Moondust & t-shirts

Here's the next installment of my Book Illustrations series. A while a go I read Moondust by Andrew Smith, it's his tale of him trying to interview and gather information on what it was like for each of the 12 astronauts that walked on the moon. Of the 12 only 9 are still alive and the book also deals with the possible near-certain fact that one day in the not to distant future no one on earth will know what it's like to have been on the moon. Today where we deal with huge population growth and billions of people, 12 is such a small number to comprehend having done such a huge thing and no women have experienced it at all, or was it all a hoax?...Who knows, anyways I thought it'd look good on a t-shirt so here it is on redbubble and mysoti. I also did t-shirts of Walden my last book illustration here on redbubble and mysoti.

Trees, Llamas and Plague

A few weeks ago I went to Eyam a small village near where I live which is full of history, trees & llamas! It's a village which was struck by the plague in 1665 and decided to isolate itself (no one could come in or go out of the village). The plague arrived from London in some cloth that was delivered to the tailor and within a week he was dead. The plague held the village in its grasp for over a year and within this time it's stated that 260 out of the villages population of 350 died. It's an unbelievable story and the village brings it to life as many of the houses are still standing, including the house the tailor and his family lived in, and you can still go and see the village boundaries of a well and a stone with depressions in it. At these outsiders would leave food and the villagers would then leave money in the holes which would be covered with vinegar to act as a disinfectant. For more info go here. (top photo is Eyam Hall)

It was a gorgeous day, cold and crisp yet sunny and clear, perfect for a stroll around where we happened upon lots of llamas (or alpacas) and lots of amazing trees, hopefully soon I'll be able to take some more photos like these from last year of new buds popping out! Come on spring I'm waiting for you!

Book Cover Illustrations

Last year I started doing a series of song illustrations to try and get myself drawing more but it didn't really catch on, so this time I've started doing Book Cover Illustrations. I'm going to try & do one for each book I read this year and some old favourites will probably pop up in there as well. I read Walden at the end of last year and just finished Norwegian Wood (wanted to read it for ages and now the film is out in March!). I haven't ever read Lord of the Flies but it's for this Re:covered contest. I've put them all in this flickr set so they're easy to keep track of. What books would you like to see an illustration for?

{Update: You can now get Walden as t-shirts & stickers over at redbubble in black and grey}

I'm in OWT Creative Zine- #4 'Direction'

I'm in the new zine by OWT Creative, it's Issue 4 and all contributors responded to the word 'Direction'. I based mine on my drawing 'Fishguard and Pembroke Map Circle' seen below.

 

Which is a circle over just the land areas made up of thousands of pen dots. I thought this drawing lent itself to 'Direction' as yes on the surface it's a map which can help you out with directions, but I've put it through a process and taken it in a certain direction by choosing and deciding which way to take it.

Also by doubling the image and flipping it, it makes the two sides link up and create a new image, a new direction; black holes create a central white space and are interrupted by cracks or are they estuaries? The coastlines point to the spine and the roads take me onto the next page and back to the same yet different place. Anyways left or right? black or white? up or down? which direction will you take?

OWT Creative is a design collective based in Manchester and showcases up and coming creative talent in the North West. The zine is in a limited edition of 125, has a hand-screened cover and several other pages hand-screened as well. It's on sale now on their website and at selected places in the North West such as Magma Books in Manchester! Can't wait to get myself a copy!

(top image from OWT Creative)

No Feeling Is Final

Just saw this quote 'No Feeling Is Final' on my twitter feed through @tinybuddha and had to do something with it. It's such a small quote with bucketfuls of hope, understanding, perseverance, change and the transient nature of all things. If you haven't already read Rainer Maria Rilke's 'Letters to a young poet' go find it now it's quietly beautiful and full of quotable lines. (I first came across it when Whoppi recommends it to Lauryn Hill in Sister Act 2!)

Parade Book Cover

Over at Venus Febriculosa they are 'devoted to contemporary literature and the art and design of books' and they do frequent book cover contests to 'foster interest in the relationship of literature and the visual arts'. This one was for the short story 'Parade' by Patricia Grace which deals with a young New Zealand woman returning to her Maori hometown and having to be part of a parade put on for tourists. You can read it in full here and the deadline is 15th February 2011.

Norwegian Wood Poster

Here's my entry into the Don't Panic film poster competition for the Norwegian wood film which is released in March. I got the book for christmas and after years of it being on my wish list I'll get to read it before the film comes out. I did a couple of designs and ended up going with this one as I like the transient nature of the girl the fact that she's there while not being there. But I did this one below and as the story is about a love triangle this one fits a bit better but it looks more like a book cover! Anyways voting starts 4th February to 28th February- go here to vote!

Central Station Book & Free Download

The Central Station book covering their first year in existence is out now and my 'Map Circle' is featured on page 48! It includes porfolio work by members (including mine!), original essays and Q&A's with Martin Creed & Richard Wright plus summaries of key projects and lots of other exciting creativeness. You can buy your own copy or download it for free, go here for more info!