luke best

Peepshow book

2012-01-13T08:57:00.000-08:00

So last year we ( peepshow) were busy putting together a book of our work that is published by index book and out in april. ill write more about its contents and the process nearer the time but for now here is a short video preview

Index Book | Peepshow collective book from Index Book on Vimeo.

crane.tv

2012-01-12T08:53:00.000-08:00

crane. tv were kind enough to pay me a visit at the studio to talk about my work,illustration and peepshow. watch the video below or visit their site to look at further features on art , design and fashion

Heart New Year Banner

2012-01-04T02:32:00.000-08:00

New work to welcome in the New Year in the form of a banner for my agent, Hearts website

Independent

2011-12-08T05:30:00.000-08:00

new illustration out in todays independent

Its Nice That

2011-11-20T09:00:00.000-08:00

Thanks to Its Nice That for asking me to be be featured on their Bookshelf post.

You can read about some of the books that sit by me in my studio and influence my work here

Artistic.ly

2011-11-17T03:56:00.000-08:00

New print for sale via Artistic.ly. An exhibition of all the artist prints , including Andrew Rae, Miles Donovan and Spencer Wilson opens tonight at Loading Bay Gallery, The Old Truman Brewery.

The prints are 50 x 70 cm on 310gsm German etching paper, edition of 50 and come framed.

they will be available to buy online shorty after

Nobrow issue 6

2011-11-15T04:17:00.000-08:00

Nobrow 6 ' The Double' is now out and its a great issue. Half the issue is single panel illustrations and the other are double page comics, included some great work from SophyHollington, Paul Paetzel, Richard Short and many many more.

Heres my contribution to the issue, the original , and how its translates into Nobrows pantone colour way

Independent

2011-11-09T05:07:00.000-08:00

I was commissoned to do two covers for a supplement about living with cancer in the Independent. The first image was to do with the practical help and support with everyday tasks, provided by the Macmillian charity. The second cover will be out next month.

FTI journal

2011-11-08T04:08:00.000-08:00

I was recently commissioned to come up with rough ideas for the cover of FTI journal.

The piece was about new regulations in the finance sector, and how there is still room for businesses to maneuver. The image had to be non figuraitve, speak to a global market and not take one side of the argument. Overall I did 5 roughs but here are just two.

The illustrations won't be used as a photography direction was chosen in the end

Gabon Magazine

2011-11-08T04:06:00.000-08:00

recent illustration for an article about the logging industry in Gabon

Readers digest

2011-11-07T04:04:00.000-08:00

recent illustration for readers digest. The article talks about the reasons why it is better to be single

studio music

2011-11-07T03:57:00.000-08:00

Studio music was created my rose blake and gives you an insight into the music that surrounds a variety of art and design practitioners . I was kindly asked to add a playlist of some of the music that informs my daily working process, so if you fancy a listen, hear it is.

Nobrow issue 6

2011-10-10T03:48:00.000-07:00

I was lucky enough to be asked to create some work for Nobrow issue 6 on the Theme of Doppleganger. My idea was based on th idea that if you see your own doppleganger, you die.

The image below is just a small section to show how I've tried to use the 4 pantone colours that were supplied by Nobrow. Its out at the start of november so ill post more then

Geo Wissen Nr 47

2011-10-07T08:17:00.000-07:00

Four illustrations for german science magazine Geo Wissen out in November .

All four are on the the theme of psychological resilience

summer work

2011-09-19T09:42:00.000-07:00

over the summer i was lucky enough to have a week away , looking after a friends dog and being able to use their printing press. I was able to print at a larger format (57 x 45 cm) and produced the following reduction woodcut reduction. I am trying to get the balance right between the planning that is needed for the colours to work but allow the drawing to have room to manoever and have some fluidity. I relied on a previous subject matter for the content to allow me to focus more on the technique. This is an edition of 7

Inbetween printing it was good to spend some time concentrating on drawing .As an action it gives me real enjoyment but there seems to be a growing distance between this and my illustration work.I think more work and time is needed to work out a way of processing the drawing, finding a method were it retains certain qualities but has a usability

Mural

2011-09-19T08:54:00.000-07:00

Over the summer I did quite a few pitches for jobs that didn't happen.

Firstly i was asked to test for a 15 m mural for a coffee shop.

