Morocco- the final image in my series!

This is it folks. The final one and all will be on display at the Edinburgh College of Art Masters Show in December- come and check them out! To view the whole set take a look here.

The Owl & The Pussy-Cat

Oops, due to a slight mix-up I ended up illustrating the same nursery rhyme as someone else on my course. So here is my new submission for the Master of Design degree show programme.

Japan- part of my Penpals series

Four out of six completed and 6 weeks to go! The Masters Show at the ECA will run from December 5th - 12th and the whole set of these will be exhibited. If you want to see the others on my site click here.

Leckie & Leckie Commission

A nice commission from an educational publisher, to be used as a postcard advertising the drama guide I've illustrated for them.

Hey Diddle Diddle!

My Masters Class are producing a book of illustrated nursery rhymes to act as brochure for our degree show. This will be my contribution. I'm particularly pleased with the border.

Howdy

I'm currently preparing work for my Masters Show in December. At the moment I'm working on a Japanese street scene. I've also moved house and got a lovely new studio. This drawing was just something I had in my head that had to be put to paper.

A Hoopoe wearing a tie

From a commission by Leckie & Leckie Educational Publishers. I'll post the whole thing here once it is finished and in print.

Busy busy- but here is something to keep you going!

The Falkirk Wheel

Hi folks, it has been a while since I posted on here but I've been incredibly busy (which is always good news). At the moment I'm working on a cover featuring Stirling for Pocket Mountains and images for a Drama Course Notes book for Leckie & Leckie.

I'm hoping for some free time soon to continue with my personal work, the Penpals series, which has had some really positive feedback from friends and clients. Watch this space for the next instalment.

Venice

The third in the Penpal series.

Sumo Wrestling

And here is the finished image. I've added more people to the crowd and posters at the back.

In progress, an image of sumo wrestlers in battle. An impulse draw!

Spot the Difference

Further work on the image below. I've added lamposts, a few more people, a bar in the Tabac- well I'll let you find them!

En France

Salut! This is the first image in a series I'm planning showing street scenes from all over the world. This one is, as I hope you can see, France. This is also the product of my entire weekend as the weather is apalling so I've sat at my desk colouring away. Please note- this is an A3 piece! It is officially the largest piece of work I've ever done!

The Lion & The Unicorn

While I'm here, this is another piece I've just finished. It is a modern illustration for the children's nursery rhyme 'The Lion & The Unicorn'. Many nursery rhymes have their roots in politics or historical events and this one is no different. It refers to the joining of Scotland and England by King James and his decision to create a new heraldic crest representing both countries. The unicorn stands for Scotland (and is chained by the crown around its neck!) and the lion for England. In the rhyme the lion 'beats' the unicorn all around town, referring to the not-quite-so-happy union. I've updated this scene with a drawing of the new Scottish Parliament building, relating it to current events and progress.

StoryLab

This is one of the images I produced for the Scottish Storytelling Centre. They went with a white version of this in the end. At the moment I'm working on my Crocodile Fence story and writing my dissertation. The two go side by side as I'm writing about hand lettering in children's books and I've just reached the point where I need to think about what I'm doing text-wise with the book. I've researched how children learn to read and have come to the conclusion that hand lettering is a valuable resource when used in the right circumstances. There needs to be a high level of legibility and consideration for the expected audience but overall children seem to be very capable of transferring reading skills to any font or letterform (once confident in their reading skills that is).

Bookmark for Pocket Mountains

Yey a deer. Thought I'd post a quick update on what I've been up to. I'm currently doing some work for the Scottish Storytelling Centre which I will post here eventually. I also gave a talk as part of the Edinburgh Libraries Festival of Scottish Writing. Thanks to all who attended, it was a great group and helped me through my first big public appearance! (well it was big for me anyway). At the moment I am still really excited about my Jive Bunnies and looking to do something with them as well as working on my ideas for children's books (as part of my Masters degree and personal interest).

Knights in armour...

These images are for a client but I thought I'd share them with you. Busy at the moment as I'm helping my partner prepare for his exhibition.

Boats and interviews

The image above is for this months Rowing & Regatta Magazine. Anybody notice the subtle use of photography? I'm currently working on a series of exciting new projects that I will update on in the near future. Busy busy busy!

Yesterday I was interviewed as part of the Six Cities Design Festival giving my opinions on the use of illustration in album artwork.

Pride & Prejudice with bunnies

The rabbit obsession continues...