illustrations

The one that got away!

| N4 Sketch Pad

Our mocked-up designs for the ‘Dressing the Porte Cocheres’ open submission in Milton Keynes. Sadly, not to be, but a very interesting project, nonetheless.

We chose the ideas of dreams and hopes to link various themes and reflect the aspirations of a young city like Milton Keynes. The wishing star and the heart-shaped cloud are symbols intended to convey this – aim for the sky, head in the clouds, reach for the stars, follow your heart –  and the sky, depicted both as day and night, was intended to convey creative dreaming, as well as sporting dreams and ambitions. The whole thing was designed to be reproduced using a limted number of stencils.

Rainbow Cook Book

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Illustration for the Appliances Online Newworld Colours Collection Rainbow Cook Book.

Rainbow Cook Book

I couldn’t get that Dean Martin song out of my head when I was working on this piece. Hannah, who provided the recipe for the colour red on her blog homebakedonline.com, talked about her experiences of working in a takeaway as a teenager. I was trying to imagine a takeaway pizza place in Italy – not a rubbish one but authentic like Hannah  describes – and so the Vespa had to be included. I created a watercolour ink wash which I scanned and dropped in to give the red theme. As well as representing the sky, it has the feel of tomato pulp. The texture also reminds me the distressed walls you find in old Italian towns. 

Pop-up Workshops

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Training up the next generation of paper engineers in Our Lady Queen of Heaven Primary School in Wandsworth last Monday.

It’s amazing how far a little knowledge can go. I also like to think I’m providing a back door (and a pop-up one at that!) to books, reading and writing, as well as helping the fight against graphophobia.

Training up the next generation of paper engineers in Our Lady Queen of Heaven Primary School in Wandsworth last Monday.

It’s amazing how far a little knowledge can go. I also like to think I’m providing a back door (and a pop-up one at that!) to books, reading and writing, as well as helping the fight against graphophobia.

World Book Day

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A big thanks to the children of Mount Carmel in Ealing for letting me spend World Book Day with them.   JOHN

And thanks to the children in Reception for joining in so enthusiastically
– 1, 2, 3, WATCH OUT IN THE JUNGLE!!!

Where to find us this week-end

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Irma will be showing work at the SAF Art Fair 2011 on Saturday 10th.
The fair, organised by Southwark Arts Forum, is part of this week-end’s Thames Festival . Look for her in Hay’s Galleria on Jubilee Walk on the south bank of the river between 12 noon and 8pm.

Il Fischio nel Paesaggio 30 x 50 cm

John will be signing and selling books at the Gillespie Park Festival on Sunday 11th.
This takes place at Gillespie Park Local Nature Reserve, 91 Drayton Park, Highbury, London, N5 1PH. The event starts at 12 noon and finishes at 5 pm.