daniel frost

Heals / Jealous Gallery collaboration print!!

2012-01-30T13:57:00.000-08:00

Hullo
If you find yourself milling about central London this week you might like to pop into the Heal's flagship store on Tottenham court road. Their you will find their entire window transformed into a live print studio, were the good people form North London's Jealous Gallery will (for this week only!!!) be creating limited edition prints right before your very eyes!
For the event I was given the opportunity to create a two colour screen print that will be pulled and sold at the event. The Star-man print is 52 x 40 cm on heritage rag paper in an edition of 50 which will be on sale at heal's all week and then will be exhibited at Jealous and sold on their online store.
So if you miss the chance to see it at Heals you can have a nose at it in Jealous's gallery which can be
found here!

NORSE PROJECTS T-SHIRTS!

2012-01-28T06:08:00.000-08:00

Hello all,

sorry for the lack of blog action the last few weeks, have been a little busy preparing work for the Milan

show which is coming up next month. (more updates to come on this so keep your eyes peeled!)

In the meantime I very excited to announce that a set of T-shirt designs that I made for the amazing Danish brand NORSE PROJECTS, have finally been printed and are out now!

I was very kindly asked last year to work on some designs for Norse's SS12 artist collaboration series,

so I've kept this project under my hat for a whole year, but its great to finally post some of the drawings. The theme itself for the series quite lose, but as it was for the summer range I wanted to have a outdoors summery kind of feel to it. This was fun because it gave me the freedom to draw things that I wouldn't normally draw.

Below are the five tees that made the collection as well one which has back print of a man hiding in a tree. I haven't seen them in the flesh yet, but I will be getting a sample of each soon, which I'm pretty excited about and will post about soon.

If you are interested in buying one their are available at Norse's webshop.

BUY, BUY, SELL, SELL! Trademarks postcard book now available

2012-01-22T06:36:00.000-08:00

Hi hi!
Just before Christmas I blogged about the Trademarks postcard set which I designed with YCN.
Well, I'm really excited to tell that they are now available to buy on the YCN online store too, as well as in the store! So no matter were you are in the world you can own a set of 12 postcards in a perforated book, designed so you can tear (very carefully though!) out you favs and stick them up on your wall or mail them to friend or loved one.
The postcard book, along with other treats such as kites, wrapping paper and greetings cards are
all available to buy here.

Milan show- update!!!!!!!

2012-01-20T04:13:00.000-08:00

Hello there,

been preparing some more new work for the milan show this week. Getting really excited though, as I will have to send the work off soon!

Over the last couple of days I've been experimenting with more facial expressions on my characters. This has both been really fun and quite strange, because most of the characters that I drew perviously have very little detail on they faces, so the additional extra lines to suggest a face/expression took away the ambiguous nature which I liked. However Im really enjoying using various lines to indicate the shape of the eyebrows and such, which I think can give a range of expressions. So maybe I need to try with using these lines more sparingly, then I will hopefully achieve a good balance between ambiguity and detail.

SNEEKY PEEK: Milan show sketchbook

2012-01-13T09:45:00.000-08:00

Hello all,
Here is a bit of really exciting news! I been very kindly asked Santeria Gallery in Milan to be part of a
group show in February. I'm really happy for two reasons, one this is the first time I'll be showing in Italy and two the show is great incentive to try out some projects I've wanted to do for ages. Here are some of my ideas and sketches so far, nothing concrete yet ,but its great to play around with some new ideas and materials.
I recently bought some felt tip pens, which I haven't used for anything in particular yet, so its been quite exciting using them. I'm finding that they are really nice to use as they dry flat, but still have a nice texture. Also they're quick to use, so the drawings stay really fresh and not too overworked.
I will post more about the show over the coming weeks, so keep your eyes peeled!!

THE BOOK OGRE

2012-01-09T07:00:00.000-08:00

Hello all,
I have a couple of projects that I would like to start this year, which I'm really excited about.
One is to start recording small events which happen to either me, or a friend or family member.
The reason for this project is because I have a wish to create a comic/story book by the end of the year,and I thought that in documenting certain events I could create a good base for a story.

Happy New Year!

2012-01-06T06:42:00.001-08:00

Happy New Year everyone!
Hope that you had a great holiday and I wish you good luck in 2012!
As for me, watch this space for new exciting projects in the new year.

MERRY CHRISTMAS

2011-12-22T17:44:00.001-08:00

Merry Christmas everyone!
I hope you all have lots of fun over the holidays, whatever you plans are!

TRADEMARKS POSTCARDS

2011-12-14T01:46:00.000-08:00

Hullo!
Here is another project which I've been working on alongside the mini kites.
Its actually a on-going project, which started from a conversation with a good friend where we were discussing different colloquialisms to do with professions such as Builders bum, Pianists fingers, Electricians twitch etc. After which I decided it could be fun to try and interpret them visually. I also though it could be interesting to mix them up with some of my own made-up colloquialisms, see if you can guess which ones are mine, and guess their names?
In terms of the imagery, I wanted them to be quite quick and punchy as well as working with coloured backgrounds. This has been (and will continue to be) a really great exercise to just focus on the message of the image and to simplify the technique used to create it, as I often find that the original idea can be lost if the image is too overworked.
It has also been great experimenting with coloured backgrounds, which is something that I rarely do. But I'm really surprised at the visual impact a coloured background can give a image,its probably quite obvious really, but is something that I often overlook. This
project has been a great challenge, but has really push my work for the better. I'm looking forward to continually working on it and i'm looking forward to seeing how it develops and informs my other work.

