DAVE BAIN // ILLUSTRATION NEWS

Collab update (Colour version 2.4)

2012-01-03T12:39:00.000Z

The Collaberation Nation project just keeps going from strength to strength. Watch out for some very exciting things coming from Team Collab (!) this year. In the meantime, here's a little update from me... my colour version of the finished image I began from Collab2 (with Fauna Graphic, Boswell and SPZero76). Get in touch with Collab (spzero76collab@gmail.com) to order a limited edition A3 giclee print for £50.
Follow: Collab Website | Facebook | Twitter

'Red Feather' - Chapter (Cardiff) exhibition

2011-11-25T10:00:00.000Z

It's a rare event for me to consent to doing a solo show, but the lovely people of Cardiff's Chapter were ever so persuasive and twisted my arm to create a collection of new work as part of their ongoing project called "Assembly: Art in the Bar".

The show is called 'Red Feather' and will be structured around a very large mural, which I'll be painting in the run up to the exhibition launch. All are welcome to join me at the opening on 9th December, 6pm - RSVP here.

On display will also be a selection of limited edition prints and some original paintings of my ornithological artwork. The show runs til 5th February 2012.

Chapter - Assembly: Art in the Bar
Market Road,
Canton,
Cardiff
CF5 1QE

Opening hours:
Open seven days a week from midday
Late night opening until 12.30am every Friday
and Midnight every Saturday

Collab Nation - the Prints show at Grain Barge (plus live drawing)

2011-11-24T10:30:00.000Z

Having been involved in Collaberation Nation since the beginning it is obviously great news that the first "print" exhibition, will launch on the boat, Grain Barge next week.

The opening night - on Wednesday 30th November from 8pm - will see a bunch of us doodling on the window, creating a collaborative picture (of course!). RSVP here so the good folk of Grain Barge have some idea of numbers.

Here are the prints that I've contributed to, which will be on display and for sale. They'll be plenty more on sale (from other artists) throughout the exhibition, which runs til the end of December.

Working with Loch Ness on DIY SOS (BBC's Children in Need)

2011-11-23T10:00:00.000Z

If you had your television set switched on during the time BBC had the Children in Need appeal, you may have spied Loch Ness and myself painting a rather large mural in Norris Green Youth Centre (Liverpool) as part of the DIY SOS project to completely redo the run-down building.

With a mere 10 days the entire team did an unbelievably amazing job of completely transforming the centre and we're really proud to have been part of it. Arriving half way through the project, we had four days to complete our mural. A daunting prospect, which became more so as we had to spend the first half of our first day on site waiting for the background blue paint to completely dry before we could start to paint on any main colours.

This gave us plenty of time to hunt for the paints, which we'd requested - we eventually found them with the help of the production team (who were incredible) - also, managed to squeeze in time to sketch out some images for the hallway, coming into the centre (see further down this post).

(Earphones in and painting in the eye on one of Loch Ness' characters - a proper collaboration!)

(a worker looks on at the main colours painted on Day 1)

Once we the background colour was dry, we set about drawing on the outlines of our characters and then filling in the shapes with main colours. Hard-hats on (blue for Loch Ness, yellow for me) - it was a building site after all - we worked solidly til around 9pm, only stopping for the occasional coffee and some warming canteen dinner. By the end of the day, we'd got in most of the main colours on the lower half of the mural.

Day 2 saw us back on site for 8am and straight into painting. Feeling a little out-of-place surrounded by a very busy building site, Loch Ness and I had to stay focused and try not to get in the way of lots of volunteers, camera crews and local celebs running through. By late afternoon we had black outlines done on the lower half of the mural and were keen to get started on the top half, but couldn't get our hands on the scissor lifts until they'd finished putting the ceiling up in the other room. Doing the best we could on ladders, it wasn't til towards the end of the day that we got a scissor lift and managed to get in some large areas of colour onto the top half of the mural.