I did a 1-2m section for the test. The idea from the client was that the mural would tell the 'story' behind coffee and would be able to break down into 16 different usable illustrations. This was a good challenge but in trying to make the mural encompass 16 sections the overall section lost something- a change in scale and the rythym of it became quite flat. If the job had progressed, a bolder section would of been needed in the following meters. This also partly happen because I found it problematic working on screen for something thats should be at a large scale.

starting to catch up

2011-09-19T08:46:00.000-07:00

Its been a while since I posted so they will be a few catch up posts over the next couple of days

firstly heres an editorial for for Harpers Magazine- who always provide a nice short story to illustrate from.

New York Times

2011-07-07T00:00:00.000-07:00

A nice quick one day turn around job out in todays The New York Times.

An interesting article about the problems of multiculturalism as a political policy on the anniversary of the London 7/7 bombings

world of interiors

2011-07-04T09:01:00.000-07:00

New illustration out now in this months World of Interiors

'It's a Long way back'

2011-05-19T04:25:00.000-07:00

Its been a while since my last post but ive just arrived back from Malmo, Sweden were I was kindly asked to exhibit by Krets gallery.

The show, titled 'It's a long way back' was made up of mostly new work , with some older key pieces supporting the ideas. Below are some photos of the space, and some notes about the work and process. more photos of the work can also be seen here

In ‘ It’s a Long way Back’ I took its starting point from a plaque I saw in Portland a couple of years ago. It was commemorating a flood that occurred in 1800’s.

‘Softly, silently the waters crept up, inch by inch giving ample time for the removal of goods and other precautionary measures and then gradually receded. There was no raging waters, no sweeping destructive currents. Nothing but a gradual submersion’ - Oregon Historical Society file 1532.4

I had a replica of this made for the show, placed beneath the ‘surfers’ image This alongside another small piece of text within the show hopefully gave clues, encouraged the viewer to find narratives, connections within the work.

Another consideration for the exhibtion was to use materials and methods that would not reproduce well and only work when seen in the flesh, Graphite on graphite, neon paper stock,etc

In the initial drawings I was trying to use different marks, forms, building up an image then covering it, trying to eradicate areas, getting rid of information. Not really any different to how I work digitally but the whole process remains visible, each part informing the next more directly.

It’s been an interesting process because of the shift in thinking about the construction of an image. Perhaps more formal, basic concerns- line, composition, tone come to the surface and the 'communication' aspect, that is rightly important in my illustration work, is less director clear within these pieces.

This is especially true with the larger pieces. Often starting with an idea in how to combine certain pictorial elements. For example, the following image first contained a whale’s tail hanging by a noose from an iron American streetlamp from the early 1900s. This seemed like a simple way to comment on some of my references, the hunting of whales for oil to fuel the lamps and later the use of these street lamps for lynching but visually became too obvious, clunky, a punch line. All the elements, references remain simmering below the surface

Rightly or wrongly, the viewer engages with the work differently when its in a gallery space rather then pages of a magazine, asks more questions of an the work perhaps? Im not sure but a phrase I heard and liked during the exhibition in Sweden, which didn’t really have a direct translation but roughly meant ‘don’t write it on my nose’, I guess saying ‘don’t spell it out for me, I can decide.’

Exhibition

2011-04-11T15:36:00.001-07:00

i have an exhibition coming up next month at Krets gallery in Malmo Sweden.

ill be there for the opening so if your in town or fancy a weekend away pop by and say hello.

ill post some of the new work in progress soon

beautiful south bbc sessions (02)

2011-03-25T03:20:00.000-07:00

i was recently commissioned to do another Beautiful South BBC sessions CD cover by Smiler associates. the project was similar to before in that they commissioned an already existed image which i than had to expand upon. The original image was similar to the top picture of the owl, which was arrived at through an animation i did for Sleeproom a couple of years ago.

because it was old work i reworked it to make it fit in with the newly created work. I think its interesting to have to then build a world around an image that was created as a one off, feels closed. you could almost take any image as a starting point and start to build a set of rules, systems narratives around it. In this case the giant owl originally had no reason for its scale other than a visual aesthetic ( poster image for animation) but now it started to take the form of a god or a threat. from there , a form of worship occurs and a form of resistance and a small narrative starts to unfold. i also wanted to include a character from the first CD cover ( the girl) so this started to become about the night version of the first cover im not sure how well this will translate to the finished product as it will have to contain a lot of other information, but it gave me a basis and direction to make the work

Peepshow exhibition

2011-02-16T07:16:00.000-08:00

a recent peepshow exhibition in the Here gallery in falmouth

more photos can be seen here

Editorials

2011-02-15T03:09:00.000-08:00

two new editorial pieces . the bottom one is for HBR about the lack of book s in business about failures and what we can learn form failing. I think its the first time i've ever used type to help an idea.

