Forty years of Superman The Movie

In cinemas at Christmas forty years ago Superman The Movie brought audiences 'the gift of flight'. The north pole, a man in red who flies... Superman is a Christmas movie right?

50 years of Revolution

Another 50th anniversary in 2018 - Lennon's Revolution, and The Beatles' White Album. I painted this mock 7" single sleeve for Revolution, though it was only ever a B side to Hey Jude. The artwork also has an anniversary of sorts as I first sketched the concept 20 years ago!

2001: A Space Odyssey - tête-bêche

Another tête-bêche style  2001: A Space Odyssey piece.

2001 - 2 in 1

With the year racing towards it's close, I've been thinking of the various pop culture anniversaries that came and went this year. First up is Stanley Kubrick's 2001 - A Space Odyssey, which turned 50 in 2018! It's ageing pretty well I'd say. Here's some fan art for it, where the viewer gets to choose the orientation.

Remember

Happy Bonfire Night!

Unholy Trinity

Something for Halloween. Sort of inspired by Stephen King's musings in Danse Macabre on the progenitors of modern horror - Dracula, Frankenstein, and The Strange case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde.

Blue Door - Horror Short

Anyone out there able to help this very creepy short Horror film onto screens? I did some initial concept sketches (above) for the writers last year, and now I really want to see the finished thing. Filming is completed with Gemma Whelan (Game of Thrones, Moorside) in the lead, but a little extra money is needed for post production. If you think you can help please visit their kickstarter page.
Thanks
L

Beauty and the Beast

The Grand Tour

Initial sketches I worked on last year for the planning of a worldwide PR stunt for Amazon Prime's motoring show The Grand Tour. It was fun to work on and was supposed to be light-hearted, but some didn't see the funny side, as this Guardian article makes clear. In hindsight they probably have a point, car crashes aren't that much fun in real life.

I like the article's quote from Gary Rae, from road safety charity Brake "...car worship is dated and misplaced." I wish I could get my four year old son to agree with that... we might be able able to curb his addiction to Hot Wheels cars!

Kylo Fett

As 2017 is the 40th anniversary of something called 'Star Wars' I thought it only fitting that my first post of the year should should pay homage to it's past and present. So here's two of the SW universe's masked men, in an unlikely team-up. This one's for Will, thanks for the inspiration.

Have a Dandy Christmas!

'Tis the season (in the UK anyway) for the giving and receiving of Dandy and Beano annuals, so here's my take on the stars of those comics. This was drawn for the birthday of an avid collector a little while ago. Hopefully he gets his 2017 editions in his stocking this Christmas.

Strange Cumberbatch

It's been eight years since I produced my 'young' Doctor Strange themed illustration. I thought the impending release of the Doctor Strange movie was a good excuse to revisit the character, so here he is, hopefully with a hint of Mr Cumberbatch about him.

Goodbye David Cameron MP

A bit of odd synchronicity today. I was looking through my blog post archives only to find a post I'd drafted but never published. It contained this attempt to capture David Cameron doing his 'earnest' face, at about the time he became PM. No sooner had I found it than the BBC news website chirped up with the new he was quitting as an MP. So this seems like possibly the last relevant time to post it. Instead of 'Hello David Cameron PM' it's 'Goodbye David Cameron MP'.

Surrey Life - Deepdene Trail Article

No I haven't taken over Gruffalo duties from Axel Scheffler, it's the cover to the September issue of Surrey Life which feature an article on the new Deepdene Trail accompanied by my illustrations. The artwork was originally commissioned by Squiggle Design for use with the trail's information boards and apps. Should you be near Dorking, the trail has it's grand opening tomorrow, 10th September.

Every Quiet Moment - Concept Sketches

Pre-production sketches illustrating key scenes for short film Every Quiet Moment (2014).

The Other Woman - cover illustration

It would have been appropriate had I managed to post this on bastille day, but here only a couple of days late is the finished cover to the Second installment in Graham Thomas' Roxy Compendium - The Other Woman. In this prequel to Hats off to Brandenburg, Abigail Hardwoode takes centre stage in a bid to save her family against the backdrop of Revolutionary France.

The Other Woman turns her back

My design for the back of forthcoming Roxy Compendium entry The Other Woman. Included is a little insight into the story, set some time before the events of Hats off to Brandenburg, and a visual hint that we might be in for a splash or two of the red stuff.

Bertie and Bean character designs

Two different approaches for character designs for the Bertie and Bean website.

Three Grandfathers

Exploring colour/texture options for a Grandfather character I drew for a Children's book set in Kenya.