Day 3 - and we threw ourselves at the top half of the mural, fully aware of how much we had to do - pressure being that we had to finish, so they could have time to lay the floor. As one of my characters was over one of the main passageways through the building, I had to be quick in putting in the colour (fortunately the paint dried fast) and then adding the outline almost straight away.

(Loch Ness having a well deserved coffee break and preparing to use the scissor lift)

Surprise visit of the day was by local celeb, Neil Buchanan (of Art Attack fame). A childhood hero of both Loch Ness and myself, we weren't quite sure what to do with ourselves, except say hi and muster up the gumption to ask for a photo with him! After some discussion with the film crew Neil suggested that he could add a character to our mural of himself as a younger lad drawing. Of course, we couldn't refuse and recognised it'd make a great piece to camera for the program too! He's a lovely chap and was really down to earth, friendly and had lots to say about his current art projects.

(One for the scrapbook)

(Saying something to camera)

(Loch Ness painting around the guttering)

(Loch Ness on the scissor lift)

(End of Day 3 - night time and sleepy)

All guns blazing on Day 4 to get the mural finished and last minute additions of extra floating leaves and musical circles coming out of the trumpet helped tie it all together. In the afternoon I added some birds to the hallway and Loch Ness added some characters underneath them. Below are photos showing the final mural and the hallway drawing. Phew!

Watch a video of us chatting with Nick Knowles here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p00ls19j

(Loch Ness character on the left, mine on the right)

(The full height!)

(Our hallway drawing)

(before)

(after)

The reaction of the youth to the centre was truly moving and Loch Ness and I honestly were overwhelmed and didn't know what to really make of it all. Such a great project to be part of and one we'll never forget. Read more about the project here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b0175m8w#clips

All things POP-UP!

2011-11-22T11:30:00.000Z

(Drawing on the A-board for the shop, the night before the launch)

Where to start!? Recent times have been very exciting for the Bristol-based (obviously) collective Drawn in Bristol. Not only has the website launched, the blog (follow it gang!) is also looking lovely, and an online shop is on the way too.

(Snapped chatting away with co-members Alexia Tucker and Carys-Ink on the launch night)

To top it all Drawn in Bristol have opened the doors of their very own Pop-Up Shop, smack bang in the heart of Bristol's shopping centre - nip round the back of the skating rink to spot us - Quakers Friars, BS1 3BU.

(A new tee of mine on pre-release by Vapour sandwiched between the incredible work of Tom Berry)

(Screen printed cards - limited run of 15 per design - only £3 each)

Already over a week in and prints, toys and all sorts of wonderfully illustrated items have been flying out of the shop in the eager clutches of discerning shoppers. I've a whole selection of prints, cards, framed originals and t-shirts for you to pick from - although be quick, as the shop is only open til 3rd December!! There's even a shop PARTY this Thursday evening (24th) from 6pm, with a bar and live drawing from members Laurie Stansfield, Emily Daly and possibly Tom Berry and myself weighing in too (Click here for more info).

(Adding some doodles to the window last Saturday)

Live Drawing at Venturefest

2011-11-22T09:30:00.000Z

Photo courtesy of Lorna Picton (http://www.flickr.com/photos/venturefestfestival/)

What with all the Pop-Up Shop action I've been a little slow on blogging recently.

Just the other week the lovely Lorna Picton (an incredible drawer) invited me to draw at 'Venturefest' (3rd Nov) alongside illustrators Natalie Al Tahhan, Benjamin Bones & Liv Bargman, as well as some tip-top UWE Illustration and Animation students. The event was at the newly built Bristol and Bath Science Park.

Our task to illustrate themes of science and innovation across some large letters spelling "INNOVATION SHOWCASE". I dived in on the letter 'W' with lots of test tubes flowing towards the charming drawings of Liv Bargman. And managed to get in a chap pulling out optical illusions and thoughts from his head, reflecting the idea of coming up with new, mind-boggling ideas!