The postcards are on sale at the YCN shop, details of which can be found here!
However, they are not available on the online shop yet, but I will keep you posted on when
they will be!

YCN Christmas shop

2011-12-09T10:51:00.000-08:00

Hello All,

Last night saw the grand opening of the Y.C.N Christmas Shop, which was a really exciting event with lots of treats to look at and buy. It has been a really exciting last few weeks as I've been producing lots of different products for the shop; such as wrapping paper, postcards (which I will be posting about soon) and the Mini kites. It has been a really great experience working with the Y.C.N design team as I've seen the whole process from start to finish. I have learn't a lot about the different elements of production as well as new possibilities, such as a postcard book which will be out soon!
Thanks to everyone who came down last night and to the whole Y.C.N team for all their help over the last few weeks.
The shop will be open from now on, so if your in the area, please pop in and have a nose around!
if you can't make it to the shop then all the products can be seen on the Y.C.N online store which can be found here!

ALL WRAPPED UP FOR WINTER

2011-12-07T02:16:00.000-08:00

Here is another update on the Y.C.N Christmas shop, which opens this Thursday 8th December.

Along with the mini kites, I was also very kindly asked to produce a wrapping paper for Y.C.N which will be on sale at their new shop and on their online store.
This is the first time that I've produced a wrapping paper, so I was really excited when I was ask to make this. It also gave me the opportunity to experiment with repeat pattern, which is something that I have wanted to do for a long time. The technique itself is quite difficult, as its a lot of cutting and pasting, but its really rewarding once you get it right. The repeat that I created in the end was quite simple (image above is a crop the original is a lot bigger!!) as I wanted the image to work as a poster as well as wrapping paper. Just because I know from myself that I often buy wrapping paper which ends up becoming a poster, so I think that is nice to give people the option. Its been really exciting to work with this technique and I look forward to doing more in the future, as well as trying out more busier compositions.

KITES, KITES, KITES of all shapes and sizes

2011-12-06T13:01:00.000-08:00

Hey,
I haven't blogged much recently due to lots of exciting bits and bobs going on, but I have lots of fun things to post - which I will do over the next week or so!
In the mean time here is a few snaps of one of the things that I have been working over the last few weeks. Recently I, along with Y.C.N, have been producing Mini kites for the Y.C.N Christmas shop which will see its grand opening this Thursday ( 8th December). It has been quite and challenge, but also really exciting trying to recreate my larger kites into a smaller production friendly version. I have been experimenting with simplifying some of the elements, such as how the paper characters are now just made from a single sheet of paper instead of a college of several sheets. This research has given me great insight into how I could potentially produce the larger kites in a simpler way and maybe a way of putting them it to production to sell.
In the mean time the if you would like to buy one of the Mini kites they will be available to buy at the newly opened YCN shop or on their online store info on both of these can be found here.
I will be also showing the original Big kites at the Y.C.N Christmas shop, so if you are in the area it will be nice to see you their on Thursday night.
Thanks again to Y.C.N for all their help and support in making the kites.

STUDIO MUSIC

2011-11-21T08:05:00.000-08:00

Hi,

Here is a fun project which I was asked to do recently. The idea of the project was to create a play list that inspires the creative process which is then up loaded to the site and added to every month with new creatives. It's the creation of Rose Blake and gives a great insight into the inspiration of lots of different and interesting artist's, designers and makers. Its also a pretty cool site for finding new musicians, my personal favorites are Jody Barton and Jim Stoten.
If you would like to listen to my playlist you can see it here.
Thanks Rose for asking me to join in - its was great fun!

UNIVERSITY COLLEGE DUBLIN MAP

2011-11-02T12:13:00.001-07:00

A few months back I was asked to illustrate a map for University College Dublin campus. The maps main aim was to highlight some of the historic buildings and walks that can be found around the college campus. Being the biggest University in Dublin, you can expect that their are many amazing and historic buildings on the campus which were great objects of reference. Both the scale of the project and the range of buildings was very interesting as well as rewarding. The buildings ranged the 1800s to the present day so their designs varied which made it all the more exciting to illustrate.
Along with the buildings their are also a number of sculptures and other land marks which made the project a great exercise.

From a design prospective it was a challenge but also rewarding as the drawings were to be shown at different scales (one scale for the map and another for the cover).
overall I was really happy with how the project looks and I feel that my practice has benefited greatly from this project.

Thanks to Simon at Smoke and mirrors studio for his positive feedback and for giving me the opportunity to work with him on this project.

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

2011-10-31T01:23:00.000-07:00

Happy Halloween everyone!
I thought I would celebrate this scary part of the season with a big chinned witch - and why not!
hope you have fun whatever you do and keep your eyes peeled for you might spot a big chin and broomstick whizzing through the night sky.

Computer snoozer!

2011-10-25T02:39:00.001-07:00

Hi All,
Been busy the last week with some exciting projects (which I'll be posting over the next week or so) one of which is an idea for a product that I'm thinking of putting in to production. Its a keyboard mat to stop the dust and bits'n'bobs that gather around the keys of a laptop from getting on the screen when you close it. I been looking at various techniques and materials to produce them, so fingers crossed I should be able the have some available to buy very soon.
Here are a few of the designs that I have made so far, I've been trying make images that play around with the idea of closing the laptop or turning it off for the day.

