LONDONS!

I'm off to London tomorrow to see friends and also attend D&AD at National Hall, Olympia (Kensington). If you're in the area tues/wednesday come and say hello. I'll be looking slightly bewildered and clutching my portfolio.

Above is a photo of my degree show (which came down yesterday). There are more on my flickr if you want a nose through.

I'll be back on track with blogging very soon. Its been the most chaotic couple of months but I'm imagining its about to get pretty quiet once graduation is out of the way.

Print Factory Shop Open

You can now buy my print for Owl & Lion's 'Print Factory' online. Its a three colour screen print on recycled heavyweight paper in a signed edition of fifty.

Print Factory!

I have a brand new, never seen before print in the Print Factory show opening at Owl And Lion here in Edinburgh tonight. Like Story Motel last month there should be an online shop cropping up soon for those of you not lucky enough to be in Edinburgh. Photos coming soon....

Illustration Graduates 2009. No. 9 & 10

OK I'm going to wrap this thing up real soon and get back to regular posts about nonsense! But before that I'm going to show you the work of Norwegian illustrator Trine Mangesnes. I have a real soft spot for Trine's super energetic work which combines the urgency and drama of work by folk like Ralph Steadman and Ronald Searle with a exciting printmaking and a bit of Scandinavian charm. Her book 'Moose and the Peculiar Bird' is one of my favourites in the show for sure.



Lindsay McBirnie is another children's book illustrator graduating this year. Her book 'Blobfish' (above) is a definite winner for kids and her illustrations of David Bowie lyrics are really fun (below). Lindsay is one of the few painters on our course and her skills with a brush are pretty enviable. Her giant 'drinking' paintings are fascinating and impressive.

Rain

Oh no! I have totally lost track of the ol' blog this last week. Its been manic in the run up to the show opening. Nevertheless I shall endeavor to finish up my ECA posts in the next couple of days. In the meantime here is a wonderful new image for a print (that will appear in an upcoming exhibition alongside one of my own) by my own resident graphic designer and all around awesome manfriend Jez Burrows. Its a miserable giant. I think its a good 'un.

Illustration Graduates 2009. No. 7 & 8

Oops. So what with Results day and celebrations and running the meadows stall I've totally failed to keep up with my lllustration 09 posts. So time to get back on track with two more Edinburgh graduates....
First is Gillian Kirkland. Gill has been working on a project based around Alice in Wonderland this year and she's managed to create an enormous amount of illustrations whilst doing so. She focuses on the darker, more macabre elements of the text to create rich, surreal images in her strong, painterly style. By contrast she's also done a couple of nice kid's books including a really fun one called 'I like Birds'.


Second is Jaimie Lane. Jaimie takes a fairly traditional approach to illustration but applies it to fantastical subject matter which results in some really intriguing, involving images. Along with being a dab hand and character development Jaimie is also really good with creating believable lighting throughout her work. Whether its washing scenes with a sunny glow or creating tiny, magical sources of light I'm always amazed at how much life this brings to her drawings.

Meadows Festival

Its a bit short notice but if you're in Edinburgh over the weekend head to the Meadows where we'll be running a stall as part of the Meadows Festival. There'll be and array of illustrated goodness from students in all three years at ECA. Come and say hello. We're lovely folk.

Illustration Graduates 2009. No. 6

Lindsay Grime is the sixth of the eca illustrators I'm going to post about. Her illustrators are rich and imaginative, teeming with colour and life. She often merges the whimsical with the everyday to make images that are bound to get children's imaginations whirring. Her cardboard constructions are bewilderingly complex and intriguing and her children's pop-up book manages to be both educational and exciting, a rare achievement I think. Go and have a look at her work...

Illustration Graduates 2009. No. 4 & 5

Two more classmates for you. Firstly Andrew Denholm. Andrew is an illustration machine. He's completed a bewildering amount of drawings this year, which are collated into three different books. His work is really bold and striking with a strong emphasis on assertive lines and angular shapes, totally individual and loads of fun. Also he's pretty damn good at Monsters.


Second is Eileen Glass. Eileens has a really distinctive way of using pencil that fills her work with texture but also makes feel slightly surreal and other-wordly. I love her buildings but her creepy, familiar characters are also fascinating. Let it also be known that Eileens drawings are massive and all the more impressive for it.

Its Nice That

Design superblog It's Nice That has selected me as one of its 'Graduates 2009' series. Head to the site to read an interview and looks at some pictures.

Illustration Graduates 2009. No. 3

Oops. Totally failed to do this over the weekend. But in my defense the weather was glorious and the desire to sit outside reading in the sunshine was too much to resist! Anyway back on track now....



Kirsten Cowie is not only a rather amazing choclatier (she works at Edinburgh's BEST chocolate shop) but also a rather amazing illustrator. She draws beautifully quiet, dreamlike images in a range of sleepy colours with touches of magic. Her book 'the Ghost Bear' is incredible (see image above) and definitely my favourite thing she's done. I am always partial to bears.