One from the vaults

Far be it from me to jump on the bandwagon that is currently whipping a dead horse, er Prime Minister up and down the street* but here's a vintage William Blake, Taxi Driver strip  that seems relevant again.

This was originally published in Time Out in 2008, when there was a speculative brouhaha about whether Mrs T would get a state funeral. http://www.newstatesman.com/uk-politics/2008/07/state-funeral-thatcher-labour

*Apologies for some seriously muddled metaphors

Capital City

Capital City was my big project that I made for my Illustration MA at Camberwell. I never seem to be able to leave William Blake alone and this was inspired in particular by his 'Prophetic Books'. In the same way as Blake explored the big issues of his day, eg the American Revolution, I decided to try to tackle the big, ugly mess of our current economic cock-up in a phantasmagorical, pseudo-mythological narrative. This involved reading and trying to understand some books on economics, writing poetry (bring me my flouncy blouse) and figuring out a new aesthetic, less indebted to my previous comicsy-style and more rooted in messy paint, pastels and ink.

I'd like to do a much longer version of Capital City in which I could get to grips with the central themes in greater detail, but at the moment, appropriately, I am skint, so I'm hoping that a broadminded publisher might come to my aid.

I've decided to put up the current twenty-page version on issuu here and below are some work-in-progress shots that give you an idea of the techniques behind the artwork.

You can buy a print copy of Capital City over at my shop.

(Weirdly, I actually know the person pictured in the newspaper here).

Ink and tea are my two favourite liquids.

Me and my print at our final exhibition at Camberwell.

ETCH A SKETCH!

I got to try some etching towards the end of last year, but as the results ended up as Xmas presents I haven't been able to blog about them until now.

I got to try two slightly different techniques, with a soft and hard ground (the waxy stuff that you roll on to the metal plate and actually etch into).

Here's my first go, on a soft ground on a steel plate. The soft ground picks up lots of texture so you can use it to get patterns from material, or, in my case, thumb prints!

It's the legendary and late Humphrey Lyttelton, jazz trumpeter and presenter of I'm Sorry I Haven't A Clue. My lucky Dad got this picture.

The hard ground gives you a cleaner, more cross-hatchy style, more like I'd thought of as an etching, so I decided to do an etched interpretation of William Blake, Taxi Driver. This is William on a hard ground on a zinc plate.

I thought it would be interesting to experiment with hand-tinting the Blake prints with water-colours (as Blake did in some of his illuminated books) but it's a lot harder than it looks!

It all went a bit clown colours on this one so I had another go with a calmer palette, thus!

Much happier with this one, so I gave this one to my Mum.

So, a really interesting process. I'm looking forward to getting back in the etching studio, trying out some more and figuring out how to incorporate it into my BIG PROJECT.

I've gone back to college...

...it's like one of those episodes of Neighbours where someone's Mum goes back to school and really embarrasses the kids. Well, it's a bit like that, I should have waited until I had offspring.

Anyway, as opposed to the first time round, I am not, thus far, spending all of my time drinking myself into a slough of depsond, I'm actually making work!

Here are highlights so far: twenty faces on a sheet of A1 paper, followed by another sheet of A1, concentrating on one face. Faces are my thing so this was right up my street, so I decided to muck about with some new techniques, loosening up my drawing/inking style and having a right laugh with some really basic printing techniques. The kitchen looked like I'd murdered the cat*

I'm in there, with current Movember lip slug, and there's the obligatory reference to William Blake in the form of his Ghost of a Flea, top right. The big face turned out like a particularly angry Aleister Crowley, not sure what happened there. We put our A1's up in the corridors of Camberwell on the day that a bunch of prospective students were visiting, so I hope I didn't scare any off!

This Monday, Chloe Cheese took us through some more established forms of those printing technigues, in the form of mono printing. Brilliant fun! It was like primary school art class all over again. Potato printing for the artistically ambitious! Hoorah!

