Wise Old Uncle

At the beginning of February the Wise Old Uncle of the South West commissioned me to draw him for use on social media and the like. I really enjoyed making the drawing, and thought I'd use it as a way of showing the processes I go through when doing a portrait, as it made myself more aware of them too. Sure, I draw the thing with pencils by lamplight, but how I present illustrations digitally has become second nature and is an increasingly important aspect of the work itself, yet something I rarely acknowledge or demonstrate. Firstly, if the drawing is bigger than A4 I only have the capacity to scan it in sections, meaning there are lots of headless illustrations in my folders.

Snapshots of Berlin

Last month I joined Laurie on a creative adventure to Berlin to visit Transmediale festival, in order to inform his current residency at Birmingham Open Media and my own investigations into wellbeing & technology with this year's thematic strands of Anxious to Act, Anxious to Make, Anxious to Share & Anxious to Secure. My second visit to the city, we stayed in an apartment near Hauptbahnhof, enjoying little trips to explore Kreuzberg and grab a burger, do a spot of vintage shopping at Humana near Alexanderplatz, and a walk through Narnia / Tiergarten.

UNREMARKABLE: March

To anyone who told me their Januarys and Februarys were a struggle, I'm sorry - but I couldn't relate until I hit a month-shaped bump in the road. That bump is March. Though I may be presently dangling, lifeless and colourfully dressed like Ivan here, I bid you, dear reader, a fair March. Take care of social media for me, I am lost in the void.

How To Build An Ice Rink

The main series of illustrations I completed for AUB's One Piece of Advice publication was a zesty collecition to accompany an interview with The Syrup Room, entitled How To Build An Ice Rink. The design duo's pearls of wisdom included start with scrap (and neon), never say no and always pay fair. Inspired by their trips to junk yards and the straight-talking sensibility of their outlook, the series featured contemporary twists on traditional elements, building up a colourful urban world of hammers, neon lettering and beer. Above all, I wanted the illustrations to be fresh, and as the boys said, encourage people to see things differently in their environments.