The top one was in this sundays independent to coincide with valentines days. it was based on a short story and the simple miscommunications in conversation between men and women

the outsider

2011-01-25T09:34:00.000-08:00

During the first week of january I decided to work on the House of Illustration and Folio Society competition for 'The Outsider' by Albert Camus. It was a book I had read and attempted to illustrate before, (not very successfully) when I was a student. For that reason it was easy to get up to speed with the book quickly. The competition required three illustrations spanning the entire book, and the cover design with consideration given to the folios binding. Two of the four images turned out ok (coffin & beach) but the final image ( prison) which i thought was the most interesting at first, became the least successfully, weak drawing of the man and far too flat compared to the other images. There is a need to acknowledge the tradition of illustrated books whilst speaking in your own visual language, this is a balance I didnt achieve but is worth thinking about when attempting this again. Hopefully with another weeks work these could be improved- but I might try to expand the series to six images first to really get a sense of the whole book and create a body of work that is consistent

cover
'i then wanted a cigerette. But i hesitated because i didnt know if i could smoke in front of my dead mother...' ' .....the whiteness of the room seemed even more dazzling than before'

'.... That was when everything shook' ' ....and it was like four sharp knocks at the door of unhappiness'

'.... i had a tormenting desire for women...' '..... the feeling of the water and the freedom it would give me.... i imagined the sound of the first little waves...'

Ministry of Stories

2011-01-25T09:12:00.000-08:00

Towards the end of last year I was lucky enough to work on an image for the Ministry of Stories, a wonderful new creative writing centre for young people. Its based out the back of a Monster Supply Store on Hoxton street and based on the 826 Valencia , set up by Dave Eggers. You can read more about it here. I was given a written description of a monster 'Filthystien' by the Year 4 class at St Monica's RC Primary school ( you can read their full description of this monster here) and had to make a drawing to match. The finished image was a three colour screen print( kindly printed by Nobrow). some other great monster were created by the likes of Ben Newman and Stevie Gee. you can see them here.

Aubin and Wills

2011-01-25T09:04:00.000-08:00

Over the christmas period I was working on a four panel cover for Aubin and Wills magazine Almanac ,which will be out in the spring. For that reason I can t show the finished artwork yet but heres a some small crops. more to come nearer the time

Happy Christmas Everyone!

2010-12-17T14:56:00.000-08:00

A Graphic Cosmogony

2010-11-30T05:34:00.000-08:00

Thursday saw the launch of A Graphic Cosmogony, published by Nobrow, who once again have produced a book of beauty. Amazing print job, with great cloth spine detail provided by the cover artist Micah Lidberg. Much to my relief I got the colour separation almost right and my seven pages didnt turn out brown .

Its worth a visit to their shop/gallery to pick up a copy and see the current exhibition of the very talented Rob Hunter and Jon McNaught

2010-11-29T07:46:00.000-08:00

Been working on a rough idea for a childrens book with a friend. Its been interesting to try and shift my work to a mode that can work for that genre but this will need to be tested and judged by others soon. It has been a positive experiment because there was a better , more direct use of my initial drawings allowing the image to become richer through the digital process.

This still need lot of work and another trip to the zoo

New editorial

2010-11-26T07:27:00.000-08:00

its been a busy couple of weeks on the editorial front. Commissions have included a piece about the taxidermist Carl Akeley for the Washington Post , a series of images for Together Design for Safer Clinical Systems, an article about the exclusion of women from the boardroom for National Post, and a piece about the Dodd Frank reform on Wall st

It Nice That Issue 4

2010-10-27T10:30:00.001-07:00

It Nice That issue 4 is now out. A well designed and produced magazine full of interesting articles that expands upon the wealth of talent featured on their blog. Whilst the blog continues to provide a daily dose of the excellent work going on in the world, the printed magazine offers you a chance to slow down, spend time with the work they present and enjoy it again at a future date. I was lucky enough to draw portraits for the contributors section

To buy a copy click here

A Graphic Cosmogony

2010-10-27T10:20:00.000-07:00

I posted about a 7 page comic I was working on a while back for Nobrows 'a Graphic Cosmogony'- well, it's now available to pre order. you can read more and purchase it, if you so wish here. It full of talented folk giving their take on the idea of creation. heres the cover of the book and a couple of my pages.

