HAPPY CHRISTMAS (almost)

Here are my Christmas cards this year. They arrived from the printers last week and they sure are a quality item, so I am only sending them to people who I really like (If anyone is upset by this I will use the excuse that I didn't have your address). I think it will take me until next Christmas to set up my Etsy shop, but next year I am going to order loads and sell them. Hopefully. I keep forgetting the name of the animal on the left but I am told it is a reindeer. I borrowed the squirrel character from a story I wrote about a hedgehog who wants to stay up late in the snow.

Paper Tiger cards

Here is an example of one of the 'basics' range of cards that I have produced for Paper Tiger. They will be coming out soon at a good price! Many occasions covered, more to be added!

It's Christmas next month

If you are in Edinburgh and happen to be walking down Stafford Street you will be seeing quite a lot of my work around the place. Paper Tiger and Studio One commissioned me to produce their Christmas advertising and here are two of the posters that are in their A-boards at the moment. I drew these ages ago now....time flies.....

And now for something completely different...

Somehow I am still managing to work on other great jobs despite Lollipop and Grandpa taking over my life. Studio One always have lovely work for me, and this is a poster we worked on together recently to encourage people to go down the stairs to their ace shop. It's important to balance my head out with big, bold shapes in addition to drawing characters and trees for months. I am also at some point going to be working with 3 bands soon, and I can't wait for that.

Have 2 months really gone by?

So 2 months have apparently gone by since my last post, SCARY! I have been working so hard on getting things ready for Frankfurt Book Fair that I don't remember what it's like to have a social life. If it wasn't for my good friends at swimming then I don't think I would have spoken to more than 4 people since last month! I think it is all ready now though, so I am sighing a huge sigh of relief and getting ready to draw the last 15 pages of the book (by the end of the month which is a bit tight!).

So anyway.....here is the cover for the first in the LOLLIPOP AND GRANDPA series, written by Penny Harper and illustrated by ME!!!! There will be more coming out in the next year. I can't wait to start on the next one which is set in a swimming pool.

More from Phoenix Yard

I am now featured on the Phoenix Yard website! Read all about me (if you want to!) here:

http://www.phoenixyardbooks.com/authors_illustrators.php

Now to get on with some illustrating!

Phoenix Yard Books

Very exciting news today on Twitter and the Phoenix Yard Books website.... they have announced that I am officially their illustrator for the Lollipop and Grandpa series of books! I have been working with them on this for a few months now, so I am pleased that I can finally post about this. Check out the link for more information.

http://www.phoenixyardbooks.com/news.php?id=37

Lions and Crocodiles and Elephants!

ROOOOOOOOAR! I was a very busy artist last month and gave myself a bit of extra work to do in the form of printing flat-pack animals to build yourself! Here is Mr Lion. He has two friends, Mr Elephant and Mr Crocodile. They are all printed now and will soon be available to buy in the lovely Paper Tiger in Edinburgh, and on my soon-to-be-created online shop Cate's Zoo! 

Grandpa version 3 (I think)

Here he is again. He has been with a moustache, without a moustache and now with one again. I love this crazy old guy. With a bit of luck (and possibly a bit more thinking and drawing) I will be spending a lot of time with him soon!

Two owls on a branch please

I have started a new venture in conjunction with one of my favourite clients this month. We are designing and printing wedding invitations, and all the associated bits and pieces that go with them. This is one of our first designs (to be printed as a folding A6 card so the design continues onto the back) which is for a lovely couple who gave me the brief: "We would like two owls on a branch". I was delighted with that and I hope that they love their wedding invites.

Dark Tales

At the moment I am working on a really wide range of things which keeps me as balanced as I possibly can be. After the bright colours of 3-7 year olds and band stuff I have enjoyed working on illustrations for 8-12 year olds. This is one of my favourite things lately which is for some really quite nasty and dark stories for older kids. 

GO SEE THE MODERN FACES!

Here is a great looking flyer for a great band!

And look who they are supporting, how very exciting. 

I love doing this kind of work so any bands, please get in touch!

MORE birds (makes a change from foxes)

Birds birds birds.