It was a very different kind of live-drawing day, tough on the knees and fantastic to be working alongside a group of talented illustrators who I'd not met before.

Day of the Dead - Three Skulls

2011-10-31T21:22:00.000Z

Tread Lightly (Skull #1)

Speak Softly (Skull #2)

Listen Closely (Skull #3)

Three new paintings on wooden circles.
You can view these at the House of Paper exhibition...more info - click here.
These originals sold on the opening night, but I've limited edition giclee print run of 20 in A4 and A3 sizes, priced at £25 & £45 respectively.

Drop me an email if you'd like one (dave@davebain.com).

Day of the Dead Exhibition

2011-10-24T12:00:00.000+01:00

This Thursday evening I'll be having hanging out at what's shaping up to be a very interesting group show exploring the theme of Day of the Dead. RSVP here. More info on the flyers below (click to view large). My images are secret, so you'll have to come along to see them!

Live Drawing with Loch Ness, SPZero76 & mmmbiscuits (Zoe Darnell)

2011-10-21T18:35:00.000+01:00

Yes, that's right, four of us lot from 'Drawn in Bristol' collective were invited down to Mr Wolfs for the Dirty Old Town night the other week to hammer out a drawing onto the wall. Due to there being two bands on that night, we had just over an hour to get the drawing complete and we just about did it! Here are the pics (some courtesy of mmmbiscuits other half, Stuart - lovely chap).

(detail of one of my additions to the piece)

(Keith (aka SPZero76) in the foreground looking studious)

(Drawing girls with slingshots. yeh!)

(all of us at it in the final 10 mins)

Live Drawing: Dave Bain & Loch Ness (Bristol Temple Quarter Enterprise Zone)

2011-10-12T13:19:00.001+01:00

(click images to view large!)

Earlier this week Loch Ness and I took to the drawing boards at a forward-thinking event setting the future direction for Bristol's Temple Quarter Enterprise Zone (BTQEZ).

The event at the Passenger Shed, Bristol Temple Meads was introduced by television presenter Kevin McCloud, and hosted by Council Leader Barbara Janke and Chair of the Local Enterprise Partnership, Colin Skellett. There was a lot of buzz, cameras and TV crews around capturing the action. I was told that we made an appearance on BBC Points West and other news programs that evening.

There were around 200 people present including architects, business people, creative industries and civic leaders, all giving their views on how Temple Quarter could become the location of choice for creative industries, and the infrastructure and spaces needed to achieve this.

Our challenge was to capture key themes discussed during this day-long event.

We choose to structure our image around some large typography, which we sketched out while the opening speeches and statements were being made. The attendees were then led through a series of exercises designed to glean their thoughts about the project, in particular the background and context that would go into BTQEZ and the values and outcome of BTQEZ.

We focused on this notion of before and after (i.e. the background to outcome), and were helped by a crack-team of "storytellers" who collated the data coming in from the groups of people at the event. It was a fast-paced mission of jotting down key themes and then quickly brainstorming between us how best to represent that visually. We had already come up with an arrow structure for the background/context, which we placed our imagery into. In the same way, for the values and outcome, we created a loose structure of speech bubbles coming out of the central "logo/type".

All in all, this was a great challenge for both of us and involved a lot of quick thinking, as we had to have the image complete for the end of the day, so we could sum up verbally our impressions of the event by talking them through our illustration - all eyes were on us for a few minutes!

My sneaky peek of image for BIG BOAT little boat

2011-09-26T18:00:00.001+01:00

If you're into illustration, or simply like boats, then you can do no better than popping along to the opening of this beauty of an exhibition from Bristol's brand spanking new illustration collective, Drawn in Bristol. Here's my "sneaky peek" and you can see more over on the Drawn in Bristol blog. Info follows...

