THE AMERICAN DEPRESSION OF THE 20s AND 30s
Size: 700mm x 450mm
Medium: Pencil
Canvas: Frisk CS2 NOT Surface Board
Client: Parradine Publishing (USA)
Artwork Story:
The publication was a predominantly photograph based journey through the hardship experienced within America in the Great Depression between 1920 and 1930. The brief was to create a striking front cover in black & white (all the photographs were obviously B&W too!) which captured the peoples desolation at the time.
The subject matter in the final composition was taken directly from 3 separate photos in the book itself. I specifically wanted to capture the feeling of emptiness and suffering in the people which is why the adults in the piece stare at you with hollow, vacant eyes that seem to ask for help. I wanted to convey a feeling of surrender to the predicament they were in. I then sought to show the children in a much more empathetic pose with a sense of hope in their eyes for their own future.
I love the soul and feeling that this piece has achieved. The faces of the people tell the story so powerfully and they seem to have a personality.
The publication was a predominantly photograph based journey through the hardship experienced within America in the Great Depression between 1920 and 1930. The brief was to create a striking front cover in black & white (all the photographs were obviously B&W too!) which captured the peoples desolation at the time.
The subject matter in the final composition was taken directly from 3 separate photos in the book itself. I specifically wanted to capture the feeling of emptiness and suffering in the people which is why the adults in the piece stare at you with hollow, vacant eyes that seem to ask for help. I wanted to convey a feeling of surrender to the predicament they were in. I then sought to show the children in a much more empathetic pose with a sense of hope in their eyes for their own future.
I love the soul and feeling that this piece has achieved. The faces of the people tell the story so powerfully and they seem to have a personality.
CRY FREEDOM
Size: 700mm x 450mm
Medium: Mixed Media
Canvas: Frisk CS2 NOT Surface Board
Client: Johnstone Print
Artwork Story:
This artwork was one of several submitted as initial scoping artwork for the book to follow the cinematic release of Sir Richard Attenbrough's Cry Freedom film about the life and death of African activist Steven Biko, who died in police custody in Pretoria in 1977.
I wanted to create a very striking and arresting image which focused totally upon the eyes of Steven. He stares right back at the viewer with symbolic reflections in his eyes of two subjects that mattered most to him; Africa and religion. The torn paper at the bottom of the composition symbolises the censorship put upon him speaking out about apartheid at the time. The torn paper sits where Stevens mouth should be, but it is obscured and silenced and similarly the face fades away to nothing in the bottom half of the composition to again symbolise the silence.
The mixed media I used here of both Gouache painting and coloured pencil was used to create the differing effects needed to create Stevens incredibly detailed skin. Some of the pitting effects under the eyes were even created by scoring the artboard prior to painting to achieve the effect. I liked the fact that the coloured pencil on top of the Gouache painting gave an oily look to the skin which heightened the realism.
I've always intended to revisit this composition and create it again; next time on a larger scale with a view to creating even more detail in the skin and then reduce the final image down.
The torn paper beneath the title is actual torn paper and not artwork made to look like torn paper!
This artwork was one of several submitted as initial scoping artwork for the book to follow the cinematic release of Sir Richard Attenbrough's Cry Freedom film about the life and death of African activist Steven Biko, who died in police custody in Pretoria in 1977.
I wanted to create a very striking and arresting image which focused totally upon the eyes of Steven. He stares right back at the viewer with symbolic reflections in his eyes of two subjects that mattered most to him; Africa and religion. The torn paper at the bottom of the composition symbolises the censorship put upon him speaking out about apartheid at the time. The torn paper sits where Stevens mouth should be, but it is obscured and silenced and similarly the face fades away to nothing in the bottom half of the composition to again symbolise the silence.
The mixed media I used here of both Gouache painting and coloured pencil was used to create the differing effects needed to create Stevens incredibly detailed skin. Some of the pitting effects under the eyes were even created by scoring the artboard prior to painting to achieve the effect. I liked the fact that the coloured pencil on top of the Gouache painting gave an oily look to the skin which heightened the realism.
I've always intended to revisit this composition and create it again; next time on a larger scale with a view to creating even more detail in the skin and then reduce the final image down.
The torn paper beneath the title is actual torn paper and not artwork made to look like torn paper!
BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN - WORKING ON AN ARTISTIC DREAM
Size: 750mm x 550mm
Medium: Pencil
Canvas: Daler Line & Wash Board
Client: Limited Edition Prints
Artwork Story:
My personal homage to one of the biggest rock icons of our time. Springsteen is one of my very few inspirations and he has seen me through a lot in my life: good and bad! I always wanted to produce something truly special for the Boss and this is a big piece. Over 130 hours of love, passion and attention to detail have gone into creating this and it has turned out very well.
Available as limited editions prints through the following links below, or alternatively you can simply contact me directly via the contact form above.
My personal homage to one of the biggest rock icons of our time. Springsteen is one of my very few inspirations and he has seen me through a lot in my life: good and bad! I always wanted to produce something truly special for the Boss and this is a big piece. Over 130 hours of love, passion and attention to detail have gone into creating this and it has turned out very well.
