Shaun O'Dell

The internet is a funny thing. I can, and very often do, spend lots of time trawling blogs for nice things to look at, to be inspired by and, of course, to blog about. There's tonnes of great stuff out there and I'm constantly amazed by how many super creative people are out that that I'm still discovering. Anyhow very occasionally I'll find something that transcends that 'oh thats cool' reaction and really hits you in the gut and makes you want to make things. I guess that is what happened when I found Shaun O'Dell.

There's so much stuff on his site that I'm impressed by. I wish I could see it for real, it seems like work for which scale is important. The 2007 series 'We Remember The Sun' is the kind of work I'd love to make. I don't and probably never will BUT if I could I would. I love the rainbow colours mixed with the inky blacks and greys and blocky, awkward shapes. Equally the contrast between really constrained line, really neat and ordered with those big fat brush strokes. Really nice. Anyway I love it all and thoroughly recommend you have a look. Apologies for the slightly gushing post. Its exciting to find something new I guess.

Best Lion. BEST!

I am totally flipping in LOVE with this Lion by Kevin Waldron. Its amazing. I want to meet him. He will sit in an armchair and puff wisely on his pipe and tell me stories of the sea. And then he will yawn and we'll go to sleep. What a great lion. Kevin Waldron's stuff is ace by the way. Have a look! His 'Owl & the Pussycat' is a winner.

Prints & Plates

Its sunday! Lets look at some awesome stuff!


This rocking horse print from tsk tsk would be so sweet in a child's bedroom. Or indeed mine.

These scandinavian retro inspired melamine plates are a dream (albeit a very domestic one!). There are a tonne of awesome designs to root through on Millamella's etsy store.
Totally incredible illustrator (and Friction contributor) Jon Klassen has does some wonderful stuff for Red Cap Cards. I would send these to everyone I know if I could bear to part with them myself.



also! I forgot to mention that the print I was giving away this week is now in my shop.

Beautiful Book Covers

I just came across THIS site and had to share. So much beautiful, inspiring stuff. Be sure to check it out if, like me, you're a fan of old book design and elaborate lettering. There's some pretty tasty colour schemes going on there too.

We Are The Friction LAUNCH (and pre-order)

For the past seven months Jez and I have been working on the second volume of our collaborative writing/drawing experiment. Like last years 'I am the Friction' the basic premise is that someone writes a story and someone else draws a picture and then they exchange their work and do something new based on what they have recieved. Easy. And this time rather than Jez and I doing all the work we've opened it up to 12 awesome illustrators and 12 awesome writers. And my have they done an amazing job!
Anyhow thats what we've been putting together for the first half of this year and now, at last, its all done and it launches next Thursday! Yay! If you head to Sing Statistics you can check out the list of illustrators (the writers are still a secret) and pre-order your copy (all pre-orders will come with a wee gocco print). Go and have a look. If thats peaks your interest keep your eyes open for pictures and things next week (though there are some teasers here). And if you're in Edinburgh this summer head to Analogue books to see the exhibition.

Giveaway Winner!

Competition closed. Time for a winner. I used random.org to generate a number between 1-61 and the winner was...number 13. Flora! Hurrah! Thanks to everyone who entered and for all the lovely lovely comments you left me. Hopefully I'll do another one soon.

Print Giveaway!

It's sunny, we had tasty sushi for lunch and I'm feeling good so to celebrate I'm going to giveaway one of the above screenprints to one reader. All you need to do is leave a comment on this post and I'll select one at random and that person will win a print (and maybe a couple of added extras). You have until Wednesday at 6pm (GMT). Go go go!

Edinburgh Again

After an exhaustingly intense 24hrs in London meeting with various exciting people I have now returned to (sunny) Edinburgh where I intend to remain for a while (I've spent far too long on trains). It was nice to be at home even though (as this photo shows) the weather was a dismally pants most of the time. Got a couple of projects to get done this week as well as sorting out stuff for the Friction launch and finding a flat! Its a going to be a busy summer I think. In the meantime time for some nice things....

Beautifully simple image by Clare Owen. I saw her stuff at D&AD t'other week. Lovely quiet drawings.



I am crazy for everything in Anna Bond's portfolio. This is a pretty great bear. And her design work is ace too.

I LOVE Vanessa Jackman's street style blog, such lovely, summery photos. I've been stewing on starting an Edinburgh street style blog for a while...any Edinburgh types fancy helping out?

Monday night meanderings

Love this cute cushion by romawinkel on etsy (the drawstring bags are dead sweet too)

Absolutely beautiful new print from the amazing Julie Morstad. My walls are pretty crammed full but if I had space I'd be after one of these in a flash.


There's lots of nice stuff in the Tas-Ka online shop. They have a great blog too.

the Wanderer Returns

Its been a busybusy past couple of months that has seen me spend 22 hours travelling in the last week but at last its time to get this blog going again properly. Hello to all the new followers who have appeared in recent weeks. Nice to see you!


First off if you head over to my site you will notice its been revamped yet again. The old menu wasn't really working properly and now I have a nice new display courtesy of cargo collective which is hopefully easier to navigate. Hopefully I'll be able to get some new work up soon!


NEXT is the countdown to the second volume of friction (this book that we put out last year). This is crazy exciting and far bigger than last years effort. Join our mailing list and keep track of happenings.

ALSO! I contributed to a zine put together by the mighty Jake Blanchard (as Tor Press). Its based around the letter A and features a tonne of totally awesome folk. Get a copy here!

FINALLY! Actually thats it. No more news. Head to my flickr to see some pretty boring pictures of my travels in London and graduation nonsense.

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.

Illustration Graduates 2009. No. 2

Next up on my series of posts about ECA illustrators is Mr Tobias Cook. You know how some people make work that you just can't get your head around? Well thats Toby. I am in awe of his skills on a wacom tablet; the way that he manages to get light to look like real like and the way his colours are so rich, far deeper than your average photoshop colour job. To me he should be illustrating Haruki Murukami novels, or something similarly strange and interestingly clinical.

Illustration Graduates 2009. No. 1

OK this is the first of my posts on my classmates graduating from ECA this year. Every day from now until the show I'll post one of the 09 graduates i've been sharing a studio with for the past three years for your persual. And first up is (alphabetical order).....


Ursula Cheng. Ta da! Ursula is queen of acid brights, collage and layered paintwork. Her work combines super cute with super sinister with hundreds of tiny details that mean you can look at her work for ages and always spot new details. Have a look at her site and be sure to check out her awesome hotdog project.