EYE SPY A SCREENPRINT

2011-10-17T03:58:00.001-07:00

Hi ,
Last week I manage to do a spot of screen printing which was really good fun. Feeling a little rusty on the technical side I decided to go to one of the classes at print club London (a really great space with some great facilities). As the class only had a day to produce a print it had to be very simple and only one layer. I found this a little tricky to create an image that had the same tonal range as my other work but in only one layer/one colour. In the class we were taught about how to minimize the amount of screens that we used per print though various techniques.
One of which was halftone dots, a method which is basically a shape made of a series of dots
which the tonal level of the image is adjusted by the space between the dots.
I have seen this technique before, but never considered using it in my own work. I feel that it has great potential for creating texture in the flat blocks of colour that appears in my work. I will need to experiment with it a little more, trying out how it looks in different amounts. But I was really happy to have discovered another direction for my work.

Google doodles UP-DATE!

2011-10-14T05:37:00.001-07:00

Hello all,

Here are a few photographs of the Google's Think Quarterly publication that I work on a few weeks back along with The Church of London.
I'm really happy with the results, the enlarged drawings create some really bold and striking covers - this is definitely a process that I will keep in mind for future work.
Church of London have also made and amazing mini documentary on the process of the covers which you can see here. In addition the publication they have also made a fold-out poster the original epic drawing.

Google doodles

2011-10-03T05:47:00.000-07:00

Hi,
Here a few photos from a really exciting projcet that I was involved with a few weeks back.
The project was to create an epic drawing which would eventually be used as a cover for Google's publication "Think Quarterly". The idea being that the canvas was to be filled with tiny characters, which would then be photographed in sections and used as 2,500 unique covers.
The drawing took a few days, but it was great fun to work in this sort of environment, working alongside some very talented illustrators. Some of whom I had never met before, but found myself bouncing ideas off and inspiring each other. Which, for me, is as a really different and exciting way to work and something I would like to do more of in the future.

I will hopefully be receiving a copy of the magazine when its out so keep you eyes peeled.

Also would like to thank YCN and The Church of London for getting me involved in the project and thanks to Rosie Gist for taking the photo's.

YCN AWARDS FILM

2011-09-28T07:37:00.000-07:00

Hi All,
A couple of weeks back I was very kindly asked by the good folks at YCN to host the student awards. To accompany my presentation I was asked to make a short animation about my work.
This was very exciting opportunity, because I have never made an animation, so It was great to see how my style would translate in this medium. To help me in this task I collaborated with the amazingly talented duo PLASTIC HORSE who made my drawings come alive. It was an amazing experience to work this way because normally I would draw characters that are static but have certain visual elements that give the sense of movement, but with this project I actually had the opportunity to see those actions from start to finish, which also provided much inspiration for more advanced movement.
I also had the chance to add sound to the piece and narration. which was both was both nerve racking and exciting. The sound wasn't nerve racking, as I collaborated with sound experts BOX OF TOYS, who made the best sound tack and sound effects for the characters (I particularly enjoy the man scratching his head and mumbling). The nerve racking part was definitively the the narration, as I'm not used to hearing it recorded. But it was fun going into a sound studio to record it.
On the whole I'm really please with how it has came out and this has given me great insensitive to work with animation on future projects.

Good Day

2011-09-23T09:21:00.000-07:00

Hi Everyone,
Had a bit of spare time today between certain projects. So it was really nice to just do a spot of drawing for myself. Here are a few examples of some.

NIDO MAGAZINE

2011-09-18T11:47:00.000-07:00

Hello all,
Got a really nice gift in the post today. It was from Nido magzine, who a couple of weeks back asked me to do a some of illustrations for their stories page. It was really great to illustrate a story as It something that I haven't done much of recently. The story was about a boy that finds a magic ball on the beach while on holiday and through lots of trial and error the ball teaches the boy to play football like a true champion. The story was a really exciting exercise, because the subject matter is something that I would not naturally have picked, so I ended up drawing some
pretty new and different things. I really enjoy projects like these as I feel they keep my work and brain fresh. I look forward to doing more work like this in the future.

Thanks to NIDO for sending me the magazine.

TWITTER FOR BD

2011-09-11T04:12:00.000-07:00

Hi All,
here is a little quick turn-around job that I did for building design magazine.
It was for BD's beginners guide to twitter. I really enjoy doing quick projects like this one
because I feel that I often pursue the first set of ideas, were usually I would spend more time at the rough stage. I think this process drives me work outside of my comfort zone
and produces some exciting and fresh results.

IDEAS ILLUSTRATED

2011-09-07T02:11:00.000-07:00

Hello all,
really sorry that I haven't blogged for a while, I've been very busy moving studio.
But Its been safely moved now, so things should resume as normal from now on.
Anyway here is a piece which I was asked to do by the good folks at YCN, its an image for their beautifully designed quarterly house publication called IDEAS ILLUSTRATED. Each magazine
has one main theme which the Illustrators represented by YCN have to visually (and textually) respond too. The theme for this issues was re-location, I really enjoyed this as point of
departure/inspiration and thought of the idea of a mass migration of people using what-ever transport they could get their hands on. It was a really great chance to try to think of as many forms
of transport as possible and to stretch out of my comfort zone. It was also an oppertunity to invent some new characters and their preferred modes of transport.
Also the magazine was all printed using off-set lithography, which is a process that I have never used as a reproduction method for my work. So it was amazing to see how pencil crayon textures
came though using this method and I'm really happy with how it has come out. I think that seeing this has given me great confidence in using this method for future reproduction of my
work.
If you would like a copy of the magazine it is available to buy online from YCN here.
(it can also be purchased from other selected outlets, check here for details)

Thanks again to YCN for involving me in this amazing project.

