Thursday, January 31, 2008

Illustration Friday - "Tales and Legends" No 4


And yet another poster for the Winter's Tale.

I think in some ways this one is my favourite, this and the first one.

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Illustration Friday - "Tales and Legends" No 3


I'm obsessing now methinks.

Another bash at the Winter's Tale.

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Illustration Friday - "Tales and Legends" No 2


I've a bit of a thing for Shakespeare.

The Winter's Tale is a play seldom played ( and it's not one I've seen) - perhaps, with its mix of dream countries, exotic wild animals, supernatural beings (even Old Father Time himself is in there!), bizarre events like a woman saved in a trunk from shipwreck and a statue coming to life, initial tragedy and eventual comic redemption makes it a dish too rich and headily spiced for modern palettes to stomach.

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Wednesday, January 30, 2008

Illustration Friday - "Tales and Legends"

Aesop's fable of the Fox and the Crow.

Here is the story;
A Fox once saw a Crow fly off with a piece of cheese in its beak and settle on a branch of a tree.
"That's for me, as I am a Fox," said Master Reynard, and he walked up to the foot of the tree.
"Good day, Mistress Crow," he cried. "How well you are looking today: how glossy your feathers; how bright your eye. I feel sure your voice must surpass that of other birds, just as your figure does; let me hear but one song from you that I may greet you as the Queen of Birds."
The Crow lifted up her head and began to caw her best, but the moment she opened her mouth the piece of cheese fell to the ground, only to be snapped up by Master Fox.
"That will do," said he. "That was all I wanted. In exchange for your cheese I will give you a piece of advice for the future: "Do not trust flatterers."

This was part of a double-page spread I was asked to produce for an AOI ( Association of Illustrators) forthcoming publication, The Illustrator's Guide to Law and Business Practice, coming out this month I think.
The chapter was about Negotiating, and so I've shown 6 examples of situations where negotiation played a key part.
They are;
A victorian Parisian enquiring as to the price of ..une poule de trottoir,
the crusader and Death playing chess (Seventh Seal),
a deal struck between a Morrocan carpet salesman and a European traveller,

Benjamin Disraeli flattering Queen Victoria,
Aesop's fable of the Fox and the Crow,
and a Navajo chieftan trading with a frontier Fursman.


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Tuesday, January 29, 2008

Illustration Friday - "Juggler" revisited

This is a piece I did towards the end of last year, but have revamped with some text and an enhanced background. Its portfolio updatin' time!



and how it was before



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Thursday, January 24, 2008

Guardian Finance 26 Jan 08


A piece about clever investing to ride out the (alledgedly) forthcoming recession.

Snakes and ladders.

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Wednesday, January 23, 2008

Robert Burns/ Burns Night


The annual celebration of all things Scottish and Scotland's best-known poet, the man who gave us Tam O'Shanter, Auld Lang Syne, the Address To A Haggis and wee timorous beasties.

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Tuesday, January 15, 2008

Fat Chunk -Vol.1 "Robot"



I was asked to be involved in the following, and these here
are my efforts ;-

FAT CHUNK is a collaborative comic book featuring a
collection of different artists, each contributing
work based on a theme. We find artists from all over
the world, based in any discipline, from well-known
comic titans to fresh new webcomic talent, from
influential street artists to custom toy designers,
and throw them together to make one hefty and exciting
comic.

The aim of FAT CHUNK is to produce a great comic book
featuring diverse approaches to chosen themes, and to
open up each artist's work to new audiences. To shout
the word about artists we love, and show off some
great untapped talent.

FAT CHUNK VOLUME ONE : ROBOT will be a 144-page book
published in May 2008 by Slave Labor Graphics. VOLUME
TWO will then follow in November 2008.

See the artists involved, including previews, at
WWW.FATCHUNKCOMIC.COM

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Guardian Education 15 January 08


A piece for today's Guardian Education section ( and my first post on here for some time, sorry about the hiatus, it shan't (hopefully!) happen again!).

It's about the importance of front-of-class teaching, as opposed to teachers increasingly taking on the less effective and more passive role as class facilitators.

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