brighton & hove's artist open houses

I haven't posted much lately - I've been so busy getting prepared for Brighton & Hove's Artists Open Houses next month. Designer Martha Mitchell and milliner Lizzie Lock very kindly asked me to exhibit at their Albert Mews studio along with some other exciting artists & designers including ceramics by Anna Collette Hunt, lighting by Curiosa & Curiosa and knitwear by Gabrielle Vary.

It all kicks off with a preview night this Friday and then the studio is open to the public for the next 3 weekends. I'm very excited to be showing my work like this for the first time. I'll be selling Christmas cards, wrapping paper, tote bags, notebooks and an A-Z poster of gangsters. Here's a sneak preview of Jesse James and The Krays ...

haunted houses

These haunted houses are part of a series by Spanish artist Valero Doval.  He makes use of vintage imagery to make his collages. I particularly like his addition of hand drawn lines & colour - especially the geometric sprirograph shapes in the Zeppelin series.

mr racoon

I came across James Ward's illustrated plates and cups a while back and I've started to see them around and about in shops and magazines.  My favourite was the Sandwich Defender until I spotted Mr Racoon the other day - he's the absolute best! While I hate to mention the 'C' word before Halloween is over, Mr Racoon will definitely be on my Christmas wish list!

melissa castrillon

The latest issue of my absolute favourite magazine, Oh Comely, features a little interview with illustrator Melissa Castrillon and some examples of pages from her sketch book. Her work is fun and quirky and full of lovely textures. I checked out her website and here are some lovely things I found...

newt in a suit

A little character I drew this week.

Depeapa

I was leafing through a copy of Australian magazine Frankie while I waited for a haircut and this lovely beardy fellow caught my eye. He's by Depeapa (aka Veronica de Arriba) a Spanish artist from Granada. So, not only does she make lovely illustrations but she lives in a beautiful city in my favourite country...no I'm not jealous! Here are some more of her delightful drawings .... she makes awesome jewellery too!

day after day in NOD

Some months back I donated $5 to Andy J Miller's Kickstarter project. Every week day for a year Andy posted a picture of his latest NOD inhabitant - a brilliant and colourful array of creatures to inhabit his imaginary land. My $5 dollars got me a lovely screen printed thank you postcard but I really wish I'd put in more so I could get my hands on a screen print of a NOD creature. It's hard to pick just one or two favourites - check out the rest of the little guys here.

Shop

I've opened up an online shop on Etsy. I'm currently selling greetings cards and hand-illustrated notebooks but I'll be adding more over the coming weeks and months. Check it out!

fifi lapin

I came across fifi lapin's superfun blog the other day. These great illustrations show 'fifi' dressed up in catwalk fashion. I love it!

feral at free range

The last of this season's graduate shows that I have attended - Feral was the exhibition put on by Arts University College Bournemouth illustration graduates as part of Free Range at The Truman Brewery in East London. My top pick from this show was Jack Molyneux. I picked up this postcard - just love the shadows...especially the figure in the middle.

The image is a poster design he did for his publication Agent Zigzag, based on the life of English pre-war criminal and wartime spy Eddie Chapman. You can view the publication here.