BIG BOAT
little boat
a Drawn in Bristol showcase
RSVP here

OPENING NIGHT (meet the illustrators): 4th October from 7pm

An exciting new illustration collective showcase, featuring a wide diversity of work from commercial to children's illustration to the down-right beautiful.

Featuring: Chandra Almeida, Hannah Baber, Dave Bain, Andrea Balogh, Michelle Barker, Sarah Barnes, Linda Bennet, Alex Bertram-Powell, Romina Canet, Carys-Ink, Katy Christianson, Emily Daly, Everly Dark, Dubblethunk, Martha Ford, Emma Garner, Bex Glover, Ben Goodman, Naomi Hocking, Natalie Hughes, Louis Labron-Johnson, Charlene Lim, Jenny MacKendrick, Simon Mills, Loch Ness, Rebecca Shepherd, Claire Shorrock, Slumber Bean, SPZero76 & Alexia Tucker

✭ Exhibition continues: 4 - 30 October ✭

Drawing on local talent 'Drawn in Bristol' provides its clients with high-quality illustration work produced by experienced Bristol-based talent.

Drawn in Bristol - www.facebook.com/drawninbristol
Grain Barge - www.grainbarge.com

FLIGHT Exhibition - some sneaky peeks

2011-08-02T11:15:00.000+01:00

Here are some sneaky peeks of the three new artworks which are going into the FLIGHT exhibition, launching this week, hosted by Drawn in Bristol. RSVP here.

If you're in Bristol this Thursday 4th August, then feel free to come along to Colston Hall's 'The Glass Room' (gallery) inside the foyer. The evening starts at 6pm and they'll be live music from local folk acts, Locks, Snails and The Woodlice - plus an afterparty at Mr Wolfs with Drawn Recordings from 9pm.

I'll be exhibiting with the very talented Paul Farrell and Lea Lloyd.

All three pieces will be for sale and I'll also have limited edition prints of all pieces available too.

Illustration Rally's first ever event, PAINT IT! MAKE IT!

2011-06-22T09:09:00.000+01:00

I recently contributed an image to the zine, that is part of this event. Please read below for further details of this exciting day out (copied from "Illustration Rally's" site) - my image at the end of the post...

We are extremely excited to announce our very first event! So we are getting together with some really great artists and putting on something special for our great community, and you know it's gonna be good when we have live drawing, origami, cakes and zine making, where you can bind and customise your own zine with the work of some of the hottest illustrators around! Everything we raise from this event will be donated to our Japan tsunami appeal on JustGiving!

When:

Saturday the 25th of June 10am til 5pm

Where:

The Book Club, 100-106 Leonard Street, City of London, Greater London EC2A 4XS

What:

Live Drawing

Keeping you in the mood all day the awesome Mr Millerchip and Kristian Jones will be creating some slick visuals and giving us some original art before your eyes!

Pop Up Shop

Thanks to our amazing community we have some fabulous pieces of art on our charity shop on etsy, and we will be bringing it to life in all it's charity goodness at the event. Browse enjoy and buy, just with everything else it all goes to charity.

Origami Folding

Take part in some tradition and get your fold on, learn a skill, make paper happy and take home something sweet.

How to wear kimono and tea ceremony

Join how to wear kimono workshop and experience traditional Japanese tea ceremony.

Charity Raffle, Part 2!

Need another chance to pick up exclusive, one in a million , designer kitchen ware for only a pound? Then look no further than the live section of our charity raffle where 5 more magnificent tea towels from the super lovely ToDryFor will find loving homes. Check the designs available from Paint it! Make it! updates!

T-shirt Available from No Guts No Glory

Designed by the event live artist Mr Millerchip! The T-shirt "Dunkun - Organic White T" will be available at the event and if you want to learn a little more about the wonderful Millerchip you can read about him in our live artist feature.

New art products to test! Kuretake Pens

Try out some of the hottest new products from amazing pen maker Kuretake. Some amazing pens, you can use in really cool ways, you may even drop your posca, so check it out!

