I have distinct memories of childhood holidays in Devon. After a day on the beach, sitting in front of a tiny TV and watching Jacques Cousteau’s undersea adventures.

Jacques used a converted Royal Navy Minesweeper to use as his research boat. Named after Greek mythology’s Calypso, the vessel housed a laboratory to carry out field research and included observation holes in its bow under the waterline.

Keep your eye out for more in this underwater series.

It’s been a while since my last post as I have been working on an exciting pitch. Nonetheless, here is a portrait of one of my good friends caught on camera sometime ago.

I’m sure we have all played this game in the Autumn when we were kids (and perhaps also as adults). Stamp on the leaves and the loudest crunch is the winner!

This illustration is a combination of pencil drawings and scans of ink prints for textures. The leaves are real, I scanned them after picking them up in my local park. Finished in Adobe Photoshop CS3.

This week my studio has been transformed into a print room as I turn my hand to a skill I lasted used at art school some 16 years ago.

I wanted to create an image that would be relevant as a Christmas card but also to stand up on its own as a print.

The first stage was to sketch out the image and then refine it to something that would be workable on the lino that I would be using to create a printing block.

This image was then in turn, transferred onto the lino ready for cutting.

My cat Iha was happy to oversee my progress.

Then the printing began. I rolled the mixed ink onto the lino with a rubber brayer, carefully placed the card or paper onto the lino, covered and applied pressure with a baren. Normally you would use a large printing press that acts just like a mangle, squeezing the paper against the lino but the baren is cheaper, saves space and keeps your arms in shape!

Once the first run was complete, I cut into the lino more, repeating the rest of the process for the second colour.

And there we have it, hung out to dry! The prints and cards will soon be available to buy online but in the meantime if you are interested in picking one (or some!) up, send me an email, I’d love to hear from you!

I have a very distant memory of our family having a reel to reel tape recorder when I was young. Of course us children couldn’t go near a machine of such technology. So instead, I had to watch from afar as some responsible adult spent hours unravelling the mess they had made from getting another tape reel caught up in its mechanism. I used a combination scanned sketch and adobe illustrator to complete this illustration.

I am continuing with my cross-media technique for my latest illustration. Combining photography, hand drawing, collage and photoshop to create this final image of little red riding hood grown up.

The nights have well and truly drawn in now and decorations are going up all over the place. With plans being made for the festive season, it is hard not to feel a little bit Christmasy. My recent piece of work has definitely a winter wonderland in mind. I have tried to again to look at an organic/ textured feel combining pencil sketch worked over in photoshop & illustrator.

It would be interesting to hear what you think about this softer, more nostalgic look when compared against my more graphic, and colourful style. Feel free to leave a comment, it would be great to hear from you!

Now where’s that Bing Crosby album?

Starting to feel the chill as the seasons change, so Illustration Friday’s subject this week seemed most appropriate.

Illustration Friday is a weekly creative outlet/participatory art exhibit for illustrators and artists of all skill levels. A topic is posted every Friday and then participants have all week to come up with their own interpretation. This week’s topic is Caution.

You can also Illustration Friday’s blog at http://illustrationfriday.com/blog/

It has always amused me when people fail to notice warnings particuarly in a world surrounded in health & safety bureaucracy. Signs and railings litter our roads & paths, yet people still somehow manage to navigate themselves into situations of peril.  Maybe we should be rid of all the street litter and let natural selection run its course?

I used a combination of hand drawing and Adobe Photoshop to create this image.

An incredible photographer inspired this piece of work.

Gemma Booth’s work (in particular her fashion shots) has a warm, summery feel that reminds me of the hazy Californian sunshine. Her client list includes the likes of Paul Smith, i-D, Roxy & American Eagle.

You can follow her blog at.

http://gemmabooth.blogspot.com/