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‘It’s so hard to make things sometimes, you know?’
~ The ‘Hi, Stranger‘ Stranger.*
Pudgy Horse and I thank you for your support.
28 Tuesday Mar 2017
Posted Illustration, Personal, Personal Work, Sketchbook
inTags
‘It’s so hard to make things sometimes, you know?’
~ The ‘Hi, Stranger‘ Stranger.*
Pudgy Horse and I thank you for your support.
16 Monday May 2016
Posted Illustration, Magazines, Sketchbook
inI have a spread in the Illustrator’s Notebook spot of the current issue of Illustration Magazine (UK, Spring 2016, Issue 47).
(Please click the image to open it out to full view.)
Thank you so much to Linda Owen-Lloyd of Children’s Book Illustration for suggesting this feature, and to Ruth Prickett, the magazine’s editor!
15 Saturday Nov 2014
Posted Books, Illustration, Sketchbook
inOh, dear, I’ve been busy and have neglected the blog again. Allow me to post this quick stopgap to keep it ticking over.
This rough sketch of Emma’s ‘tête-à-tête drive’ with Mr. Elton was one of the many pieces which turned out to be far better than their final counterparts when I did the illustrations for Jane Austen’s Emma in 2006, published by The Folio Society (with perhaps one exception). I gave Emma a calash, a pelisse, and a muff here, but eschewed all in favour of simply a hooded cloak in the final illustration, since I felt that the short distance between Randalls and Hartfield together with the carriage drive probably made them unnecessary. It was a pity, as I felt the visual interest was considerably reduced then. If only that was all that was wrong with the final piece…
13 Thursday Feb 2014
Posted Illustration, Personal Work, Sketchbook
inDrawn yesterday for my friend Ingunn of Mosjøen, Norway, and for Charles Darwin (though mostly for the former, admittedly); they share a birthday. Pudgy Horse wishes a happy birthday by eating the cake. This sketch also handily becomes another piece for the Year of the Horse.
The plaited mane (because it was a special occasion) was drawn after the historic Lipizzan horses as painted by Johann Georg von Hamilton.
09 Thursday Jan 2014
Posted Illustration, Personal Work, Sketchbook
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My friend Nancy of New Jersey reported being obliged to wear ‘about twenty layers’. This was what I envisioned.
16 Monday Dec 2013
Posted Books, Illustration, Sketchbook
inIn honour of Jane Austen’s birthday, a study of the Bennet sisters, sketched at the time I illustrated Pride and Prejudice for The Folio Society (2006). It remains a personal favourite of mine, even though most of the illustrations for the book itself (with perhaps one exception) turned out poorly.
In truth, I am unhappy with most of my efforts on the three Austen titles I did for Folio. A number of unfortunate circumstances at the time together with my own lacking abilities then did not help. I still long for the opportunity to redeem myself in illustrating Austen again.
26 Thursday Sep 2013
Posted Personal Work, Sketchbook
in10 Tuesday Sep 2013
Posted Illustration, Palaeontology, Personal Work, Sketchbook
inTags
Brown ink and gouache on recycled paper, 111 x 162mm.
The palaeontologically informed among the readers won’t need any explanation, but this silliness was prompted by the recent re-surfacing of the ‘Triceratops didn’t exist’ issue. Triceratops isn’t going anywhere.
24 Saturday Aug 2013
Posted Illustration, Personal Work, Sketchbook
inTags
Marabou stork (Leptoptilos crumeniferus)
Brown and graphite pencils in Stillman & Birn Gamma sketchbook, approximately 15.2 x 16cm.
Based on photographs I took on a visit to Birdworld earlier this year.
16 Friday Aug 2013
Posted Illustration, Personal Work, Sketchbook
in