posted: March 19, 2012

Aside from my lettering work, I do the occassional illustrated map.  I'm sure I've bemoaned before about how map work can evoke mixed feelings in me.  It's fun to research new places and find new ways to illustrate landmarks and locations. 
The down-side is that it also involves a fair bit of fact checking on my part and with street-maps, a sharp pair of reading glasses (Oh, my poor computer-ravaged eyes). And, of course, there is always the fear/embarrassment of placing a city in the completely - and very obviously to everyone else- wrong part of of the map.
Luckily, I had a lot of fun working on my last map job - a Toronto map for Harry Magazine in Canada.  Harry Magazine is the glossy instore magazine for Harry Rosen Inc, so my illustration will nestle beside many photos of not entirely unattractive men in super stylish clothes. Bonus.
I created a couple of roughs showing two different colour ways.  What was particularly fun about this map is that it could be quite free (I employed a bit of artistic license when marking the locations)  and would feature a large amount of hand lettering rather than lots of small illustrations. Happy times for me.

In the end there were only a few tweaks really.   A few places were added and a couple removed.  The main note was that as it was for the Spring/Summer issue the colour scheme should be bright and warm to fit with the seasons.

Here is the final illustration:

posted: February 14, 2012

Now why do so many people seem to loathe this day?
Among other recent lifestyle changes, I've decided to ignore the negative attitude and commercial cynicism that is attached to the 14th and am embracing the joy that is Valentine's Day.  
Anyone signing up to my twitter feed today gets a free hug. (Collection only)
Happy V-day Friends! Have a good one. And remember gents, no petrol station carnations.

posted: May 8, 2011

After a string of bad experiences as a tenant of ASC studios,  I’ve moved studios and am now based at vastly superior Second Floor Studios just beside the Thames Barrier in the south east of the capital.  And I’ve moved *just* in time to take part in the SFSA Open Studio Weekend
 
For those of you my side of the pond, please feel free to pop by my studio (Studio 34, Trinity Wharf) during the opening evening on Thursday 12th May or on the afternoons of Saturday 14th and Sunday 15th May 2011.  Along side some 130 different artists, you’ll be able to find out more about this exciting and ever-expanding artist community.  Currently under construction is London’s largest open access fine art print studio and a large-scale gallery space. With plans for a terrace cafe and many more studios on the way, it’s an impressive project.
 
Other illustration type people based at SFSA include: Author-Illustrators Nikalas Catlow and Tim Wesson,  Illustrator and AOI chairperson Rod Hunt, and my new studio-mate, comic book artist and publisher of Solipsistic Pop, Tom Humberstone.

For more info about the open weekend, and to find out about my print giveaway on twitter (!) - click here

posted: May 2, 2011

Anyone that knows me, knows that I'd never stoop so low as to add such a scandalous attention-seeking headline to my post without good reason.
Here's some fun and light hearted work I've been doing as part of an ongoing print campaign for Skinny Cow with the lovely team at JWT in New York.
Probably don't need to say too much more... And apologies to anyone (?) who may feel slightly misled.