robins coming out of my ears

been drawing robins by the flockload over the last week. in a stamp shape because they are going to fly through the post (from the land of robin hood no less) and hopefully arrive before christmas. blob of paint for the red breast and a quick bit of machine stitching for added interest (still to be added to the bottom two... )

hungry hippos

mousetrap and screwball scramble coming soon...

november facial hair

it's nearly over, but i thought i'd try and get in the movember spirit.. only i can't grow one.. so here's baby me with a moustache instead. theres something hilarious about moustaches (moustachi?) and i sense they are going to feature quite heavily in my future doodles...

confetti in the air...

so wedding’s are all the rage in my friendship circle.  kind of hitch-hiked onto the wagon myself by designing invites for stef and kerry (which was mainly a graphic design job)…

... and have since been asked to do the same for the aforementioned lana and her bloke adam, who are having a picnic themed wedding.

they want brown paper/cream colours with typewriter/art deco fonts... so here’s some work in progress to show the latest front/reverse of their save date card, and a couple of earlier bits I’d offered up to get in more drawing and trial fonts…

ever felt like a disposable razor?

i like how an object can hold meaning… smooth? sensitive? rough? used? throwaway?

enough said.

uk cod

after attending a BNI breakfast get together, met a couple of people who were putting together a pitch for the UK council on Deafness website. they wanted to put forward both a traditional photographic based template, and an illustrative one, so asked me to produce a banner that visualised sound.

wanted to avoid being too clichéd and started trying to be all conceptual… but ended with an abstract landscape the incorporates different environments (city/residential/country etc..) within a sound wave shape. although obvious, i figured the overall shape has an immediate connotation and the necessary impact to hold the attention of prospective website users. i thought interlinking shapes and lines could relate to UKCoD's umbrella organisation status... and i've added in textures to hopefully suggest depth of sound whilst appealing to other senses such as sight and touch, which are heightened when hearing impaired.

we didn’t win the pitch, but i’m not seeing it as failure, considering we were up against an agency who specialise in websites for people with disabilities…

papergirl chesterfield

submitted 5 pages cut from old sketchbooks last week to be used in the papergirl chesterfield project. the idea started in berlin, where pictures were rolled up and distributed by girls on bikes to anyone they passed.
random, but i approve.
the chesterfield version is promoting their green fair on september 24th so work will be rolled up within a poster. handing out takes place on september 17th so if you're out and about in chesterfield that day you might get a free picture from me of a giraffe playing chess...

skbks...

it’s been a busy few months hence the lack of posts in april, may or june (tut to self).

so, first overdue update…

randomly acquired a commission from mapperley rotary club, in which i was asked to produce a hand-bound comments book with an illustration of their international wheel logo in a nottingham lace draftsman drawing style on the cover.

was pretty pleased with the outcome, so i’ve since bound a load of little sketchbooks with other lace inspired drawings, printed onto squared paper in keeping with the style, with concertina pages that extend out like lace would from a machine. these are currently being sold here.

no snow or no sky norway

was in norway this time last month which was like being in a fairytale. finally processed the endless inspiration... so here's a play landscape.

thought a flat dark colour for the night sky background would bring out the aurora, but this sucked the life out entirely so i opted for a texture... which then seemed pretty perfect for the snow, looking all crisp and angular yet smooth...

reckon the snow angel maker lowers the tone somewhat by destroying the serenity, but it reminds me of that satisfying crunch in fresh snow... so he stays.

sketchy dr sketchy

A couple of scribbles from the Nottingham Dr Sketchy 'Ladies of Laughter' event... already looking forward to the next...

and yes that is a woman with a beard...

non baking equipment

the first rough illustration in a series for creativesinc to be used on teatowels and kitchenware. each illustration will be a collection on a theme.. similar to the 'treasure' range of cards for pq2 - except pencil drawings... yay. so this one is kitchen stuff that's not baking related.. as opposed to one that will be..