Available as limited editions prints through the following links below, or alternatively you can simply contact me directly via the contact form above.
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LET HIM HAVE IT
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Size: 400mm x 300mm
Medium: Pencil Canvas: Frisk CS10 Surface Board Client: The Press Box Artwork Story: The true account of the shooting of police officer Sydney Miles in Croydon, London in 1952 and the subsequent miscarriage of justice afterwards involving the hanging of Derek Bentley at Wandsworth Prison. The brief here was simply to depict both Bentley and Craig for a 2 colour book jacket illustration. I started by simply creating the green background in gouache and then depicting the faces in pencil, allowing the green and white highlights to define the skin. I also wanted to give across the delinquency of the time in teenagers and the pose of the right hand side of the composition is a direct replica of a James Dean pose from the same era. |
PRINCE
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Size: 480mm x 370mm
Medium: Mixed Media Canvas: Frisk CS2 NOT Surface Board Client: Limited Edition Prints Artwork Story: Artwork commissioned as a one off piece to celebrate Prince by a Prince fan. Subsequently available as limited edition prints. The artwork is a mixture of gouache with heavy use of airbrush work regarding the background, symbol and some of the basic composition, the main face in the bottom right hand corner of the screen and the microphone are done using pencil over the top of airbrush work. |
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THE FOUR SEASONS
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Size: 480mm x 370mm
Medium: Mixed Media (Pastel and Gouache) Canvas: Stretched Bockingford Paper Client: Penguin Classics Artwork Story: The brief for this book cover art asked for a depiction of the four season in one image. Originally the artwork featured woodland animals on the ground, but it was initially rejected as the client wanted the focus to be on the subject matter of the tree and nothing else as they felt the imagery of the tree alone was what they wanted. The background of the multicoloured clouds was achieved with pastel and soft torn paper masks. The tree was then constructed to have all the seasons in one tree reading from left to right and was painted in gouache |
WHO DO YOU WANT TO BE?
Size: 450mm x 300mm
Medium: Gouache Canvas: Daler Line & Wash Board Client: South Yorkshire Police Artwork Story: Illustration commissioned as part of a major equal opportunities recruitment drive by South Yorkshire Police. The aim of the artwork was to promote the service as one who saw no boundaries to what or where you could go as far as career progression was concerned. The idea behind the image was to show jigsaw piece spaces where the identities were for differing roles within the Force and aim to show that anyone could slot their face into any role; giving the feeling that no role was out of bounds when choosing a career within the South Yorkshire Police service. |
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A COAL MINING WAY OF LIFE
Size: 450mm x 300mm
Medium: Gouache
Canvas: Frisk CS2 NOT Surface Board
Client: National Coal Board (NCB)
Artwork Story:
I was commissioned to produce a series of limited edition prints by the National Coal Mining Board. These prints were to be a limited run of 150 of each print and were to portray life as it were down the mines of the time. Having had a grandfather and an uncle down the pits in South Yorkshire I jumped at the chance of producing these. The images were based upon existing old photographs of the time from the archives of the NCB.
Each piece is a simple pencil drawing, highlighting the conditions of living and working at the time.
Prints still available to purchase from this website. Please use the link below for details.
Medium: Gouache
Canvas: Frisk CS2 NOT Surface Board
Client: National Coal Board (NCB)
Artwork Story:
I was commissioned to produce a series of limited edition prints by the National Coal Mining Board. These prints were to be a limited run of 150 of each print and were to portray life as it were down the mines of the time. Having had a grandfather and an uncle down the pits in South Yorkshire I jumped at the chance of producing these. The images were based upon existing old photographs of the time from the archives of the NCB.
Each piece is a simple pencil drawing, highlighting the conditions of living and working at the time.
Prints still available to purchase from this website. Please use the link below for details.
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Size: 450mm x 300mm
Medium: Gouache Canvas: Frisk CS2 NOT Surface Board Client: Core Computing Artwork Story: Cover artwork for Core Computing for the release of 'Chuck Rock' videogame. The brief was to replicate characters from the game in cartoon format and give the composition room for type, game imagery (screenshots) and titling. |
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Title: Charlie Chaplin
Size: 450mm x 300mm Medium: Pencil, Watercolour wash Canvas: Frisk CS2 NOT Surface Board Client: Private Commission Artwork Story: A sepia watercolour wash was first applied leaving the centre lighter to accentuate the finished subject matter. The artwork is then completed in pencil. |
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Title: Wine Label
Size: 300mm x 150mm Medium: Gouache Canvas: Frisk CS2 NOT Surface Board Client: Waitrose Artwork Story: Artistic brief run by Waitrose to find a figurative piece of artwork for a French Bordeaux wine. The brief for the artwork was simply that the artwork had to be abstract, typify France and portray mid-point of sale wine. I took the approach of the artwork being very impressionistic based. Whilst this is not a style I have done very much of at all, I wanted the artwork to be very much in keeping with the French Impressionists, so looked to emulate the style. I took a Bastille Day celebration as the basis for this piece with a street full of people and flags. The artwork won the competition. |
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