Hello!

  It’s been a while since writing any posts. However, despite this, I have been busy studying, drawing, making collages, lettering and, as ever, teaching. The blog will likely take on a more visual form from now on; populated with work and work-in-progress. The site has had something of an overhaul. Nothing particularly slick, just […]

E. H. Shepard. War Drawings

The E.H. Shepard exhibition at London’s House of Illustration is simply superb. Most of us will be familiar with his Winnie the Pooh drawings, but I, for one, knew little of his output beyond this. I was simply amazed at how effortless his work appeared to be in respect of creating beautifully fluid lines that […]

Victorian Illustrated Letter

Recently I acquired this little Victorian illustrated letter where images are used to replace words. Dated 1861, it’s addressed to one James Nood? 130 George Street, Edinburgh and is titled ‘The Picture Letter by Catherine Sinclair’. This was a letter for children to enjoy and I recall things like this being published in children’s books and […]

AOI World Illustration Awards, 2015 at Somerset House

  oday’s visit to London’s Somerset House was essentially a day for thinking about all things Illustrative. On what had to be one of the most glorious of October days we went to the AOI World Illustration Awards 2015, previously known as ‘Images’. The mission: We wanted to point out to our students that Illustration can be many things […]

Mail me Art: A Mail Art Project

ecently I’ve been trying to find time to indulge in independent, creative projects. Teaching for three institutions and having three young kids doesn’t leave much time for doing my own thing and so I’ve been seeking ways to incentivise me to get things done, I’ve also been discussing with one or more of my students […]

Graphic Design Show 2015 West Kent College (University of Kent)

Another great year for our HE Graphic Design & Illustration students at West Kent College (University of Kent). Well done to all. Here a a few of the works exhibited along with a brochure put together by yours truly. [print_gllr id=4275] West Kent College offers a range of creative Higher Education courses including Graphic Design […]

Pick-me-Up 2015 at Somerset House

nce again we took our students to the current offerings of Somerset House’s Pick Me Up, Graphic Arts Festival. I really wanted to see something different, something inspiring, something to amaze me and I came away feeling mostly flat. The ‘festival’ seemed to have lost its buzz and its edgy excitement . There was little of […]

Ladybird by Design

ike the many thousands of British children who, like me, grew up reading Ladybird Books in the 1970s—and the decade either side of this—can doubtless recall a certain fascination with at least one Ladybird title. For me it was the beautifully realistic and slightly unnerving illustrations by Robert Lumley for The Three Billy Goats Gruff. Like […]