The Happy Illustrator

Around the same time as rounding off v3 of the Birmingham Cocktail Weekend map, a time when we had recently moved flat and had no internet to call our own, I had also committed to illustrating Frenchman Robert Marchard for ray of sunshine @thehappynewspaper. A large 'eeeeep' sound rang out across Stirchley as I realised it was 2am the day after this illustration was due, so I set to work on capturing his mighty spirit before sneaking down the stairs of our communal building and setting up camp outside my landlord's business premises to suck out some emergency WiFi juice. I guess mightiness comes in different forms... and so does determination / desperation.

I had answered Emily's callout for illustrators for the newspaper on instagram by sending her my gif of Grumpy Cat smiling, and I was delighted when she identified a story that would suit my style to be included in the next issue. Robert is a 105-year-old man who made history by cycling a record 14+ miles an hour. You can now see him whizzing by on the cover of their 'Opportunity' edition of this gorgeous paper.