Cats

This painting was inspired by a wonderful poem by Helen Calcutt. I tried to capture the playfulness and mystery of the cats, so beautifully portrayed in the language of the poem. I hope I went some way to justifying it...

*SOLD*

Dreams are the Genus: Nightmares the Species

"Dreams are the Genus: Nightmares the Species", the brand new collaborative, illustrative book is all the way here, now!
Featuring the artwork of 8 different illustratotrs, and the poetic skills of Helen Calcutt, it is a book not to be missed!
Each artist was free to weave their dreamscapes (or nightmares) on 3 seperate pages, based on the themes of nightmares and fairytales.
Instead of illustrating 3 pages, it transpired that I would have one single page illustration, and a double-page spread. Cool.
I based both my illustrations on fairytales, which is "slap you in the face with a dead squirrel" obvious I suppose.
Well here they are, all shiny and finished and the like.
The pleasures of progress...

"Distracted Dad" Article

This illustration was for the column, "Distracted Dad", which is an article to be found in Latest Homes Magazine.
The deadline was fairly tight, but I enjoyed the painting, after a rocky start.
The article in question concerns the authors perfect day out with his family, which includes a canal boat journey, a picnic, and an encounter trying to photograph a less than complient peacock.
Originally the figure taking the photo was less prominant, so in the final painting I enlarged him slightly, which improved the composition a lot I think.

Snippets from new book, "Fragments"

Here is a sneak preview of the new book paintings I've been working on for the last few weeks. They are completely finished as of now, but I cannot reveal them completely until the book is published, which should be at the end of the summer.
The book is a collaborative project, inspired by the themes of Nightmares and Fairytales. Each artist (20 altogether, including my good self) had three pages to weave their creative dreamscapes on this great subject.
Initially I was to illustrate two fairytales and one nightmare scene. However, it was decided that my nightmare image was to be sacrificed in favour of a double page spread instead. This has turned out to be a very wise decision indeedy.
I have included the nightmare drawing, as there is no harm in showing the rejected image.
Full, unabridged paintings to be revealed soon. Watch this space.

"The Art of Listening"

These two pieces were specifically painted for "The Art of Listening" exhibition earlier this month in Sheffield. The exhibition was in conjunction with the Sheffield Samaritans, and a good number of the artists involved were local. The themes consisted of 'despair and hope' ; which are hardly the most inventive, but I really enjoyed the paintings.
I did take a slightly different spin on the themes however - the despair I chose to illustrate, is of a hollow kind, the sort of despair manufactured by a large degree of the western youth, a youth that mostly has never really had any true problems, and thus never suffered true despair. This is of course only one small interpretation of a much larger subject, as some would argue that despair is relative to your surroundings. The title of the painting with the sitting figure is, "Deep in this sad Hollow", which is a line from Dante's "Inferno".
The title of the painting with the sitting woman is, "The Paradise of Fools", which is a quote from Milton's "Paradise Lost". As always the finished paintings will be posted on my website.
And thats enough from me I think...