Wednesday 27 March 2013

Ignatius and the hot dogs

Today it is snowing and I am listening to Richard Hawley's songs that sound like my summer holidays in Lowestoft. I hope the sun comes back one day.
This week I am working on a mountain of beautiful commissions that have found their sweet way to me. I just realised that despite having worked endlessly (well, 10.30-6 with time for a long lunch and possibly a nap) for the past AGES I have nothing I can put on my blog because it's all for publishers and stuff. So instead here is a picture what I done for my fine friend Pointy Ear Fraser of previous blog infamy (he likes being in my blogs you see).
I recently read A Confederacy of Dunces by John Kennedy Toole at Fraser's recommendation and it was a truly excellent read. I love Ignatius and his silly ways, so I drew him for Fraser's birthday. He is having a look at some hot dogs.
So because I have nothing else that I can do a show and tell on, here is Ignatius.

Monday 18 March 2013

HELP!

This week I am working at the Sick Kids on Wednesday and Thursday, and I am really looking forward to it this month. Linda and I have been planning away and now we get to work on a very exciting thing.

For those of you who don't know, the Royal Hospital for Sick Children in Edinburgh (Sick Kids) is a very old building. It is getting a bit sad now, so Edinburgh are getting a brand new hospital out by the new infirmary at Little France. The move is due to happen in 2017 and there are many plans afoot.
Part of my job is to document the old building, as well as consulting on the new building, and one way that we are doing this is by writing and illustrating a picture book about the move.

Linda has written the first part, and now we are asking EVERYONE for ideas about how they think the hospital should physically move to Little France. This week we will be scattering (neatly, I like Wombles) sheets asking for help and they will look like this...


If you fancy helping out then let me know and I will send you a copy of the story so far and the drawing sheet (you don't have to draw, you can write, or do both).



As well as this, we will be handing out Easter cards featuring this here illustration, and a poem by Linda on the back.


The last thing that we have been concentrating on is a Special Story book for a boy who isn't enjoying his injections so much. It is hopefully going to distract him a bit, and also make the hospital loads of fun. I hope he likes it. I am going to try it out on as many children as possible this week in the hope that they can all have one maybe. Here is a bit of it. I want to colour it in immediately.


That's all for now. It's snowing and I want some fish fingers. Before I forget to mention my pal with the lovely pointy ear...Fraser became an uncle today. HOORAY!

Friday 8 March 2013

Werewolf Ear

I have just been informed that my pal and chip eating, beer drinking and chic partner in crime Fraser's werewolfesque ear is the star of my blog. By Fraser, of course. So in honour of this fact, here is a photograph that I took of it yesterday. I hope you like it. He looked a bit like a leprechaun yesterday apparently.

School MEals and a rabbit in odd socks

For the past few months I have been working with Vivian French, the level 2 illustration students of Edinburgh College of Art, and the P3/4s and P7s of Dalmeny Primary School. We have been writing recipes to instruct people how we would be created. Mine involved napping, swimming pools and lots of ink, amongst other ingredients.
Last week we had a great morning at the art college. All the pupils involved came to visit, and we had a big table full of plates which illustrated the recipes. We also had another table full of cake and I think that was my favourite one actually.
Here is a poster that I made. I contains self portraits of all the children involved. Some of them are peas and some of them are carrots and some of them are splats of custard. One of them looks like a criminal in the making, but I'm pretty sure he's not. 


As well as working on this project above, I have also been at the Sick Kids this week. There is a lot of planning going on still at this stage, so we concentrated on that this week. I now have a mountain of drawing to get done so that I can take in some Easter cards to hand out, and a special book for a boy who is struggling to have his injections. It really means a lot to me that Linda and I might be able to help him a little bit. Linda has written a lovely poem for the Easter card so today will be spent illustrating that. Here is a rabbit close-up from an illustration for a poem written by a patient at the Sick Kids. He wears odd socks and hides them under rocks apparently. I like his feet quite a lot.