PAPER, STRING AND A BIT OF WIND

2011-07-25T10:57:00.000-07:00

Hello all, sorry I haven't posted anything for a while but I have been quite busy on a number of exciting projects.
One of them being a kite workshop which I have been invited to do at the amazing KRETS GALLERY in Malmo (Sweden).

PAPER, STRING AND A BIT OF WIND will be a two day kite workshop for both adults and children which will take place on the 6th / 7th August. On the 6th we will be building and decorating the kites at the gallery from 12 till 16. The following day we will be meeting at KRETS at 12 o'clock where we will go to the beach for kites for a grand test flight.

Their is a entrance fee of 50 SEK (Swedish kronor) but this includes the price of the materials for the kites (which you get to keep afterwards) and lunch for the day. If you are interested in coming along then please email krets@krets.info as soon as possible as their is limited places.

Along side the workshop I will also be exhibiting some of my own kites.
So I hope to see you their, its going to be lots of fun.

if you would like more info please visit about the workshop please visit here.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY

2011-07-10T06:58:00.000-07:00

Here is birthday card that I have made for a very dear friend of mine and I was very happy with the how It came out, so I decide to post it here.

FLYING MAN PRIVATE COMMISSION

2011-07-07T01:40:00.000-07:00

Hello, I have been very busy the last week sorting out certain bits and bobs, which I will be posting more about over the next few days/weeks.

In the mean time this is a private commission I've been working on for a friend, its an image that has evolved from one of the designs I made for the kite show back in March.
The piece needed to be very large, actually the biggest piece I've work on! so it really befitted from using the same bold colourful paper that I used for the kites.
Also this time the wax paper needed to be attached to normal cartridge paper (instead of plastic), so this gave me great incentive to experiment with other ways of assembling and attaching the shapes. It was really exciting to do a college on such a big scale, and to develop graphic elements that needed to be quite bold and stripped of too much detail.
It was also interesting to develop an excising drawing in a new context,
I feel that this as well as the technique and scale of the piece provides some interesting possibilities for my future work.

Brand new shiny website!

2011-06-28T13:21:00.000-07:00

Hi all, very excited to announce that I have a brand new website, which you can look at here.
The site will be a regularly updated collection finished work, featuring both personal and commissioned projects and we serve as a quick insight into my work for new comers.
Thanks to Neil Southwell for all his help.
Hope you enjoy!

YOKE COLLABORATION RISOGRAPH PRINT

2011-06-21T04:56:00.001-07:00

Last week I worked on a Risograph print for Yoke Books, which is a very new and exciting publishing platform based in Leeds. The print was made for the LOOP ARTS FAIR that Yoke books took were part this weekend in Leeds. The Riso-print along with the original black and white colour separations were on sale in addition with other prints and books by lots of talented artists and designers.

It was really interesting to work with 2 colours, as I usually work with 3, that with overlaying creates further two more colours, which in the this case would produce just one extra. Also, I imagine that it is quite difficult to get the image to resister correctly on a Risograph, so I also wanted to simplify the image so that their would be less room for error. So I created an image that included a background so it could act as an outline for the second colour layer. This would hopefully make it easier to register, as well making the most of the amazing texture and colour overlay that Risograph printers are known for!
I'm really excited to see the result, also I have never seen my work reproduced on a Risograph before, so I'm very excited indeed to see how its came out, as well as the future possibilities of this way of printing for me.

I would like to thanks to Bruce at Yoke for involving me in such and interesting project.

If you would like to know more about Yoke books, have a look at their very unique website here. They have some very interesting projects in the pipeline, with some very talented artist's, so keep you eyes peeled for them in the future.

It's Nice That: Bookshelf

2011-06-20T14:12:00.000-07:00

Recently I was very kindly asked to do a list of 10 my favorite and inspiring books for the It's Nice That bookshelf. It was quite difficult to narrow it down to 10 books, but I think I made a good job of it, as well as it being really fun looking though all my favorite books. If you would like to see my choices you can read all about them here. Thanks to Bryony from It's Nice That for getting me involved.

EGRETS

2011-06-15T08:56:00.001-07:00

Here is a quick drawing that I did today, its for the story that i'm currently working on but still a little unclear on the ending of the story, so I have been working out some of the scenes/settings for it. I have a tendency to work on white backgrounds, which although I enjoy using the paper white to make my work more graphic, I think that I should test out some different coloured backgrounds. Maybe this might make the drawings a little richer and also increase the mood of the work.

Herons amongst the reeds

2011-06-10T09:17:00.000-07:00

Hello, here is a drawing for the story that I have been working on, I've struggled a bit with writing the narrative today, so I experimented with a few ideas for the characters and tried to build on the mood for the story as well as testing which medium to use. I have done a few drawings today and I'm happy with how the characters have come out, also I have been using watercolours again,which I'm becoming more and more fascinated with using (and still trying to incorporate more line work with this medium, as I discussed a few post ago). However I'm not sure if I have the atmosphere right yet, but I think that as the story develops, I will become more aware of what kind of atmosphere I would like to emphasize in the drawings.

DUCK ISLAND

2011-06-09T04:22:00.000-07:00

Recently I have started working on a short picture book, I have been wanting to do this for a long time, but for one reason and another I have not been able to start.
At the moment I have just been writing and drawing short sections and working on the characters. It has been a long time since I have worked in this way and I find it both exciting and challenging, because sometimes I have the pictures and not the text and vice versa, which can make it a slow process.
But I'm very excited to see how the story develops. It feels good to have a personal project that I can work on in-between my commercial work, and also I think the story will benefit from this process and will become a lot simpler and not so over-worked.