Cakes

There will be cakes! They will be awesome, and you will be able to get your hands on some great munch to keep you fuelled for the day, may contain nuts, will contain tasty, what more could you want!

Music

Music has been careful chosen for your listening pleasure by DJ halwo SAKAMOTO, DJ CHINEN and DJ 柳 (Yanagi). It is an ecxclectic mix of Jpop, Jelectro and techno all mixed by Japanese DJ's to keep you in the mood for a party.

Zine Making

Assemble and bind your very own zine, our zine making is the most interactive collaborative event we can make it so feel free to bring your own bits and bobs to share, from coloured paper ribbons and pens you can bring anything you like to add to your customisation. Our zine is going to be A5 so if you want to, you can bring along your own artwork for people to bind, feel free to sign it or even just bind it into your own zine, the zine is BW so even photocopies would be fun. We will be providing plenty of extra cute bits and bobs too. We have a wonderful selection of artists for your zine making pleasure.

Uberkraaft
Ben the illustrator
Aaron Miller
Gaia Bordicchia
Yupyland
Andy Coucil
Tom Bagshaw
Bubblefriends
Bubi Au Yeung
Dave Bain
Gemma Correll
Bex Glover
Lou Lou & Tummie
Mr Millerchip
the boy fitz hammond
Toy Factory
Lesley Barnes
Seb Burnett
Jonathan Edwards
Fon The Pern
Ruben Ireland
Thereza Rowe
Robert Shadbolt
The Tree House Press

Carlton Hibbert

Erica Sharp

Lea Wade

Natsuki Otani

Stephen Chan

And finally:

We have to thank all the lovely people who made this possible, the companies who gave us support, plugging away or sending us wonderful donations, the artists who gave up their time creating the zine and our wonderful community who has been with us all the way, submitted wonderful work, donated amazing pieces and of course spread the love like no other people could. Many thanks to you all, we hope to see you all soon!

Feel free to repost this on your blog or site and use the hash tag #paintitmakeit on twitter to spread the word about this, and facebook event page is here!

I Spy a Gorilla!

2011-06-20T17:33:00.000+01:00

The exciting Wow! Gorillas project is part of Bristol Zoo Gardens celebration of its 175th anniversary. Several amazing artists have taken part in the project, customising a 'Wild in Art' Gorilla.

The Gorilla which I've had the privilege of working on is called "I Spy Gorilla" and is sponsored by Wildfowl & Wetlands Trust (WWT) and will be on display at Slimbridge from 4th July 2011 for 10 weeks.

Work-in-progress photos here.

Finished images of the Gorilla here.

See below for a short video showing the gorilla in 360 degrees.

I Spy Gorilla - painted by Dave Bain (sponsor WWT) from Dave Bain on Vimeo.

Deep Into The Woods - Sneaky Peek

2011-04-27T10:22:00.007+01:00

I'm off to the woods, or rather Start Gallery (above Start The Bus) in Bristol for a brand NEW exhibition with a lovely group of illustration types from around the country, called DEEP INTO THE WOODS.

In support of The Woodland Trust, the opening night is going to have some suspicious looking DJs and live music from Feel The Folk's Heg Doughty & Lizzie Murray.
May Day (May 1st) from 6.30pm. Click here to RSVP.

OK then, here's some sneaky peeks of some of the work I'm including and following that a time-lapse video of Henry St Leger and I drawing some not so subtle advertising for the show at last week's gradgallery.co.uk exhibition night. Twit-twoooo!

"Let The Sounds Of Music Creep In Our Ears" (crop)

"Swapping Games" (crop)


"We Were Never Bored" (crop)

Poster for Jesse Sykes and the Sweet Hereafter

2011-04-12T10:59:00.000+01:00

Jesse Sykes and the Sweet Hereafter are playing at The Cooler on 20th April. The night is hosted by The Last Train Track & Feel The Folk! and tickets are available from Bristol Ticket Shop (search "Jesse").

