong business...

So, OK, I have just posted a whole load of stuff that I collect, but hell at least I feel it has a purpose now!

This illustration is Rotten

2006-11-29T13:46:19+00:00

When an AD gets in touch and tells you they have a job that really suits your style... and then tells you its about COMPOST, you have to wonder really... This actually turned out to be quite fun job, illustrating 'composting star signs' for Organic Gardening magazine. Each of these alternative horoscopes describes what kind of composter you might be... The slacker, the engineer, the evangelist, etc... have fun figuring out the rest!

Penguin & Pelican Book Covers

2006-11-25T12:40:55+00:00

This time last year the V&A had a great (but small) exhibit to celebrate 70s years of Penguin Books.

Paperback books of the same colour scheme were arranged in huge cases which looks pretty stunning.

Originally Penguin pbs had distinctive colour schemes:
orange / white - general fiction
green / white - crime fiction
maroon - travel series
dark blue - biographies.

Some of the best covers come from the 50s and 60s, with really smart and sometimes bizarre graphic designs.

The great thing is that these books are pretty easy to pick up in charity shops. The Pelican* subjects are often very dry and academic, but the covers really make up for it.

I picked up the book above yesterday for a few pennies in a charity shop where I live.

*Pelican Books was an imprint of Penguin designed to "educate the reading public rather than entertain"

For anyone wondering about what to add to their christmas wish list the book to accompany the exhibition and Penguins birthday: Penguin by Design is available on amazon.

Also, heres one guy's nice 50s/60s collection on flickr : Penguin Books

November Junk Shop Finds

2006-11-24T23:23:18+00:00

I drive my friends to despair by dragging them into charity shops and car boot sales looking for 50s and 60s tat.

Tonight I scanned and uploaded a few recent childrens book finds.

more internal pages & covers Photos: Vintage Illustration: Kids

100 Artists 100 Desks!

2006-11-09T00:54:36+00:00

Congratulations to fellow drawgerite Edel for gaining the prestigious title of 100th contributor at my studio space blog: On My Desk.

You can check out more photos of Edel's modest little studio here

Illustrator Allan Sanders has also contributed a very nice banner illustration to help mark the occasion.

Thanks all round to the other 99 artists listed below who have already shared their workspace and the many other nice people who continue to do so:

Heather Castles
Tommy Kane
Geninne D. Zlatkis
David Evans
Matthew Porterfield
Jac Currie
Steven G. Amey
Bob Staake
Sven Gerhardt
Brandon Steen
Charity Romero/Ezra Li Eismont
Jannie Ho
Jean-Francois Kelahear
Jeremiah Ketner
Adante Salvagado
Tamsin Ainslie
Lauren Braun
JoJo Yeung
Colin Johnson
Kim Carney
Sandra Monat
Andi Butler
Danny Mansmith
Tim Harries
Jason Bronkhorst
Andy J. Smith
J. Michael Stovall
Maxwell Loren Holyoke-Hirsch
Caio Nery Filho
Anndrea Boe
Morandini
Charlene Chua
Mark Anderson
Kelly Murphy
Doug Savage
Jeff Szuc
Joseph Scarano
Chris Braun
Sean Kane
Blair Kelly
Leo Hillier
Marina Caruso
Meghan Murphy
James Yang
Piepke
David Carillo
Rob Dunlavey
Mark Porter
Ian Stevenson
Annie Bissett
Edel Rodriguez
David Sones
Nubby Twiglet
Ximena Maier
Brett Hess
Collin David
Rick Lovell
Eric Bostrom
Rik Catlow
Jeff Matz
Ben the Illustrator
Joan M. Mas
Junichi Tsuneoka
Guylaine Couture
Eric Sturdevant
Claudine Hellmuth
Matt Hinrichs
Petra Stefankova
Paul Antonson
Maximo Tuja
Holly DeWolf
Alex Noriega
Jon Keegan
Von Glitschka
Craig Atkinson
Alan (Fred) Pipes
Jim Stafford
Ben Schlitter
Ryan Snook
Dan Thompson
Jared Chapman
Corianton Hale
Christiane Engel
Andy Smith
Pietari Posti
Cat Morley
What What
Sean Macfarlane
David Dean
Ben Schlitter
Anette V. Heiberg
theApe
Fhiona Galloway
Bob Staake
Mark Begley
Allan Sanders
Elwood H Smith
Jeff Andrews
Ryan Myers
Maxwell Paternoster

Überraschung!

2006-11-08T03:08:44+00:00

A little illustration I did tonight to pass the time while watching the coverage of the US Midterms (or maybe it's the other way around.) It was inspired by all the jolly little wooden toys I saw in Germany. I sadly admit to having bought a few.

Small Press: Barnaby Richards

2006-10-31T23:32:59+00:00

I love books. I especially like handmade books and small press publications. All the recent goulish Halloween illustration posts made me go dig out a little book I bought recently: - The Funeral by writer/illustrator Barnaby Richards.

"The Funeral pictures the paradoxical events surrounding the disappearance of a loved one". Its published by Atlantic Press and is a complete steal at just £4.

I don't know much about Barnaby other than he is a recent graduate of MA Illustration course at Falmouth. He doesn't seem to have a website yet which is a real shame.

I also have a few of his other books which I picked up in Magma. - 20 Artistic Things, 20 Enchanting things and 20 Scary Things. Each one is a collection of line drawings - one per page- on the title theme. There is something both dark and charming about these collection of simple drawings that I really enjoy. I particularly like the quiet expressions on his characters. I always get a kick out of looking at them.