2010-10-25T03:52:00.000-07:00

Iv e been making another set of cushions, still exploring how a narrative can work as decorative homeware but have an uneasy content. Theres an underlying theme of the mob rule, hunting etc in my personal work at the moment but this is only simmering away and not the priority in the cushions. what is more exciting is the limitations in the material and how it changes my visual language. whilst it remains important for me to make the originals purely in fabric im looking into ways they could be printed and how this might change the images again

sketchbook /limited colour

2010-10-22T03:09:00.000-07:00

Recently I have worked on a number of projects that have required a limited colour palette due to the reproduction process. Whilst I enjoy this way of working I worry sometimes it can be an 'effect' which is aesthetically pleasing but could disguise the drawing or content. To try and avoid this happening I have started a sketchbook to try to bring my initial drawings closer to the process. starting with the basic primary colours but this will develop in time

save the arts

2010-09-13T14:51:00.000-07:00

This animation by David Shrigley is the first installment of work by a series of artist involved in Save The Arts, a project attempting in to stop the government proposal of important art funding being slashed. Please take a minute to enjoy the animation and if you agree with the content, you can sign the petition here

'End' Comic for NoBrow

2010-08-10T06:30:00.000-07:00

Handed in the final artwork for The Graphic Cosmology last week. heres a double page spread for the 7 page comic. Will post when the book is set for release soon

The Globe and Mail

2010-08-10T06:19:00.000-07:00

really nice piece to illustrate about hoarding for Global and Mail magazine

todays news

2010-08-09T06:13:00.000-07:00

quick half day editorial piece in todays copy of The Times

Nobrow comic work in progress

2010-07-21T13:20:00.000-07:00

For the last week ive been working on a 7 page comic for the forthcoming release 'The Graphic Cosmogony' by Nobrow - a book feature a whole host of talent dealing with the theme of creation. The whole task has been exciting but daunting.

Here are the rough books i made just to get a balance to my story and work out the structure of each page, making sure the story reads.

at the same time i was tested methods that meant i could create the artwork that would maintain my interest by being able to shift enough away from the planned roughs.

making the leap to a much larger scale meant the artwork could come to the fore front for a while as the structure of the story was already in place

Nobrow use a four colour pantone print process. i tried a few ways of colouring the image but again, planning ahead meant the images where becoming more like what i expect to see in a comic rather than how i wanted to see my work in the format

These final drawings are getting somewhere. There is enough flexibility to allow me to hopefully tell the story whilst looking accidently the final comic will (hopefully)be finished next week

recent work

2010-07-11T05:06:00.000-07:00

New York Times.

a very quick turn around of 5 hours for this piece about the oil slick ability of people in Louisiana to carry on through a disaster

FT. Book review.

this top piece is work in progress. its a version that didn't get approved at the rough stage. i want to work it up anyway as its taking my work forward and away from a more straight forward construction of a narrative.

This version has less of a relation to the landscape description in the piece but is visually more interesting with the moon cut out dominating

Final piece to go for print. i was quite pleased with the final piece but it felt to like something i have seen time and time again in my work, which can be a symptom of commissioned work,referencing of past projects. hopefully the other version will offer something new and bit a bit more surprising

New Scientist

really interesting piece about the use of medication with autistic children.

i have quite strong ( but probably misguided ) views on this which become apparent in my first couple of roughs. the final piece became more about the different options/ dilemmas of treatments and that the visually shape of the children didnt fit it to what we , as society , expect as normal behaviour. the parents want what is best but it is a confusing puzzle, maze of theories.

Hand

2010-06-18T05:25:00.001-07:00

im very excited to announce my new book 'Hand' is now out. Published and beautiful hand screen printed by NoBrow. They have set about making a fantastic platform to showcase illustrators own authored work . Producing a variety of formats with the print process clearly thought about for each job. Visit their site to see work by a strong variety of worldwide artists

thanks to everyone involved in the printing etc at NoBrow

click here to buy 'Hand'

new commissions

2010-05-31T05:32:00.000-07:00

couple of new editorial pieces for business magazines in the US

new t-shirts

2010-05-28T04:55:00.000-07:00

I Had two packages arrive in the studio this week containing t shirts.

