M A s h o w

it is getting close... the ma show that we've all been working towards. aine and i designed this flyer. i really like the idea that these could be the 'tools of an illustrator'. lets hope it tempts people to come.

marco polo is painted

i have been finishing things for the show. i want to put marco polo in the cabinet. i have painted his face and since made him a hat. he looks dashing, but you will have to come to the show to see him in all his glory!...

b o o k c o v e r s

it's been a busy day in the studio today. i have been writing a reflective essay for the masters and then as a bit of light relief, some book covers. here is my favorite one of the three that i made today. it is so great having a stock of images and layers to draw upon to create these covers. i could just make them all day for all my favorite books! any suggestions for books is kindly welcomed...

p r o g r e s s

so it's been a big week and although things look calm on the outside, i am feeling a little freaked out on the inside. i just wrote a list of all the things i have to do and my heart has dropped. so much to do and so little time. it will get done... somehow. i have three days coming up of uninterrupted work time so i have shut myself away from the world except a little coffee here and there to keep me sane and catch up with friends who visit from back home.

i have been working on the printed book of illustrations 'in search of invisible cities'. here are some pictures of aine helping me cut the large printed sheet down to long strips which i then folded for the book. i then decided to make individual covers for the books to make them like an artwork and also to make them original and special. i think special things are very important and i want to take the time to make the work more special.

and a little shot of my studio table with beautiful flowers that only cost 99p and make my studio days so much brighter!

travelling along the seas of something

a bit more re working of the book and i think i am almost there. thank goodness for photoshop! such a brilliant and versatile tool. so i think the book is getting closer to the end.

you can see the progression of the right side of this section from my last post to now. it was just too heavy before and especially when it was printed... no good. what do you think of this section now?

travelling together and cycling the clouds

so i have had an unproductive day... or rather an administrative day. i guess these days need to exist to get along with your work.

the little boat people are travelling along nicely in my illustrated concertina book so i thought i would show you how things were taking shape. this page feels the most finished to me. there are still gaps but i think this weekend i could possibly knock it all over. (well it has to be that way, there is no time really).

i have made up a mock-book of the concertina book with the right stock paper to get a sense of the scale, weight and size. i highly recommend this process for anyone embarking on a similar endeavor, you can't imagine how the book will look and feel otherwise.

the cycling man is a development from the previous drawings. i like his pink clouds and the bath contraption that he stirs up the rain in. i have named him monsieur millimeter and i plan to develop him after the course is finished, until then all i can think about is my folio and the panel!

cloud books and cycling

today has been one of those quiet days to oneself at one's desk. i have been riding the high seas of my work, listening to the ebbs and flows of it and being washed away by the magic of the medium of watercolour and collage.

i have been struggling to make the concertina book work, so i have taken time out to make these watercolours. i feel like i have been whisked off on another path already, leaving the panel behind to fend for itself... i feel a bit guilty, but i am loving the cloud books. the cloud books are pop-up books that fold out the clouds and the sea. if you agitate the fold the clouds dance. it's magical.

the cycling man is a character design in its early stages of a story that is bubbling up in my head. i will reveal more as i develop him and his story.