Serco Prize for Illustration 2012- London's Ancient Trees

My entry to the AOI's  Serco Prize for Illustration has been chosen to exhibit at the London Transport Museum again this year.

This year's theme was 'Secret London'- exploring a hidden side to the capital. My subject is the great ancient trees that populate London's parks, streets and gardens. I sought to convey the strength and grandeur of these elder residents of the city. As they grow to many hundreds of years old, each tree seems to take on a unique personality of its own. They grow to huge size, twist into bizarre forms, support ecosystems and watch patiently as the world goes on around them, tiny humans scuttling to and fro cocking things up.

At risk of sounding overtly hippyish... trees are pretty damn awesome.

The tree sketch I posted previously, drawn from life in Kensington Gardens, formed the basis of the finished image. I exaggerated and simplified the form and size of the tree, gave it a sprinkling of new buds to make sure it didn't look dead, and added a few awe-struck Londoners. Penciled, inked mostly with a brush, and Photoshopped.

It was a cracking exhibition last year and I'm greatly looking forward to the 2012 show.

Full info on the competition and the exhibiting illustrators can be found on the AOI.

Thames Poster

I did this for that London Transport Museum/ AOI competition- a poster for the Thames. This is based on the under-appreciated stretch of the river beyond the Thames Barrier. The image is based on my sketchbook scrawls from a morning visit. Going to give it a couple more hours' loving soon I think.

Jake's Cabinets

I went down to Potters Field on friday to see Jake Spicer, who was running free outdoor figure-drawing in the park as part of the Big Draw. 

Jake runs the Brighton Life Drawing Sessions, and he had brought up one of three wheeled cabinets he has fashioned for an all-night mobile life drawing extravaganza that he is hosting in Brighton on saturday as part of the city's White Night. A pretty awesome and ambitious idea- you can find out more about Enlightenment, Life Drawing from the Cabinets of Wonder (and see a photo of one of the brilliant cabinets) here. If you're ever in Brighton I'd thoroughly recommend getting along to one of his life classes too.

Thanks very much to Jake and co for a great couple of hours drawing in the park.

Jack Bauer

A digi-coloured version.

Car

My old Clio has been replaced, so I thought I'd better sit out and draw the old thing before passing her on to some little scamp. 5 and a half years of (sometimes) reliable service. I've got to say, drawing close-up foreshortened cars is hard. She even passed the MOT this morning. I couldn't believe it. So, if anyone's looking for a nice little run-around motor, let me know...

Oscar

A pic for a friend's birthday card.

Statue

I went with my girlfriend to check out the newly reopened Medieval & Renaissance galleries at the V&A on saturday. It was ace (although a room or two were still closed off). I'd thoroughly recommend taking a look . Managed a couple of sketches: the first is of a cast of Donatello's Judith and Holofernes, the second is a renaissance statue of Apollo.

Streetfolk

I've been sorting all my paintbrushes and pencils into jars on my desk this morning, which made me ridiculously happy and excited.

Tiny monstermountain.



From a Thai gameshow.

Sleepyhead Pat : )

Spot the dead Neon

The fighter (see previous post) has a solitary Neon Tetra to keep him company. I drew him quite a few times.

How about this for some wallpaper, eh?

Oscar

Happy New Year y'all! First post of the year goes to my dog Oscar, whom I seem to have been doing the exact same sketch of repeatedly recently.

Thailand

Throughout August and September I spent a fantastic four weeks and one day in Thailand visiting my lovely girlfriend and her family. As well as a couple of weeks in Bangkok we managed to travel around a good deal, seeing several extremes of a stunning, friendly, frequently surprising country. We flew to Phuket in the south, Chiang Mai in the north, and visited Kanchanaburi, Hua Hin and the old ruined capital of Ayutthaya on the central plains.

I didn't manage to do a whole lot of drawing during the trip, sticking more to my camera. However I've posted a couple of sketches here, the top one is a couple of crumbling prangs at Wat Phra Mahatat in Ayutthaya, at the bottom an orchid plant sitting on my girlfriend's coffee table. At the top is a peeping buddha at Wat Yai Chai Mongkul, also in Ayutthaya. The stray dog is wandering by the sea on Phuket island. In Thailand such dogs are known as ma kang tanon, literally 'dog next to the road', and they're quite abundant.

I'm going to try to resist the temptation to upload a load of photos, apart from where they're relevant to the work I'm busying myself with based on the trip, which should pop up soon.