The boy t shirt is now on sale at Lazy Oaf in both boys and girls sizes. The Death one at Collective edition in either grey or white

very pleased with the results and excellent print quality so big thank you to both Lazy Oaf and Collective edition

woodcuts

2010-04-28T04:34:00.000-07:00

'Together & Apart'-A pair of reduction woodcuts now on show and for sale at the Pick Me Up show at somerset house until may 3rd

the images can be arranged to reflect the state of a relationship within a domestic setting. back to back united against the outside world and face to face in confrontation

i originally tried these images out as stencil screen prints but wasnt happy with the results. i thought it would fit naturally with the way i cut paper but it was too controlled, flat and i didnt allow the act of drawing to come through. the results where predictable with no real play in the medium. The lack of enjoyment in the process showed. At the same time i had been working on a reduction woodcut - a new process for me that was more rewarding , surprising and seemed to have more steam in invention. i learnt a lot reworking the images as woodcuts and look forward to producing more in the future

2010-04-19T15:16:00.000-07:00

A2 litho poster created for workshop by 'its nice that' taking place this thursday as part of the Ron Arad exhibition at the Barbican. click here for more info

cushions

2010-04-18T08:32:00.000-07:00

recently finished these two cushions as a gift. The front, a more narrative picture construct of a whale hunt, and the back shows two sides of the war in graphic symbols. The influence that has always been is in my paper work of asfaro flags comes even more to the forefront in these cushions. Being limited by skill and the physicality of the materials stops them having too much unnecessary detail and depth , which too often creeps into my paper work.

2010-04-15T08:43:00.000-07:00

been recently looking into ceramics and will hopefully find a suitable course soon. in the meantime ive been trying some ideas out with cheap clay. looking to make a series of vessels with plant bottle tops of the whole solar system. although i have an interest in space i can never remember the order of the planets so physical being able to place them in relative distance and space will have a learning value as well as hopefully being visually pleasing

penguin

2010-04-14T06:43:00.000-07:00

towards the end of last year i worked on two book jackets for books by Valdimir Nabokov, Pnin and Collected stories. They have just come out and are part of a larger series of covers designed by Pentagram. they provided the grid and a base pattern. the illustration is a response to both the writing and the pattern

screen print work in progress

2010-04-13T00:49:00.000-07:00

the stencil screen print i have been working on for somerset house is just needing the lack to finish. its been a good learning curve and the edition becomes smaller and smaller with every colour added due to mistakes. The image registration is perhaps too important on this image, not really embracing the technique and with 4 colours there is little chance for each stencil to match. the frisk film holds up a lot better than paper but with large areas can be tricky to apply without any small air bubbles that can trap ink. the aim was an edition of 20 but it could end up being between 5-10

somerset house 'pick me up' work in progress

2010-04-13T00:29:00.000-07:00

reduction woodcut after the first three layers. just black to print later this week

nobrow issue 3

2010-04-08T08:00:00.000-07:00

issue 3 of nobrow will be out soon an dive been lucky enough to be included in what is bound to be another beautifully produced publication full of talented illustrators. its printed with 4 colours so hopefully my separation will work out ok and the image will look something like the drawing below. ill say more about this image when its out in print

somerset house 'pick me up'

2010-04-06T14:37:00.000-07:00

peepshow are soon to be involved in the graphic arts fair 'pick me up' at somerset house.

ive started to play with some print ideas that i can simply do at the studio. hopefully there will be some worthwhile results.

working out stencil screen prints. two mocked up 4 colour prints that can be arranged have the notion of being together or apart. the basic stencil technique will mean the registration will probably be quite far off so it will be interesting to see if this adds or takes away from the image

we will be doing a workshop with some pre-made wood blocks. heres some of my quick tests. not working to well at present but just trying to find a way for my line to translate, maybe looking to predictable at the moment, not quite enough of a surprise.

models of display design for the show made and designed by the talented chrissie macdonald

LA Times

2010-04-06T14:34:00.000-07:00

recent job for the book review for the LA Times which is always a nice commission.

