Magazine Illustrations for Dobbies & Inner Circle

I've had lots of new editorial illustrations published recently. The first 4 are for Dobbies Magazine (available in Dobbies Garden Centres now) and the article is to encourage children to get into gardening. The projects were easy to make and fun and I wanted this reflected in my designs by including lots of little creatures to keep kids entertained (spot the bees, cat and naughty caterpillar!)

The next illustration is the front cover for Inner Circle, a client I've enjoyed working with several times. The theme of the issue and illustration was technology, in particular apps, so we've got apps for everything from dry cleaning to space ships! It was a really fun project especially making technology out of paper! You can see the whole issue here.

The Big Hoot is Open!

Back in May/ June time I was busily painting a space themed design onto a giant model of an owl for a charity exhibition in Birmingham. I'm pleased to announce my owl made the journey safely to Birmingham and is now on display alongside over 80 other owls. If you're in the city between now and 27th September you can enjoy a fun day out spotting all the owls on the trail  (Mine is no.6) 

My friend and fellow owl painter Kate Leonard took these photos at the launch. Thanks Kate! 

The Big Hoot Owl in progress

Earlier on this year I created a design for the Big Hoot (a charity art exhibition to be held this Summer in Birmingham). He or she is entitled One Giant Hoot for Owlkind to reflect the space theme of the design. Although I don't want to give away the whole piece now (and spoil the excitement!) here are a few shots of the owl developing over the last 3 or so weeks. To find out more visit www.thebighoot.co.uk

(This last photo isn't an owl, it's my cat Cleo "helping" with morale, by pretending to be a shrub.

Cosmic Kitty & Astro Girl Microsoft #TileArt Illustrations

I was asked by Mircrosoft (through my agent Illustrationweb) to create some new designs for their Tile Art App which allows users to create their own artwork for their phones. I was given a really open brief and decided to create my range based around the retro space inspired adventures of a girl and her cat (called Cosmic Kitty and Astro Girl). One of the really exciting aspects of this project is that bits of the design can be transparent so you can see the background clearly through the helmets as you move the designs on the phone. I created all the images as paper collages with a bit of splattered paint to create stars for good measure! As you might be able to tell the kitty is based largely on my cat Cleo and I do own a purple top a bit like the one below!

You can see a Youtube clip of my images on a phone here
And read up on the thoughts of Tile Art Guy.

The Big Hoot Art Exhibition

I recently created a submission for the Big Hoot, an event that will be held this Summer in Birmingham exhibiting 100 owls beautifully painted giant owls, which will then be auctioned off for Birmingham childrens hospital. My design is a space owl nicknamed "One giant Hoot for Owlkind" as I thought it would be appealing topic for children and appropriate considering we think of owls as nigtht creatures, and it's pretty dark in space! I'll find out in the next few weeks if I'm chosen.

New Editorial Illustration

Here's a new editorial illustration I completed just before Christmas for Regents College Alumni magazine Inner Circle. The article focused on the pro's and con's of doing business in Africa and I wanted to focus on the positive and less well known aspects (such as the space program).