SUMMER RAIN

2011-06-03T09:52:00.001-07:00

Hello, I've been using watercolor's a lot recently both in my personal work and commission work. But I have noticed that my watercolour work lacks the use of line that
is very present in my pencil crayon work. So I have been experimenting with drawing images using more line work in watercolour, here are some of the results. I think that a mix of line and block colour gives a image a texture and a depth which I feel is very important for me when making a image.

KITES

2011-05-31T23:45:00.000-07:00

Hey, Here are some fresh photographs of the kites I made for “the big kite show” back in march. The amazing photographer Olivia Frølich took the pictures and I really happy with how they have came out. I feel it’s really good practice to look back over past projects (although it was only a few months back) because there are elements that you have used and things that you learn't, which you’ve forgotten.
For the kite project I experimented with different viewpoints for the characters. This was because each one needed to look as if they were in the process of flight, so some had to look as if they were viewed from below, some from the side etc. Studying this project I see how I can use the different prospective and viewpoints in my drawn work as I often draw characters in profile from the same angle, I feel that if I begin using new viewpoints it will bring a richness and more variety to my future work.
Thanks again to Olivia for taking the photos, if you would like to see more of her work please visit here.

BUILDING DESIGN MAGAZINE

2011-05-27T08:02:00.000-07:00

Here is a new editorial piece for Building design magazine. It was to illustrate a piece about flat VAT, and how if you buy an old building you have to pay 20% VAT on any restoration work you have done to it, but if you demolish it and rebuild something new you don't have to pay any VAT.
This piece is quite different to my other commissions so far, as it is the first time that I have used text within my imagery to convey an idea. It was also a theme that I have never really drawn before, but trying to create a sense of this building being smashed and capturing the energy and movement was quite exciting.

BUILDING DESIGN ONLINE

2011-05-25T01:49:00.000-07:00

Hello, recently I was commissioned by building design online to spice up their 404 error pages. This was a quite interesting project as I was given no specific format to work from, as their error pages often change formats due to text and header alterations. So I needed to make images that could work with text and other elements, and would not have a specific overall shape. So I decide to create a group of characters that could interact with the text and could easily composed with text. The characters are based on the look of a stereotypical architect both in dress and equipment that they use, also I drew the characters looking confused to emphasize this idea of error.
This commission was quite a quick turn-around, which I always feel is a great exercise to do. It was also really good chance to create a collection of new characters with different elements which I would not normally consider.

YCN FAMILY

2011-05-20T14:35:00.001-07:00

Hello, I'm a very proud to say that I have been welcomed into the YCN family. I really look forward to working on lots of exciting projects with this energetic bunch of guys and girls. Their are a lot of new and amazing things that are due to happen over the next couple of months with these guys, so keep your eyes peeled.Thanks again to YCN for getting on-board.

WATERCOLOUR CHALLENGE

2011-05-11T14:08:00.000-07:00

Hello All, I've been very busy the last couple weeks with a few really exciting and interesting projects. Although I wont be able to show you the at the moment (as they will not be out for a while, sorry), but, I can show you some new drawings which I have done alongside those projects. In my quest to push my work into new mediums, I have begun trying out watercolours. Up until now I have found watercolours quite a difficult medium to grasp, I’ve found them quite hard to control, but over the last few weeks I have been persevering, with some really exciting results. I often find myself when working with a new medium, trying to push to into working as another (for example trying to make watercolour act a pencil crayon or as a gouache) instead of embracing its qualities. But I’ve been pushing myself, and found it really enjoyable to use. I find watercolour a very quick medium to use that often keeps an image looking fresh and not too overworked. This is fast production of images also helps working though ideas, which I find really useful, as sometimes ideas need to pushed in every direction before they feel right.

SEGWAY TOURS BANNER

2011-04-25T12:22:00.000-07:00

This is a commission that I have just worked on, its for a Segway tour company in Copenhagen.
I was asked to produce an image that could be used as a website banner and a swing sign for Tours CPH. As it's sight seeing tour I was to asked to draw all the sights of Copenhagen, this was something that I haven't done before or for a long time at lest, drawing existing monuments and architecture. It was a really interesting project and a really good exercise for me, because the banner was only going to be seen in small scale, so I needed to fit in all the details of the individual buildings and sculptures so that they could be recognized. Its was also a little tricky to make each element fit into a the bar format as most of the buildings have spires or points.
although I was working outside my comfort zone it was really exciting to draw from different sources like Segway's and monuments, I think that's whats really fun and interesting about commissioned work is it forces you to brake your usual habits.

IT'S NICE THAT drawing's and collage

2011-04-25T11:23:00.000-07:00

Good Evening, here are a few photos of the work I produced at Somerset House for It's Nice That. I made a lot of work while I was their, as well as trying new ways of working. The reason for this was timescale, images needed to be produced fast, so I use college to apply the block areas of colour and drew the finer detailed bits with crayon (as you can see in the top two images). The images are really a merge of my pencil crayon work and the kites and I'm really happy with the results. Its really satisfying to see your own hand style work in another medium.