21 pigeons to be exact. This is what I am doing today, although the actual work is for kids so this version is purely for me. I redrew the little blighters to be more kids-book friendly and have just finished it. Again, it's for a publisher so fingers crossed once more.

Why do roughs look better than finished artwork?

Here are 2 characters I am working on at the moment for a publisher. Fingers crossed they will love them and ask me to illustrate their books.

These guys are pretty much me and my Grandad in the old days when everything was fun and I was still small. Although at 5'2" I don't think I've grown that much!

My Grandad was an amazing artist and I think of him everytime I draw.

I think he accidentally threw me in a river once. He definitely covered me in ketchup (by accident) and he could build anything at all with a few boxes, sheets of cardboard and a roll of masking tape. Genius!

Modern Faces

For those of you who don't know me, I am REALLY into my music, and love working with bands.

These guys are the amazing Modern Faces from Dunfermline (and their loyal and enthusiastic fans) at Capitol in Glasgow last a couple of weeks ago. 

I was being their photographer for the evening, and after immediately breaking my camera upon arrival I fixed it with a screwdriver and a miracle, and got some good shots.

Hopefully I will be working with them on artwork and things in the future.

They are supporting Kasabian next month at two of their English gigs, very exciting indeed!

Birds

Here we are, back again with more stuff.

As previously mentioned, my very good friend Holly Archer and I are having an exhibition in York soon, and here is a sneak preview of one of the screenprints I have printed from our collaborative drawings.

This is the colour-scheme for all 9 birds. So far I have printed 4 and I can't wait to get back into the workshop to get the other 5 onto paper. LOVE screenprinting!

Bones

Animal bones are far more interesting to draw than actual animals I discovered last December on a drawing trip to the Kelvingrove Museum in Glasgow. There was less snow there than in Edinburgh which was a nice break from walking like a penguin, and I took Kate on her first journey on the Clockwork Orange.

These fine chaps are the starting point for work I am showing in an exhibition in York this summer with my good friend Holly Archer.

I am also screenprinting some birds tomorrow that we drew whilst sitting with Holly's Masters show last August. It was boring and we always love a drawing competition. They are getting thrown on the wall in the exhibition too. Exciting times!

New Old Work

I recently rediscovered some work I started years ago. I think it was for some kind of competition that I didn't ever enter. When I was a Masters student I spent a lot of time listening into people's conversations and writing them in my sketchbook. Weirdly one of them featured the name of a person I later met in Leicester (probably not the same exact one, and to be honest he's someone I wish I hadn't met). These images are based on some of the words I wrote and illustrated in my massive sketchbook that smells a bit like sick.

Yet another fox

Latest work on my exciting project.........

I love working on this little chap, he is very very cute.

FREMSLEY!

I was lucky enough this week to meet the great illustrator Jonny Hannah at eca. He did a fantastic talk about his work, spoke to me about my work, and set a 48 hour brief to come up with a poster to advertise an imaginary record shop in Cowdenbeath.

From a list of possible spoken pieces to use for inspiration I chose "Fremsley" by Ivor Cutler. He is my new hero and Fremsley is my new favourite thing ever! Please look it up in YouTube. Cutler's work has been used in David Shrigley's work too.

This is my poster.

FREMSLEY.

New Story

I am VERY excited to be working on a project with a very good friend of mine who just happens to be an amazing author for kids. It is top secret at the moment, but here are some character sketches.

I love drawing foxes.

Filmhouse Poster

The successor to my role as Illustration Studio Assistant last year at eca has organised an exhibition in The Filmhouse cinema next month showcasing work produced in our print workshop. The brief was to choose a film, design a poster and print it. Simple. 

I chose Betty Blue, a French film from 1986, and here is my poster design. I screenprinted it.

Come along to see them all from March 12th (I think!).

Paper Tiger

As usual it has been too long since I posted anything new up here so I think there may be a wave of new stuff hitting my blog in the next week.

I am very pleased to now be working with Paper Tiger and Studio One on their posters and advertising. They want to keep some of their iconic images and use them in contemporary ways.

This is the latest; a Valentine's advertisement due to hit The Scotsman.

I am working on Studio One, and trying to design a series of images for them to use around the shop and in their advertising.