RSA magazine

2010-04-06T14:27:00.000-07:00

double page for RSA magazine. An article about the way information spreads, touching on social networking.

collective edition

2010-03-15T04:07:00.000-07:00

t shirt now on sale at collective edition. the colours have been surprisingly changed from the original artwork (green,black yellow) as seen on my original post about this project- probably in order to make it a two colour print.

commercial illustration

2010-02-08T09:00:00.000-08:00

heres some commercial jobs iv e been working on over the last two weeks

from top to bottom

1.therapy today magazine

2.therapy today magazine

3.therapy today magazine

4.LA Times

5.KPM records

duvet

2010-02-05T08:20:00.000-08:00

heres the final artwork for the duvet ive been working on. its a long way from where i started but some of the work in the process will manifest somewhere else,pillow cases to come soon and ill post once its online at collective editions

duvet design part 03

2010-01-27T15:05:00.000-08:00

with the recent duvet design project i had been dealing with pattern until i was given a brief. the commission was now to be based on a sketch i had previous shown the client of some houses. the brief was to combine this with a forest of some kind . this felt like well trodden territory both for me and a lot of illustration now. in order to try to get a fresh perspective some first hand drawing in epping forest was needed. the top and fourth drawings are the only ones that really informed me, told me something useful, more than just a drawing of a tree

duvet design part 02

2010-01-26T15:01:00.000-08:00

simple block print test for repeat pattern

duvet design part 01

2010-01-18T08:00:00.000-08:00

ive been working on a duvet design for collective editions over the christmas break. at first there was no brief so i took the chance to explore pattern. structured with repeat elements but with no ambition to redraw, work them up, imperfections left as the the rules to the pattern evolves through the drawing

Harpers magazine

2010-01-16T15:23:00.000-08:00

final illustration

worked up version

rough

new illustration for Harpers Magazine for a short story written by Myla Goldberg. In trying to get a lot of elements into the image, it became very disjointed in the early stages.

JDRF animation

2009-11-30T07:51:00.000-08:00

click here and make an animation from a kit of parts created by me and help raise awareness of Type 1 diabetes and the work JDRF do.

concept by Mischief, website by The Tin

drawings to screenprints

2009-11-24T01:11:00.000-08:00

in the summer i produced some narrative pencil drawings for 'inbetween' exhibition with peepshow (see earlier post). im trying to translate those drawings into screen prints by redrawing them in ink and changing the marks to suit the medium . hopefully the prints wont be a carbon copy of the originals but offer something different. this is just work in progress but more to come in the new year

xmas sales

2009-11-23T22:44:00.000-08:00

two christmas sales coming up where you can buy lots of goodies from everyone at peepshow and a whole host of talented folk. The first sale is saturday 28th november at The Crypt of St Pancras Church, Euston rd, London, NW1 28A from 11-6pm.

The second sale is on saturday 12th december at the Tab Centre behind Shoreditch Tabennacle church, 3 Godfrey Place,London,E27 NT

sketchbook 02:an evening at the british museum

2009-11-23T14:21:00.000-08:00

notes:

often drawing to record, work something out, these were created with the focus being on the act of drawing itself.

-when each mark is a recording of a reaction,

-when you see yourself in the drawing,

-observation as a catalyst for something imagined.

-takes time before any discovery made,

-alot of bad academic drawings in the process before getting anywhere interesting

-happiness

new york times

2009-11-23T01:46:00.000-08:00

piece on thanksgiving out in wednesdays edition

sketchbook 01

2009-11-19T15:17:00.000-08:00

i keep different sketchooks for different reasons and rarely show then as they feel private but perhaps its good to have some distance. these images are from one i keep on my desk at home to create disposable drawings at the end of the day.often the drawings are light and seem meaningless but have some joy. lately these drawings are becoming more informative than intended. void of reference and intent but always offering a spark.that is their worth

its the thought that counts

2009-11-17T08:00:00.000-08:00

two christmas cards just going to print. The cards show two epic journeys undertaken in order to get a precious , if slightly underwhelming gift of a twig or a rock. these will be on sale at some christmas sales soon. more details to come.

been thinking about print more and more which is causing my drawings to be produced with even less refinement, with a lack of weight or importance to them. i can see the mistakes or how i could redraw, add, develop but for now im happy to actually avoid that and let them not be over worked.

