Dickens 2012

Some new work for The British Council and their DICKENS 2012 celebrations. This is a modern interpretion of Dickens' 'Sketches of Boz' - 'THE STREETS - Morning'.

I've featured the spread plus some details of the frames and some initial pencil sketches.
http://literature.britishcouncil.org/projects/2011/dickens-2012/sketches-by-boz-sketching-the-city 

Despite an early and somewhat chilly start, wandering about the streets of London, this was a great job - one which has been a joy to do.

Was I talking about colour?

 Was I talking about colour? Here's the greyscale - long story or not so long story. Anyway the long and short of it is that I'm rather liking greyscale, just a smidgey.

The first 16 pages can be viewed below.

Summer Days

 I've spent the summer up a welsh mountain, mid-winter, illustrating a book for Harpercollins. The book is called 'Wild Cat', written by Berlie Doherty and is part of the Big Cat series.  The book has about 47 colour illustrations, I can't show all of them so here are a few of my favourites. http://www.harpercollins.co.uk/Titles/64840/wild-cat-berlie-doherty-zara-slattery-9780007428335

Fitting a square illustrator into a graphic novel shaped hole.

 When I posted my last blog I thought I knew how my book would look, but and it was a huge BUT, something wasn't working.  Apart from the odd pic the gouache and ink just wasn't telling the story and the line was just wrong.  After a few navel gazing weeks I dumped it all and started again. I lay down my dip-pen and picked up the most splendid brush and suddenly I was transported back into the story. 
After finding the right line the next question was colour - 'to colour or not to colour?' I hate making decisions when I have time to make them. I thought a little colour would be nice because I like red hair, and that would probably be reason enough but for the fact its for kids and I think kids like colour, just a smidgey.

It begins

The first draft of my graphic novel for children, The Paper Bird is complete!!!!!
I can't help tinkering though, itchy fingers and all, so...
I'm going to colour up one or two more spreads and then leave it for a while to allow fate to take a hand. This is page 2 which is sort of where it begins.

Meanwhile Popa Bill is waiting-

Going back to my roots on Brighton Sketchcrawl

 I ventured out for the latest Brighton sketchcrawl on Saturday and hooked up with some fellow artists in Pavillion Gardens. Admittedly I did more talking than sketching there, however, the next stop was far more productive. We headed over to New England House for a spot of life drawing with Jake Spicer, which was great!
I think it must be eleven years or more since I last did a spot of life drawing and I remember really enjoying it back then.  Am going have to try and fit a session or two into my week me thinks.

Introducing Popa Bill

Introducing the star of my next Graphic novel, 'THE STORY OF POPA BILL'. I think I must be bonkers, even before the last tweeks of the last GN are complete, I'm compelled to start the next beastly book. I'm only two pages in and it's not taken over my life yet, so I can still look upon him fondly. It'll be a different story after I've plunged him into the erksome unknown beyond the pail!!!

Tópé Arrives

When not working on the Graphic Novel!
This is some recent work for self-publishing author Wendy Hue. It's a great story about a little boy adjusting to life in England after loosing his parents in a motor accident in Nigeria.

After the critique comes the hard work

Big thanks to Laura Atkins my writing Guru and guide through this at times jumbly process.
After pouring through the notes of Laura's critique of the old GN, I'm finally getting to work editing/amending it. I thought this bit would be easy after the somersaults of writing it in the first place!!!! It feels a bit like an episode of 'Heroes'- tieing up all the loose ends of the plot and then thinking of a hundred more I could add and all those missed opportunities.
In the meantime I'm trying to keep it together and find that there is a lot more drawing to be done, a couple of spreads and the odd page or two.
This being one of the odd pages. I found myself squinting and holding the paper about a foot away and talking to myself when doing this pic. Mmm...

Magnificent kids and their flying machines

Magnificent kids and their flying machines.  Artwork for a childrens workshop at Shoreham Airport with writer-in-residence, Suzy Joinson.

Flying Rough

This is a rough for a 30's themed poster that I'm going to paint later today, perhaps.  Having delved into the world of 30's picturebooks, I love the characterisation and simplicity of much of the images from the period. The style might well morph its way into the rest of my work, if it hasn't already.

Doodling

Something I Doodled when I should have been doing something else-and I really did have other things to do and still do.

The First Draft

Page 84 of what is currently 115 pages. The first pencil draft is written and drawn. Afterwards I put my pencils down and gave myself a few days break, although I couldn't get it out of my head. Am thinking about the big edit of which I'm about to embark on. No doubt it will be the first of many.