Magpies

Here's the magpie birthday card that I made for my superstitious girlfriend.

At first it looks like a most unfortunate situation...

...ah! but it's OK after all, he is not alone.

I might make some more of these. Anyone know any good card companies?

LOOM DOOM!

ATCHOO! How is it possible that I have another cold?! I seem to get them every few weeks. Grrrmble.


Here is the picture that I produced for our exhibition From the Loom Room. Apparently, our studio at Camberwell College of Arts used to be the loom room, hence the name of our exhibition.


This got me thinking about Karl Marx's Capital which I was reading earlier in the year while attending some really interesting lectures at Goldsmiths, given by John Hutnyk. (I got about halfway through the book and the lectures before I had to drop out due to trying to cram umpteen more books into my head for my research essay).


So, my thoughts returned to Marx's descriptions of the exploitation of men, women and children in the dark satanic mills of industry. Loom Room became Loom Doom and my subject became this demonic mechanical monster, garlanded with the hands and severed digits of his servants.

The original's an A3 combo of black ink on acetate and acrylic paint on watercolour paper. Should you want to hang this cautionary picture on your toddler's nursery wall, then it's yours for £150. Alternatively, I can sell you a high quality digital print on A3 (£25) or A4 (£15). 


Ps. One of the best things about Marx's Capital is his footnotes. Most of them are incredibly bitchy and sarcastic, generally ripping holes in the theories of previous political economists. About the only person he has anything nice to say about is Leonard Horner, who was one of the first factory inspectors. Marx made much use of the info about horrific working conditions recorded in Horner's blue books and wrote of him "His services to the English working class will never be forgotten." Mr Horner appears in the bottom left of my picture.

Private/Public

This is a piece that I did for a college brief about the conflict or continuum between the private and public in illustration. It's an interesting area and definitely one that I think you have to think about if you're positioning yourself as an illustrator (whatever that means right now!)

All the stuff in the bottom left is what was surging through my head at the time, so there are glimpses from my Big MA Project in there and Anubis, who is the star of the essay that I should have been writing when I drew this.

I'm not really sure that the picture gets across much of what I intended it to, but then again that's sort of the point, so maybe that's OK in this case. How very meta!

Coupla things...

I did the pic below for the limited edition Illustrated Lyric Book for She Makes War's new album Little Battles.

It illustrates the last song on the album, Disarm, a lovely little tune with the line 'Dreaming Bodies/Are all we'll ever be'.

You can check out She Makes War and buy her album at http://shemakeswar.bandcamp.com/album/little-battles, although it looks like you only get the Illustrated booklet (including other great artists including Viviane Schwarz and Eliot Elam) if you buy the supa-dupa luxury version.

T'other thing is that I'll have a piece in an exhibition From the Loom Room, featuring lots of comrades from the Illustration MA at Camberwell that I'm currently taking. It's at Blackall Studios, 73 Leonard Street in trendy Shoreditch. Private view is Thursday 12 April and then the exhibition runs until 17 April. Come check out the talent! 


http://www.fromtheloomroom.com