t shirts

2009-11-16T14:39:00.000-08:00

been working on some t shirt designs for a couple of different clients lately. heres just a few of the designs at various stages. decisions on what will finally go to print is yet to be made but a couple of these should be available in the new year

field work

2009-10-27T12:33:00.000-07:00

i will be showing a drawing and selling some goods at Field Work, a pop up shop from 19th oct-1st nov. click here for more info

back online

2009-10-20T13:27:00.000-07:00

just to let you know, my website is back up and will be a space to display random selections of both commissioned and personal work on a regular basis

heavy pencil party

2009-10-04T10:16:00.000-07:00

thursday night was the 1st birthday party of Heavy Pencil at the ICA. fun seemed to be had by all and it was great to see so many people drawing. drawing in any kind of public space/arena can pose some problems. personally i find the experience is nerve racking and slightly alien during, but beneficial afterwards. i think its hard to not try and draw to show off, which can be the worse kind of drawing, or to fall into a default mode but avoiding both of these issues in this situation is hard but a good challenge. i like what heavy pencil are doing and its good to think about drawing as a more open activity. thanks to all involved and the great live music from django django

island fold zine

2009-10-02T09:10:00.000-07:00

when i did my residency at Island fold i collaborated on a quick series of drawings with the talented Luke Ramsey. A lot of work was made during my time there and i had forgotten about these drawings until now. Seeing them take the from of a zine, lovingly put together by Island fold, is a real pleasure and a reminder that distance from your work is a good thing . You can buy a copy on their site .While your there i recommend looking around at their other publications. lots of great work by great artists and any purchase supports the generous spirit of Island fold.

YCN library

2009-10-01T10:04:00.000-07:00

YCN on rivington street london have started a library and kindly asked us at peepshow to add to their growing collection. we presented the books last night, so a big thank you to those who came along, asked questions and had a beer. it was a pleasure.

whale perfume

2009-09-27T15:32:00.000-07:00

i was recently asked to be involved in a a project called 'the open daybook' which is a perpetual diary being curated by david earle.each artist creates a piece of work on a specific date. the project has a lot of great artists involved including chris johanson, miranda july, shoboshobo and lots more. the book should be published in 2010. ive been reading and researching alot about whales recently so my day for this project was spent attempt to put some of that research into a practical piece of work. the image here isnt the actual piece for the diary ( ill post that nearer the publishing date) but is a result of what the project sparked. thanks to david earle for getting me involved

zoot magazine

2009-09-26T15:23:00.000-07:00

new illustration for zoot magazine. i was given a lot of freedom to create this image which is a response to a 'london diary' written by ruby king .The piece mainly focus is about aspects of dalston. the point the author makes about the term 'urban cool' being used in the media, really meaning that their is still money to be made out of property, was my main focus. the estate agent characters placing sold placards in anything are pictorially based on painting of colonists claiming new land.

other aspects of dalston inform the picture, such as the fact it used to be a woodland with deer.

im not sure how much of this communicates straight away but i think it becomes clear with the text and doesnt need to be a direct communication type of illustration

more animation

2009-09-02T13:25:00.000-07:00

dont think i ever posted the finished version of another animation me and pete mellor worked on for sleeproon so here it is.

from www to zzz from Peepshow Collective on Vimeo.

animation

2009-09-02T13:20:00.000-07:00

just finished working with pete mellor on this animation for a website being created by sennep.

looking back, im not too sure about the message behind the animation but as an exercise in translating dry information it was quite interesting

Unilever from Peepshow Collective on Vimeo.

comic / work in progress

2009-09-01T04:59:00.001-07:00

iv e been thinking about a story for an animation for a while and managed to storyboard it last week. i decided to tackle it by producing a comic and here are a few images from my first attempt. because it was created with no planning the visual language is a bit confused as there are times when it falls into a grey area of neither possessing any intuitive charm or well considered visual structure. as a vehicle to help the animation progress it is fine as it will naturally change from collaboration. but im thinking of also pushing it as a comic in its own right sometime in the future

it felt like a kiss

2009-08-10T13:46:00.000-07:00

the new film 'it felt like a kiss' by adam curtis is on the bbc blog for a limited time and well worth a viewing. it was originally a site specific collaboration with the punchdrunk theatre company and i think its coming to london later in the year, so you may want to wait until then to see it. click here to read more or here to watch the film.like most of his films some of the imagery can be disturbing.

process/limitations of visual language

2009-07-05T05:59:00.000-07:00

i am currently working on an animation with pete mellor. the script deals with some ambient content such as how to 'assessing research' and other marketing terms. it also contains sensitive issues with low literacy levels in 'developing markets'. whilst the problems presented with this project are quite typical for illustration, i have struggled to make my visual language feel right for the job in hand. its work in progress but here are my initial drawings.

