Room 109 - Sheffield allotments, Rivelin Valley

Love this door without walls- if you're ever passing though don't be tempted to knock - 

I had to run for my life!

Room 101 just round the corner is like a hoarders paradise.

Toilet humour / Painted toilet signs - Graves Park, Sheffield

Love these painted signs spotted in Graves Park, Sheffield recently. There's something very knowing about these colloquially scribed signs. 

The timing of this gag is a masterpiece. The signs are at opposite ends of the building therefore you don't see them simultaneously. Upon seeing the first sign 'Lasses' of course you have to walk around to see what the other signs reads as. Of course a few seconds later you are rewarded with the matching pair 'Lads & Lasses'. 

Reet Northern - Love this city!

The Black Cat's Skiffle Group, (circa 1958)

I'm looking forward to going to see Richard Hawley again soon. My mother recently gave me this photograph of my dad Jack,(with guitar) taken in 1958 whilst practicing with the skiffle group, 'The Black Cats'.The fourth member of the group is taking the photograph. His name was Dave Hawley -late father of Richard. Its taken in the back garden where they lived next to each other. I sent this to Richard a couple of years ago via his forum. He said that he had a corresponding photograph virtually the same only his photograph had been taken by my dad of the three other members. My dad died as a young man but always loved his guitar - its one of my first memories as a boy seeing him play and the guitar would always hang besides his bed - I guess a reminder of his earlier days and musical dreams.

http://richardhawley.co.uk/about/

'When Pig's Fly' wine label,(Just Design/South Africa)

Paradigm is the realisation of the wine-maker’s personal dream of creating his own wine, and the label design highlights his passion for wine and his truly unique approach to viticulture. He has attempted a maverick blend that sets a new standard, challenging wine convention. As such, a smart and witty label portrays that all is not always as it seems; that life (and wine) has hidden layers, duality and ambiguity.

Pitta Face street art

Took this photograph of a pityful pitta-face whilst walking to work. Would love to know the full story of the previous night's inspired drawing.

Titanic / Centenary Anniversary Poster- White Star Line

This year marked the 100th year anniversary of the sinking of the White Star Lines flag ship Titanic.

I wanted to mark this occassion by producing a poster image. It was upon researching the White Star Line flag and rotating it through 90 degrees that I first saw the iceberg.

Upon striking the iceberg on the evening of 15th April 1912, 2224 passengers life's hung in the balance. In just 2 hours 40 minutes 1502 souls had perished.

Miro Exhibition - Private View / Yorkshire Sculpture Park

I attended this wonderful private view earlier in the year - the show is still on until 6th January 2013 and is well worth a visit.

My younger brother, (a dentist) has the director of the Sculpture Park as his Client and he had kindly invited him to the private view. Unfortunately he wasn't able to attend so asked if I would like to go in his stead. He didn't need to ask a second time.

Creative Inspiration

I'm sometimes asked by my students what inspires me creatively - you don't have to look much further than colour and form from nature. Take these burnet moths my daughters Ava and Scarlett encountered on the Derbyshire moors feeding away on the mustard flowers of the ragwort - (one of their favourite foods). The girls have both become astute spotters of bugs and insects this Summer. 

Super Saturday Athletics evening

What an evening!

I don't think there will be no sporting experience I will ever witness again which will surpass this one - some things you just know. The evening has already gone down in history has British athletics finest hour. 

My two brothers Jamie and Paul, (& honorary brother Matt) were screaming like banshees as Mo Farah took to that last lap in the 10,000 metres and made history.

Greg Rutherford jumped out of his skin and to top it all our very own city of Sheffields' golden girl Jessica Ennis ruling the last event of the heptathlon, (800 metres) and celebration at the reward ceremony. 

  

A visit to Naomi Games home

I haven't posted for some time - (going underground from time to time is something I need to do - after all the net can't beat real life interaction!) In other words, I could say I've been getting a real life recently.
And to prove it here are photographs of a trip made earlier in the year along with fellow illustrator and teaching partner Lee Ford to the home of Naomi Games, (daughter of celebrated Illustrator/Graphic Designer Abram Games).
We had been very kindly invited by Naomi to choose pieces of her late fathers work to form part of
a show that Lee curated earlier in the year entitled 'Working Drawings'. The exhibition detailing formative sketch and development stages of various artists works including drawings by Jill Calder, Roderick Mills, Ken Garland, Ed Fella, Abram Games, Alan Fletcher, Saul Steinberg, Jason Ford and  Simon Spillsbury.