Here's the culmination of my day's experimentation, Hitsville UK's Gwillum, in process and finished version.

I'm really enjoying trying out these new techniques, and I'm really keen on incorporating some of them into my big project (which I am writing the proposal for now, I am I am honest!) 

I get to try out etching tomorrow, hope William is watching over my shoulder.

*I did not murder the cat.

Face to (lack of) face

I like to think I don't really do hero worship but you'll have to excuse my gushing a little bit because the other evening I got to to meet Peter Blegvad.

Peter wrote the amazing comic strip Leviathan, about a faceless and philosophically inclined baby that ran in the Indy on Sunday from 1992 to 1999, when I was but an impressionable teenager.

Leviathan was an oblique but definite influence on William Blake, Taxi Driver, and the inquisitive and playful nature of the strip has been an influence on me as a human (I hope) as much as a comic artist.

Here's what my meeting with Peter might have looked like.

(He didn't really have milk, but he is very tall).

If you have no idea what I'm on about I urge you in the strongest possible terms to check out Leviathan over here.

WILLIAM, IT WAS REALLY NOTHING

100 episodes and I'm out. That's it for William. Hope you enjoy the Twin Peaks/Blakes 7-esque conclusion. Thanks for reading everyone (or just looking at the pictures)...

Crumbling bridges

Sadly, William Blake, Taxi Driver is soon to come to a close. It's been a grand, rambling journey but William's an old poet, and it'll soon be time for him to drive to Bunhill Fields and enjoy a well earned rest.

Here's an exclusive Blake strip that didn't make into Time Out and a sketch for John Bull, obese personification of our fair isle.

There's still a two-part Blake strip to come, in which William attempts to apprehend Jack the Ripper.

Check out this week's TO for the first part...

ERIC/GEORGE

Sketch for this week's passenger, George Orwell. The reason he's looking so harassed is that he's been picked up by the dreaded Thought Police.

ERM

Thanks to everyone who came to my exhibition at The Apollo and enjoyed a LOUD and truly eclectic selection of live music. A grand old time was had by all. I for one will sorely miss The Apollo and look forward to whatever Laura and Johnny do next - thanks for having me guys.

Yesterday I paid a fleeting heat wave-visit to William and Catherine.

TROTSKY & STALIN

Sketches for this week's Blake passengers, a couple of young revolutionaries on their way to the Fifth Congress of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union.

NELLY

Sketch for next week's passenger... Ms Nell Gwyn, orange-loving mistress to Charles II

WILLIAM BRAKE

This is the strip that Time Out decided not to run. So, just to make it clear, these are not the views of Time Out. They're possibly my views...

MARY & FLO (BUT NOT DIANA)

When I started drawing William Blake for Time Out I read a book on Mary Seacole and have been trying to get her into the strip ever since. 

All being well, she should appear this week, engaged in battle for the affections of the troops of the Crimea with her medical rival Florence Nightingale.

Nurse!

DICK

Just finished a Psychogeographical special for William Blake, Taxi Driver but you'll have to wait a few weeks to see it.

In the meantime, here's a sketch of Dick Turpin, who appears in this week's Time Out (I think, mine hasn't turned up yet).

LONDON

This is my entry for a London-themed illustration competition. Just heard that I didn't get through (bah!), so here it is in all it's glory. 

The brief was specifically to do with London transport, hence the variety of vehicles on display!

(Click on the image to see it in larger format)

MONKEY HANDS

Here's a sketch of this week's guest in Blake's cab, Charley Darwin.

Must get round to going to see the exhibition at the Natural History Museum, yes, yes...

I'M HENRY THE EIGHTH I AM, I AM...

In Blake's cab this week, loving husband and unwitting agent of the Reformation, Henry VIII.

Henry's eaten all the pies, but look, he used to be so handsome and sexy. Quick, get him to rehab...

IN THIS CHARMING CAR...

Guess who's taking a ride in Mr Blake's cab next week?

The older Moz gets the more he looks like he's drawn by Frank Quitely