island fold

2009-07-03T05:46:00.000-07:00

in april i was lucky enough to spend some time at the wonderful Island fold. i havent looked at the work i created there since returning to london .looking at them now, i can see there was an attempt at a conventional narrative. i will continue with this project over the summer but for now here are three of the drawings

its nice that interview

2009-06-17T16:35:00.000-07:00

thanks to alex and will over at 'its nice that' for the interview and photos of the current peepshow exhibition that opens today.click here to read and see more.

exhibition

2009-06-12T11:02:00.000-07:00

busy working on some new drawings for the forthcoming exhibition along with the rest of peepshow. the show runs from the 18th june for one month at dreamspace gallery. click here for more information

illustrated ape

2009-06-12T10:53:00.000-07:00

two double page illustrations for the next couple of illustrated ape magazine

the waiting room exhibition

2009-05-29T03:00:00.000-07:00

hi, if your in manchester this sunday i will be there with an exhibition of my work and some prints for sale so come by and say hello. the show is kindly put on my dr. me and you can find out more information here. thanks

big issue

2009-05-27T13:51:00.000-07:00

new illustration for this weeks big issue.

short stories

2009-05-13T15:32:00.001-07:00

i started doing these two page narrative drawings when i was on pender island with island fold ( more to follow about that soon)

going offline

2009-05-06T06:16:00.000-07:00

hello. you may of noticed that i have taken my website down , leaving just a holding page and this news section. this is in no way a permanent decision but i am interested in what an online profile actually generates? i have also been feeling nervous lately about how much of my work is floating round the internet and is not being seen in context. i appreciate people like visiting my website and thank you for your support. i will keep the news updated with where my work can be seen and projects i am working on whilst i rethink the best way of presenting my work online. id also be happy to hear your thoughts on this issue. thanks

LA Times

2009-04-24T10:29:00.000-07:00

new illustration for the LA Times book review

todays guardian

2009-04-22T02:11:00.000-07:00

hello. i have an illustration in todays guardian newspaper on the front of the society section. its an interesting article about the needs of the social work system and the people involved. well worth a read plus you get my drawing for free. it was an interesting piece to work on and also how the header was written in response to the illustration which made the whole process a solid collaboration

tomorrows news

2009-02-23T10:14:00.000-08:00

new illustration for the education section in tomorrows guardian newspaper

ICA live drawing

2009-02-19T14:39:00.001-08:00

join the super talented andrew rae and myself at 'Heavy pencil' for an evening of live drawing to music at the ICA of the 5th of march

brian wildsmith

2009-01-02T08:51:00.000-08:00

i recently purchased' the twelve days of christmas' by brian wildsmith.

his first childrens book was published in 1962 and he has won various awards over the years. alot of his book contain themes of animals, nature, or are based on fables but i had never seen this one before. it feels very contemporary in its use of colour and pictorial abstraction

the ghost of christmas past

2009-01-02T08:30:00.000-08:00

being back home over christmas is always a nostalgic time. this year i found a box of old skate videos including the classic public domian. heres a classic clip

adventures in lithography

2009-01-02T08:25:00.000-08:00

over the christmas holidays i managed to get a chance to try lithography, thanks to the great technicians at Camberwell. its a process the responds well to direct drawing and something i will try to push in 2009

red stone design christmas card

2008-12-21T06:36:00.000-08:00

just designed a christmas card for red stone design. it will also be printed on an apron so ill post that once its complete

if you could.. catalogue

2008-12-16T10:08:00.000-08:00

the catalogue for the print series by 'if you could.....' is now available to buy from their website. It is a collection of all 24 prints produced over the last year and includes work by Kam Tang, Antony Burrill, Hellovon and many more. Also an exhibition of all the prints can be seen until the end of the month at Kemistry gallery

christmas sales

2008-12-05T10:43:00.000-08:00

let the joy begin! two christmas sales. the first is this sunday, the 7 th dec at concrete Hermit from 11am -6pm and if you cant make that then there is even more goodies up for grabs on wednesday the 10th at the THree Kings Pub , 7 clerkenwell close EC1R ODY. joining me will be the rest of peepshow, garudio studiage, emily forgot, hellovon and more

hope to see you there