ONE OF ONE (ITS NICE THAT/PICK ME UP LIVE DRAWING EVENT)

2011-03-20T17:56:00.000-07:00

Hello all, last Friday I was at Somerset House in London, for PICK ME UP which is a graphic art fair with lots of very beautiful work. I have been doing some live drawing there with the good guys at ITS NICE THAT, the event is called One of One ,which I along with a group of other Illustrators will be producing original drawings which will be displayed and sold. The concept of the event is to show the process from rough ideas which are then transformed into final drawings. I was drawing along side some very talented Illustrators and it was really amazing to see how different Illustrators work and how fast they covert roughs into final pieces. It was actually quite fascinating and exciting to work in that kind of environment with lots of people around watching you, it makes you think and work in a slightly different way, because you have some pressure on you to produce quite fast, so your brain really starts to work a lot faster and you become less precious and begin to start focusing on the more important aspects of the drawing. Also its really nice to work with a group of people all working really hard, because it pushes you to and makes you excited and keen to make something amazing.
So if you are free over the next week pop on down the event runs until the 27th March, the
timetable of the artist that will be featured along with photos can be seen here, at the event you can see all the drawings that have been produce over the previous sessions and if any catch your eye you can always purchase one. so if your free it would be nice to see you there!

I will also be posting more photos of the event over the next few days so keep your eyes peeled!!

More show photos!

2011-03-09T13:00:00.002-08:00

BIG KITE SHOW PHOTOS

2011-03-09T12:31:00.000-08:00

Hello everyone, here are some of the photos from the "THE BIG KITE SHOW", Its was a really amazing evening and lots of fun. It took a lot of work but it was really worth it. I would like to thank everyone that came along and also to all those that help out. Hope you enjoy the pictures,
I will be posting more photo's over the next couple of days so keep your eyes peeled!

KITE BITS AND BOBS

2011-02-24T13:40:00.000-08:00

I received an exciting package today. It was from my really good friend Mark Wright!
I asked him to if he could make some quite delicate brackets to form the shape of my kite sticks,
and he did a smashing job. It really was a difficult piece to make as the horizontal hole needed to drilled at an angle ( see the 4th picture down) but luckily enough Mark had just bought a new machine which could do just that, and I think he was itching to test out too!
So thanks Mark! clap clap!
He also makes really amazing Cigar box guitars, go have a look they are super cool.

THE BIG KITE SHOW 4th March at SHFT

2011-02-21T10:54:00.000-08:00

Roll up, roll up and make your way to the big kite show!
An exhibition of handmade kites each featuring a weird and wonderful character capable of taking to the skies!
Come along and join the fun on Friday the 4th of March at SHFT (Copenhagen,Denmark)from 5pm till 9pm. but if you can make it for the big night, the show will be on for three weeks, plus I will be posting photographs of the show here.

Kite desgins for "THE BIG KITE SHOW"

2011-02-19T08:37:00.000-08:00

I have been busy drawing and designing for my up-and-coming kite exhibition over the last few weeks; Here are a few colour designs of some of the kites. I think they also look really nice as just drawings so I might produce some as prints and maybe have a small run printed as postcards to give away at the show.
I also have a some news on the date of the show, it will be on the Friday 4th of March, at SHFT, Blågårdsgade 14 st tv, 2200 København N, Denmark, it will all kick off at 5 til 9pm, so if you find yourself in Copenhagen on Friday please pop in and join the fun!

The cat and the kangaroo (private commission)

2011-02-10T01:11:00.001-08:00

Just before Christmas I was asked to do another private commission, which was really fun the brief was to create a image that had elements of Japanese culture mix with Australian. This was a really amazing point of departure and as with all the private commissions I have be be given quite a lot of creative freedom. Although there were such a wealth of imagery within these two cultures and many differences that it was difficult to merge the two to find a balance. I used a little more sophisticated pallet to that I normally use which, 6 in all, this was both a experiment to try and use more colours (and combination's) within my work, it was also to bring in a feeling of modern Japanese illustration and graphics. I think I still need to work on the colour combination's, but as a first attempt I'm very pleased.
This brief also gave me the opportunity to work with animal character's which I'm trying bring in more more, I feel I just need to find my own voice within drawing and characterising animals. This was a really fun part of this commission as both cultures have an amazing range of animals which represent them, so it was a really great exercise to draw some new creatures. I feel that again with this project it has pushed my work into new territories both with colour and theme and I feel I have improved with taking these new steps.

"SHFT" Kite exhibition

2011-02-01T14:11:00.000-08:00

Hello All, I'm very excited at the moment as I have been working hard on a up coming exhibition. This show will be a collection of my hand made kites and will taking place at the end of the month (I will keep you posted on a exact date). The show will take place at the THIS ISSUE which is a amazing coloured gallery/store on Blågårdsgade in the Nørrebro area of Copenhagen. The exhibition will be a one night affair only, but you will be able to visit the store and see my kites (and lots of other amazing things) after the show and maybe even purchase one.
Here are a some sketches and a few sneak previews of the kites I have already made. The theme is really simple they are all weird and wonderful characters, caught in the action of flight some using traditional forms of flight others are using more playful methods. So far it has been a really good exercise to have one main focus or barrier to work within and see how many directions you can push it in, its been really exciting to see what new ideas I can come up with within this theme.
I will have more news on the show in the next couple of days so I will keep you up-to-date.