From 20 Artistic Things - Apologies for the poor quality scans email: barnabyrichards @ hotmail.com

I've done a little book making myself but it very hard to find the time. It's very much something I'd like to do more of in the future. I also took a screenprinting course this summer so am hoping in the new year to be able to my new skills into practice!

In the meantime, It's nice just to enjoy the labour of loves of other artists. I'm also a fan of Andy Smith's screen printed books and the great stuff Tom Gauld* and Simone Lia publish under Cabanon Press.

*The current issue of Specialten DVD Magazine includes a free A4 print by Tom Gauld in the current issue (no.16)

Remember Remember...

2006-10-30T16:16:31+00:00

While my american cousins are all making a big thing about Halloween, I thought I'd do a quick illustration to acknowledge one of the UK's superior holiday events : Bonfire Night.

For those not familiar with the holiday, it's when we celebrate how Guy Fawkes and bunch of catholics got caught trying to blow up parliament and protestant King James I in 1605.

The day is now celebrated by bonfires and firework events through out the country. In a slightly worrying Wicker Man style twist, kids are encouraged to build their own scarecrow-like 'GUY', then scrounge money off the general public (usually chanting 'penny for the guy' in the street) before chucking him on the bonfire at the end of the night. Nothing worrying at all there.

Last year, some boys came to my door with a rather life-like guy in a wheelbarrow. I was suckered into giving them some cash only to then watch the carefully crafted 'guy' get up, take his mask and gloves off and walk off. Kids eh?

It's too close to Halloween for my liking, and being a miserable sod, I'll just have to sit in the dark with curtains closed and the lights off all this week...

Remember, remember, the 5th of November
Gunpowder Treason and plot ;
I know of no reason why the Gunpowder Treason
Should ever be forgot.

Guy Fawkes, Guy Fawkes,
'Twas his intent.
To blow up the King and the Parliament.
Three score barrels of powder below.
Poor old England to overthrow.
By God's providence he was catch'd,
With a dark lantern and burning match

Holloa boys, Holloa boys, let the bells ring
Holloa boys, Holloa boys, God save the King!

Hip hip Hoorah !
Hip hip Hoorah !

A penny loaf to feed ol'Pope,
A farthing cheese to choke him.
A pint of beer to rinse it down,
A faggot of sticks to burn him.
Burn him in a tub of tar,'
Burn him like a blazing star.
Burn his body from his head,
Then we'll say: ol'Pope is dead.

More Guy Fawkes stuff at www.guy-fawkes.com

Never mind Halloween...

2006-10-25T17:33:20+00:00

Apparently, Christmas starts next week...

bah humbug.

The answers you have all been waiting for...

2006-10-18T13:45:07+00:00

I did a little interview thing ages ago for paper tiger media, a publisher down under.

It's the sort of hard hitting, tough talking Q&A I so much enjoy.

If you thought that my sense of humour was overly laced with sarcasm, you should not be disappointed: Anything I Like interview

48 Hours in Berlin

2006-10-16T21:12:54+00:00

A quick trip to Germany not only means an unnecessary contribution to global warming, but also a chance to snap some of the sights of Berlin.

I've uploaded some more snaps (touristy and candid) to my gallery, so rush on all over to: Photos: Places: Berlin

Very Old Monkeys

2006-10-06T23:58:18+00:00

Following the monkey madness thats going on round here... I have quite a few money related illustrations (who doesn't love drawing monkeys??) but when looking through my folders I found an 'early' illustration of mine.

One of the first steps I took when I decided to make the career change from theatre to illustration was to enroll in a part-time course at Chelsea School of Art. Early on we made a class trip to one of my favourite museums in London: The V&A . We were asked to sketch an object on display and then create a piece of artwork influenced by it...

I sketched some monkey carvings and this pagoda from the China Collection and cobbled together the illustration shown here This was one of the first things I did at on the course and it was also the first illustration I created in Photoshop.

I ended up making a sort of 3-D sculture-ish thing out of it (See shoddy prototype photo). It was then selected for the Museum's 'Inspired By' exhibition later that year. Even though I didn't win any prizes or anything, I still got a bit of a kick about seeing my work in a display case at the V&A. It's funny to see how much my digital work has changed as I've got more comfortable working on the computer!

One Happy Carrot

2006-09-29T12:57:57+00:00

One of 3 illustrations I did recently for American Baby Magazine for their Q&A / Problem page. This one was my favourite even though at 2 inchs print size it's by far the smallest of the lot.

70s flashback

2006-09-22T16:36:15+00:00

While I appreciate that the 70s was the decade that gave us many great things (Abba, Platforms, Space hoppers, Wonder Woman... and me) when it comes to collecting old childrens books, I sort of lose interest after 1969.

However, when I found this book the other day in a local charity shop, it was so truly awful I just had to have it. It's so bad, it's good!
By Ingeborg Westermeiner & Stefan Lemke (illustrator) 1973, Brockhampton Press

Anyone for Utopia?

2006-09-08T13:36:13+00:00

A self-promo piece for my rep's yearbook.. the brief was 'utopia' so I've illustrated a recipe for a cocktail... to create you're own utopia, you'll need crushed ice, ice cream, strawberries, bananas and vodka.

It was a pretty fun brief though I found it a bit of challenge to do it in the colours they provided, which are different from my usual stuff. Nice to experiment though!