Naomi was an excellent host and narrated us through folders and folders of drawings - many of which would have never been publicly been seen before. The anecdotal stories Naomi offered giving great insight to the motivation and creative forces of this 20th Century graphical genius.
Her son Theo, (an architectural student) all the while working on his latest project in the kitchen only breaking to see if we required more coffee.


A very memorable day.



To see more examples of Abram and Theo's work visit websites below:

www.abramgames.com
www.cargocollective.com/theorama

Nikki

I found this drawing in amongst a whole heap of roughs tucked away from yesteryear. I had forgotten I had done this but upon seeing it again I was transported back to the very moment of drawing it. Nicky was in the year below me at Leicester Polytechnic and at the time was busying herself with making a lino cut.

Invitation to attend Editorial Workshop at the Royal College of Art, London

I have been kindly invited by Nanette Hoogslag to attend an editorial workshop taking place tomorrow, (Fri. 18th November) at the Royal College of Art.This is part of the 'Edge of our Thinking' conference and willl involve practicing illustrators, researchers and educators.

The workshop will inform part of Nanette's PhD research which she is conducting at the Royal College of Art and is focussed on the understanding and description of the qualities of visual contribution of editorial illustration within the changed parameters of the online news environment.

Workshop: “Think-editorial-Illustration: analysis of founding qualities of editorial illustration”

With a series of proposed ʻfounding qualitiesʼ this workshop will focus on the nature of editorial

illustration. Participants, coming from their own practice and experience, will challenge and build upon

these starting points and play with the ideas that can lead towards new online illustration formats.

Where the print media industry is rapidly shifting towards the online environment, the role the visual,

be it photographic, moving or illustrated is being re-evaluated. If editorial illustration is to remain a

significant contributor within the new media formats, its ask for a deeper understanding. Beyond the

pretty picture, what are the qualities that make an editorial illustration; in print and online?

This workshop aims to create a deeper insight into editorial illustration as a medium, through

exploration of its potential in existing and developing media contexts; in print and online.

Illustration will be the subject, but also the debating tool, to stimulate an outcome in words and images,

there will be plenty of pencils and paper, do bring your own laptop if you wish...

The main outcomes will be collected for a small publication, which after the event, will be sent to all

participants.

20 year retrospective, (1992-2012)

It's fast approaching my twentieth year in which I have been creating pictures for the illustration market, graduating from Central St. Martins College of Art & Design in 1992 and stepping out, onto the golden streets of London town.

Since then I have produced thousands of illustrations for a diverse range of global Clients but my work has become most synonymously linked with the British editorial market.

In order to mark the occassion I have been invited to hold an exhibition of my editorial work early in 2012 at the Furnival Gallery by Sheffield Hallam University, UK . This will highlight my working processes, anecdotal references and pictorial reactions to the stories of the day.

The below photographs show a small proportion of newspaper pages utilising my illustrations and created for The Guardian newspapers 'Comment & Debate' section in the last few years. I have spent the last few days selecting the ones which may make the show.

I'll keep you posted with exact dates very soon.

'Storm in a teacup' - reaction to story of rolling news items

'Australian Culture'

'American Influence in Egypt'

Scalloped Oak moth

My daughters were delighted to discover this beautiful creature in the back garden yesterday evening. They had disturbed it from its hiding place whilst hosing the garden.

For anyone interested in British & Irish butterflies and moths you can delight in the Cockayne collection held at the Natural History Museum.

http://www.nhm.ac.uk/jdsml/research-curation/research/projects/cockayne/

42 - the answer to the ultimate question of life, the universe and everything

Douglas Adams was wrong. The answer is 43.

Self portraits - 1989

Digging around today to find these younger selves.

Knowing, understanding, accepting

Some things we know.

Some things we don't know.

Some things we don't know that we don't know.

Animal themed baby bunting

I have just created these baby bunting designs as a gift for a close friend who has just had her first baby. My friend loves bunting and hand crafted designs so I intend to create these both as screenprints and one off knitted designs for her.

The bat seems to be most peoples favourite at the moment - might be nice just to have a row of these.

1930's Nestlé Show Card, (Lithograph)

You can see this beautiful example of an advertising show card at the V&A. It was produced in the 1930's by Nestlé and is currently on show in an exhibition of chocolate packaging and paraphenalia.

I think I was born in the wrong era. Chocolatastic!