Winter kites

2011-01-06T09:28:00.000-08:00

I have been very busy recently, what with the festive season and a lot of new projects. Here are some new kites with a winter twist. One kite is a adaption of a earlier design but, with an added bonus of a scarf which employs the same technique but is just a bit more intricate, and add to the effect that the character has been wiped up in the air.
I have also designed a new character to accompany my first and as every man needs a woman. This was a really fun because I could play around with clothing and hair and how that would look if she was actually being carried up in the air. This has also to start thinking about this as a on going project to see what different characters I could create around this kite format and maybe looking at different formats of kites are possible.

a fairy tale

2010-11-26T02:45:00.000-08:00

A few weeks ago I was commissioned to do a piece for a birthday present, which was really fun as I had quite a bit of creative freedom. The theme of the piece was a fairy tale scene which is a subject matter that I have wanted to work with for a long time. I have always wanted to create animal characters for a long time, but have never had the confidence to try it outside of my sketchbooks, so this was the perfect opportunity. I was very weary at first to include animals in this piece, but I am very happy I did now. Also this piece was a scene also I felt it very daunting as I have never done a scene before now which hasn't included a block of text on top of it
or running though it or just with a lot of white space, so to create a image with a lot of elements
was both scary but very fun. I think I have learn't a great deal from this piece and pushed my work in new directions.

Cat and ink I think

2010-11-23T16:43:00.000-08:00

Ive just got hold of some really beautiful inks, so I thought I would try them out. The colours are so intense a lot tougher than pencil crayons, but I really enjoy the change. I feel that this may be a medium that would be suited to certain projects that need a bolder and more graphic edge, so
I think I will keep practicing for future projects.

Scarf face

2010-11-23T09:13:00.000-08:00

website jive

2010-11-11T03:55:00.001-08:00

Still working on my new website, but their is a lot of learning curves and help from friends, but with fingers cross it will be up and running in a few weeks - yippy!

yo ho ho

2010-11-11T03:14:00.000-08:00

In the preparation for the festive season I have been working on designing some Christmas cards which I'm going to put into production and will be on sale soon. I have been working on two themes for the cards, one is winter clothes and wrapping up against the elements and the second is the more traditional fairy tale characters that are part of Christmas. I have a few more in the pipeline so keep checking back for more updates.

DYREHAVEN KITE FESTIVAL

2010-10-23T10:16:00.000-07:00

Over the last few weeks I have been In Copenhagen, Denmark, It Is really an amazing place to stay and investigate, while staying here found out that every year towards the end of October they have a kite flying festival in Dyrehaven. Dyrehaven or officially called Jægersborg Dyrehave
which translates as the "Deer Garden" it is a truly fantastic place, the landscape is so varied with large swaps, dense forests and grassy hills, which of course are perfect for Kite flying. So with this event in mind I really wanted to make a kite of my own and make a drawing that can fly, here are a few pictures of the process and some of the event. I wanted the image to be as strong as possible and try to work with the over all kite shape but not let it dominate the image so I choose a translucent plastic as the kites shape as the structure then built the image on top. This also allowed me to build off the main structure in this case the mans legs and arms which look amazing and animated in the wind. I will hope fully be able to attend the event next year and would love to make more kites for the event. I would also like to thank Cecilie as she has been very patient and helped me sew the kite together, Thank you Cecilie.

AMERICIAN INDIANS IN AUTUMN

2010-10-12T12:11:00.000-07:00

Recently I have been looking at the colourful clothing and head wear of 19th century Native American Indian's, which are amazing works of art. Clothing is a re-occurring theme in my work and is something that I would like to explore further.

GULLIVER'S TRAVELS BOOK

2010-10-12T11:00:00.000-07:00

Today I took some photos of My Illustrated version of Gulliver's Travels, which I exhibited at my MA show at the RCA. It was a collection of four books in a slipcase, each book represents different Islands that Gulliver Visits on his travels. The book covers are red, blue, orange and green, which are the four colours that I used for the illustrations inside. The book was a collaboration with Jens Dan Johansen who worked on the layout and type setting of the books. This was quite a learning cuvre for me to work with another artist/designer, which was really fun and rewarding and somethink I would defiantly do again. Check out some more of Jens Dan Johansen work HERE.

BIG APPLES

2010-09-14T07:00:00.000-07:00

TOY SHOP

2010-09-14T03:04:00.000-07:00

Here are a few sketches for a exhibition that I will be taking part in along with some very talented artist. The exhibition is going to be curated like a Toy shop, and will be taking place at Manchester's Art Corner's gallery as part of the Free For Arts Festival.
For more info please visit the Toy Shop blog HERE.

BROWSER

2010-09-06T07:42:00.000-07:00

This image was made for a very good friend of my called Robin Howie, its a for a piece of work he is developing about educational tools , which you can read more about here.

WILD HORSES

2010-09-06T07:34:00.001-07:00

Just some more drawings that I did for Guliver's Travels, though It a good idea to post them.

TANK MAGAZINE

2010-08-27T15:24:00.000-07:00

I was featured in TANK magazine this month to illustrate a selection of mind bending short stories by Yoshiko Nagai which you can read here www.tankmagazine.com.
Its Amazing stuff, keep your eyes peeled for more of Yoshiko Nagai's work in the future.

The story of a Wedding

2010-08-27T14:19:00.000-07:00

These are a series of drawings that where commissioned to Illustrate a story about how some young lovers first met. It is going to be a wedding present for the two stars of the story which, I think is such a thoughtful gift, and something which I was very honored and excited to be a part of.

HOT OFF THE PRESS

2010-07-25T16:21:00.000-07:00

Just got some new and better quality photographs from the RCA show,
with some extra details, such as some tiny men milling in and out of the pages.
Hope you like them and many thanks to the RCA for taking the photos.

