New Print!

OK OK I'm on hiatus till monday BUT I have a new print in my shop. Its a super fancy digital one rather than a gocco or screen print but its still signed and numbered.

Hiatus

We moved house this morning. At 8.30am. From a third floor flat to a fourth floor flat. I am shattered. Moving all of our stuff would have been challenge enough but the 19 boxes of Friction books really tipped it over the edge. Anyway just wanted to say that due to to being in a new place in amongst a thousand boxes, it being the Edinburgh Festival and thus everywhere being swamped and hectic AND having no internet connection blogging will be suspended for the next week. After that I'll be back and on top form I hope. Hello to all the people who've started following my blog recently. There are 131 of you know and thats amazing. Slightly bewildering by amazing nonetheless.

Friction Prints

So these are my images for We Are The Friction. If you like they are available to buy as high quality digital prints for £20 (about $33) + P&P. Prints are 14 x 21.5 cm plus border for framing. Contact us at sing@singstatistics.co.uk to order.



BUY A BOOK

My two cents

So I've plenty of time to think on yesterday's revelations now and I guess here's what I want to say. It's a long 'un and sadly image free, normal posting to resume shortly.

When i first opened my emails and read about Samantha Beeston presenting Lauren Nassef's and my own work as her own I felt a bit sick. It was a real sudden punch in the gut and sat in the middle of a starbucks on Marylebone high street it was one i wasn't expecting. One of the things I worry about as an illustrator who has a website, a blog and a flickr is that my work is accessable to anyone and that is both a blessing and a curse. Whilst it allows me, and thousands of other artists, to present work and connect with people all over the world it also throws my work into the public domain where anyone can find it, post it, print it, or copy it. The internet is a largely anonymous place, sites like ffffound although often enjoyable and useful, regurgitate images, often without crediting their creator which renders them orphans to many viewers. They appear totally without origin. As a result it is far too easy for people to take their 'inspiration' that bit too far.
In this case the culprit was clearly aware of who created the images concerned (the handwriting that was lifted from me was posted only on my blog which is a far from anonymous source and the images from Lauren's 'A drawing a day' project are only available on her personal site) which sadly makes it a far less innocent crime. It is one thing to copy someone's work and keep it hidden in a sketchbook, (when I was at school I loved drawing paintings from The Art Book, it seemed like good practice) but it is quite another to present it as your own publically and then to enter it into a competition. Alas short of her tutors and the competition's judges following every illustration website and blog going how on earth were they ever going to know? I guess that is what made this all so easy. I'm sure that there are hundreds of people out there presenting other people's work as their own. In fact I know a fair few people who have fallen victim to it recently. I can consider myself lucky that someone spotted this when it could quite easily have gone unnoticed. In that respect the internet and the community of people who follow illustration blogs like my own are invaluable.
This whole thing has raised many questions (not least over at BBIC) about copyright and ownership. As someone just starting out professionally I am hardly equipped to answer them (but Julia Rothman is!) however it is safe to say that if you are taking heavily from someone else's work then you are likely in breach of copyright. It is never ok to rip off other artists, especially if you intend to make that work public.
My advice, though no one has asked for it and I am not really licensed to give it, would be to look at things other than illustration if you are an illustrator, look at fine art or film or read some good books that way you can feel safe in the knowledge that your inspiration has come from an emotional reaction rather than a desire to ape something you've already seen. Listen to conversations on buses, draw in unlikely places and avoid the internet when trying to start work!
I would also emplore people to put notices on your blogs claiming possession of your work...when posting to flickr make sure it is clear that this is your work and not for other people to copy. It seems anal but it could well help. I know that from now on i'll be making sure I tag everything I ever did as my own!

OK. I'm done. Apologies to those who come to this blog for cheery posts about drawing bears. I assure you this is a one off musing and hopefully we'll have no more of this nonsense! Thanks again to everyone who has contacted me about this and offered kind words of support. Knowing that people are keeping an eye out for each other is the only reason I am happy to keep on posting my work online.

Hurt

I'm away in London and on a bit of a timed internet connection BUT i had to post about this.

GO HERE

and then HERE before you read the rest of my post.

I'm feeling pretty hurt by this. The fact that someone believed they could trace my work is pretty awful but that she then went on to enter it into a competition which she won is devastating. As most of you know I graduated at the start of the month. I am likely the same age as Samantha Beeson and with a similar amount of professional experience, to start my career with this is pretty disheartening. My heart goes out to Lauren Nassef who is an incredibly talented illustrator and absolutely doesn't deserve to have to had this happen (who does i guess?)
I will post on this properly when I get back. Copyright is a difficult issue and I need to have time to process all of this and then try and sort something out.
Thanks to everyone who has contacted me about this. It is good to know that there are so many people looking out for each other on this here internet.



On a lesser note she also stole my handwriting. Who doesn't have even enough creativity to write the word 'hello'? Urgh.

Festival Build Up

(jez enjoys our new rooftop view)

Evenin' all. Its very nearly festival time here in Edinburgh. The tourists are flooding in and the streets are filling up. It takes progressively longer to get from one end of the high st to another and its only going to get busier! argh! Saying that the festival is always an exciting time up here and we've got tickets to a few exciting shows. Are any of you heading to the fringe this year?

Anyway here's some nice stuff.....

Animation 1 from jaakko ghostbuster on Vimeo.

Jaako Pallasvuo does amazing work. I love his recent animation experiments. (via AAA)


I would really like this supercool bathplug please (though it is perhaps a little pricey. for a plug). From Panik.



King of all he surveys Stuart Kolakovic has just done this AMAZING book cover for 'Along the Enchanted Way' by William Blacker. If you don't check Stu's blog go and have a look at all the awesome work he's being doing lately.

Illustrative Young Illustrators Award 2009

Have you bought a copy of 'We are the Friction'? No? You should. Its well good.

Sisters

New sketchbook drawing. I quite like this one. I've really enjoyed getting back into keeping a sketchbook this year.

We had a book launch!

The 'We Are The Friction' launch was last Thursday and it went swimmingly. We set up an Exhibition at Analogue of all the illustrations from the book as well as having a pile of books for sale at the event. You can now order your copy from our site. Be sure to check out all of the illustrators and writers involved as they're all incredible and well worth investigating. We both feel very proud to have been able to work with such an exciting array of artists and we just hope that those of you who buy the book can see all the hard work that everyone has put in.



(sorry the photos are a bit pants. better ones will appear on flickr very very soon)

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.