Work in progress - Lermontov's 'The Demon'

I'm almost finished an interesting new commission and can now release this image from it.

A new translation of Mikhail Lermontov's epic poem The Demon will be published this year, translated from the original Russian text in to Scots.  The new publication will coincide with Lermontov's bicentenary.

I was asked to produce black and white illustrations to accompany the text.  Sadly I can't share all the illustrations just now, but here's one that I've been permitted to let loose on the blog for now...

Character sketches - 

Work in progress

A couple of weeks ago I took some printed proofs of this etching below.  The plate is now going to get aquatinted, which will give the image different tonalities and a bit more depth.  However this also means that I'll never be able to get the same line drawing from the plate again.

Ten limited edition prints of the line drawing version have been made, as I sometimes find that the original image looks better than the aquatinted version.  Below is a photo of the guide that I painted for myself of the tonal areas, using one of the first printed proofs of the image:

To be continued....

Odds and ends

I've not posted on this in weeks, so here are a few things I've been working on.  Below is a mixture of some etching proofs and a tiny illustrated card.  With the exception of the card, nothing here is in a finished state, especially the etchings:

Family man

 

Inspired by hearing an interview with Niamh Cusack, in which she discussed playing the role of Charles Dickens' wife.  

Sepia city

Below are some photos of a tiny fold out book I made last month, painted in sepia ink and watercolour on an off-cut of Fabriano.  The imagery is loosely based on Lwow in Ukraine, which is the setting for a children's book that I'm currently illustrating.

(Sadly I can't share any images from the commission here yet)

 

Shakespeare and Company

I am delighted to announce that some of my laser-cut books (Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde and Dracula's Crossing) work will hit the shelves at  Shakespeare and Company in Paris, just in time for Christmas.

Shakespeare and Co is an independent book store in the heart of Paris specialising in literature in the English language - more on Shakespeare and Company here

Small Publishers Book Fair 2013

A quiet moment from last month's Small Publishers Book Fair at Conway Hall in London:

Coming soon - Small Publishers Book Fair 2013

On Friday 15th and Saturday 16th of November I will be at Conway Hall in London with Artists Books Online for this years Small Publishers Book Fair.
Entry is free
For more info visit http://smallpublishersfair.co.uk/

By Leaves We Live: Scottish Poetry Library artists book fair

A couple of photos of my work at the By Leaves We Live book fair at the Scottish Poetry Library on October 26th 2013... 

The girl with the peacock tattoo

This illustration was a very specific commission for a tattoo design.  The client was looking for an art-nouveau, Aubrey Beardsley inspired design of a peacock with its tail out.  The peacock also needed to be symmetrical, and it had to be in black and white only.

Above was the result and below are some details from the main image...

            

England's green and pleasant land

This is one of a few pieces of artwork I did for Cambridge University Amateur Dramatic Club's upcoming production of Jerusalem by Jez Butterworth.  The play is on from Tuesday 22nd until Saturday 26th of October 2013 at the ADC Theatre in Cambridge.

  

From ADC Theatre's website:

Sex, drugs and trance music. That’d be village gala day.

Gala queen Phaedra is missing. Troy, Phaedra’s stepfather, suspects that the anarchist, waster and ex-daredevil motorcyclist Johnny ‘Rooster’ Byron is involved. At the same time, Rooster is being evicted from his illegally parked mobile home in the woods next to the new estate. But Rooster is in good spirits. Providing safety for outcasts and eccentrics, he enthrals with stories of ancient myth and forest sprites. He may even be one. He is also an absentee father, has violent episodes and likes young girls.

Fast, funny and sexy, and crafted with deep intelligence and insight, Jerusalem is the ‘instant modern classic’ (The Telegraph), a vision of contemporary England that galvanised critics from London to New York.

‘Jez Butterworth’s wildly original hymn to eccentricity’ - The Mail on Sunday

‘The best new play of the decade’ - The Times

It's all over now, baby blue....

The Fringe in Edinburgh has come to a close and the High Street is quiet once again

Last month I went down Edinburgh's High Street on several occasions to make sketches from the street artists and actors.  This was mainly just for life drawing practice, as it's a great opportunity to sketch people moving around in costume.  Many of them provided rich material for the illustration above.  Almost everyone in the main illustration is based on an original sketch of an actor, clown, street artist, juggler or spectator.  Recognise anyone? 

Below are some rough sketches and also some sketchbook work...

DCA Print Studio Registered Artists Exhibition

One of the laser-cut 'Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde' books will feature in this new exhibition alongside work by other members of the Print Studio at DCA (Dundee Contemporary Arts). 

Expect to see a wide variety of old and new techniques in this showcase of work at the Roseangle Gallery in Dundee...

 

Opening night for Tenants' Show

The Arts Complex are hosting a Tenants Show next month, which will showcase work by over 100 resident artists in their three galleries. 

Opening night is Friday 2nd of August from 6 until 9pm.

Entry is free!

For directions visit http://www.artscomplex.org/location

Closing time at Shakespeare and Co

After work hours at Shakespeare and Company bookshop in Paris last weekend.  Tai, Tom and I are drinking and talking in to the night.  Then the dwindling light and the interior of the book shop suddenly gave me the very antisocial urge to DRAW.

So off I went. 

Tai photographing me drawing as I drew him and Tom