GULLIVER'S TRAVELS

2010-07-09T15:04:00.000-07:00

Here are a few of the images from Gulliver's Travels, I thought I should show some as the photographs from the show aren't very detailed, I think I will post more over the next couple of days. I am also in the process of getting the whole book photographed for my website and blog, so soon you will see how the whole book looks as an object as well as the spot illustrations in their rightful places.

RCA SHOW TIME 2010

2010-07-05T15:09:00.000-07:00

Here are a few Photos from my RCA exhibition, sorry they are a bit yellow, but I can blame that
on the lighting. It was fun to get a chance to exhibit all my drawings from the Gulliver's travels book that I've worked on for the past three months. I did a total of 250 drawings and only used about half in the book, this is because it's such an amazing book to illustrate so I found myself trying to draw everything, it's really worth a jolly good read, I highly recommend it. I would like to thank everyone who came along to the show and those that brought my work, I really appreciate the comments that were left for me, sorry for those that I missed, but hopefully I will catch you at my future shows, thank you all.

NEW FRIEND BOOK SAMPLES

2010-02-11T03:54:00.000-08:00

A Few new pages of the picture book that i have been working on, its getting closer to completion. Just struggling with the text now.

2010-02-11T03:47:00.000-08:00

2010-02-11T03:28:00.000-08:00

BOOOOOOOOOOOOO! booo! BOOOOOOOOOOOO!

2010-01-08T18:20:00.001-08:00

2010-01-08T18:18:00.000-08:00

FRIEND BOOK IN PROGRESS

2010-01-08T18:11:00.001-08:00

Just trying out some different colour variations for the book that I'm working on at the moment and I'm happy because it seems to be going quite well, hopefully it will continue, here are just a few that i would like to show you.

2010-01-08T18:09:00.000-08:00

2010-01-08T18:08:00.000-08:00

2010-01-08T18:06:00.000-08:00

Just a few snappy snaps from the RCA Work in Progress show

2009-12-05T12:36:00.000-08:00

FRIEND

2009-12-05T11:50:00.000-08:00

Just started work on a new book, its gonna be a childrens book about imaginary friend. The stories a bit iffy at the moment but i hopefully it will come together soon, here are a few of some visual treats.

2009-12-05T11:49:00.000-08:00

Our house

2009-12-05T10:40:00.002-08:00

2009-12-05T10:40:00.001-08:00

INDIA

2009-12-05T09:36:00.000-08:00

India is a piece i did seventeen years ago, wow! i think its drawn on the back of a old fruit'n'fiber cereal box, probably drawn in front of the fire watching antiques roadshow, wicked.

2009-12-05T09:29:00.000-08:00

The Bird Catchers

2009-07-15T04:58:00.000-07:00

I can't believe i haven't blog this before its a comic strip that i did about a year ago. It's called "The Bird catchers" its a autobiographical comic inspired by the Gasoline ally strips. Its a story about me and my brother trying to catch birds in the back garden. we spent three years trying to catch birds and went though a range of different contraptions too do so. only to finally catch a blackbird and from being that excited that we'd caught one, that it manage to escape.
but i suppose its all in the thrill of the chase.

Rain Rain go away come again another day

2009-07-15T02:03:00.000-07:00

It seems the recent weather has crept into my roughs for my new book. Still not sure on a title yet, but i will keep you up-to-date on my brains activity's.

DREAMING

2009-07-15T01:17:00.000-07:00

These are some ideas for a new book I'm working on at the moment. The plot is loosely based around the idea of boredom, overactive imaginations and practical jokes. This time I'm going tackle text and image a try toward a traditional comic book format which will be really fun to experiment with.

Poster Fun

2009-07-12T17:27:00.001-07:00

Im experimenting with the ideas of posters at the moment. just taking a phase or say that ive heard or that someone has said to me a using it as the bases for a poster. Its really an exeriment with text and image on a large scale. Its a very fun ongoing project that i would like to develop. Funny Turns is one of the first of many watch this space.

2009-07-06T05:59:00.000-07:00

2009-07-05T15:33:00.000-07:00

Twins and fonts

2009-07-05T15:25:00.000-07:00

Invisable Friend

2009-06-16T01:44:00.000-07:00

11TH JUNE "POWERFUL BOOKS"

2009-05-28T04:53:00.000-07:00

On the 11th June Im involved in a very powerful book lunch, with covers full to the brim of tales from everyday lives of RCA people, produced in a variety of fashions. Fourteen books Fourteen radical artist's,

Be a NERD by spending a evening with you nose in a book and a drink in your hand. But if you cant make it for the private view then its on from the 9 til the 14th June.

JOIN US!!!!!!!!!!

A MEANS TO AN ENDING

2009-05-28T04:33:00.000-07:00

O-BER-RON

2009-05-09T13:40:00.000-07:00

THE RUDDY BIRDS

2009-05-09T13:38:00.000-07:00

HEAVY LURKING

2009-05-09T12:42:00.001-07:00

BIG PLANS

2009-05-09T12:41:00.000-07:00

GNARLY FIRES

2009-05-09T12:39:00.000-07:00

BLOODY SCRUMPERS

2009-05-09T12:37:00.000-07:00

MR TROFIEACO

2009-05-09T12:31:00.000-07:00

This is a book that ive been working on for the past six months which was the first project i was set at the RCA. Its a narrative building exercise which we took everyday events and developed them into more exciting narratives. It was really fun what i came out with from those initial ideas. The books called MR TROFIEACO and its about a group of scrumping teenagers and a selfish old man protecting his apples to the bitter end.