The image is my hand-drawn version of a photo of Jesse crying.

Her music is amazing and well worth hearing. Click here for more info.

Harbourside Market - illustrated map & design work

2011-03-31T12:43:00.006+01:00

Bristol is to have a brand NEW Market running alongside the harbour on a stretch of water known as 'St. Augustine's Reach'. The launch is happening on 29th April - 1st May and is part of a weekend of events called 'Harbourside Starts Here'. Check here for more info.

The challenge for me was to draw an illustrated map for the area showing where the market will be and the other attractions around it, as well as design the associated flyers, posters and logos. Sadly, I couldn't afford a balloon trip over the area, so had to rely on google maps and my own photography and wanderings around the area to achieve the "bird's eye" view.

Live Drawing with Iain Sellar

2011-03-28T17:23:00.002+01:00

It was a great pleasure to draw with Mister Iain Sellar today in the relative quietness of a day-time conference at Bristol's Watershed. The event, (learn more at Connecting Bristol) hosted by Bristol City Council’s Futures Team, held a strategic round-table exploring the vision of Bristol as a Smart and Connected City in 2020.

Our brief was to capture some of the themes discussed during the conference. Here are the results.

Editorial for short story "The Cloudless Blue"

2011-03-10T09:16:00.001Z

Another editorial for 'The Sunday Express Magazine', this time for a short story entitled "The Cloudless Blue" (written by Lucy Caldwell) about a teenage girl who witnesses her usually emotionless father crying, before leaving for his work. The title derives from a piece of poetry, which has been a source of comfort to the father.

BOY album

2011-03-08T13:28:00.011Z

BOY are a 4-piece acapella girl group, who officially had their last gig sometime last year, but keep sneaking back out, on special request! Towards the end of their life together as a band, they recorded their one and ONLY album, which is finally seeing the light of day. I had the pleasure of re-using an old image of mine as part of the album artwork, as well as composing and shooting the photos which make up the rest of the design.

The album comprises of nine songs and is a fantastic recording of the voices of Blythe Pepino, Jen Bell, Misha Law & Ellie Rusbridge. The inside-cover photo shows the hand-written lyrics to the songs, along with some drawings from the band and other ephemera.

The limited edition album is available for a mere £10 from Ellie Rusbridge - drop her an email to get your copy: ellie-rose-@hotmail.com

As well as their myspace, you can also hear songs from the album on these Feel the Folk mixtapes, which I've put together.

Collaberation Nation - 4 phases

2011-03-02T13:38:00.005Z

Been up to all manner of interesting projects recently, some of which I can't mention. One that I can is the ongoing work for Collaberation Nation, where groups of illustrators and image-makers work on an image together "chain-letter" style.

The project is about to head into it's second outing, which I'll be working on as well.

Below are pictures from the first stage starting with my drawing of a skull made of ravens, then added to by Tom Hine, Cami Dobrin and SPZero76 AND finally coloured in by myself. (also included here are two stages which I added to (some odd naked bodies and some wasps crawling out of the ground!).

It Took Two Nights & A Day To Find The Way - NEW piece for DREAMBOAT inkygoodness exhibition

2010-12-07T17:35:00.005Z

Returning for a glorious winter show, INKYGOODNESS are putting on the DREAMBOAT show and I've got a brand new piece on display for it. My new artwork is titled "It Took Two Nights & A Day To Find The Way" and is roughly A1 in size, painted directly onto wood with acrylic paint and distressed with sandpaper and varnish.

Opening this Friday at 7pm in the START GALLERY (that nice room above Start The Bus), the show has artwork from a whole bunch of incredibly talented illustrator types. They'll be lots of things to purchase in the shop, as well as off the walls, including my "Beware Of Yellow Snow" A5 giclee print.

GROTESQUES is still on (til 19th Dec). Read more about my 3D sculptures here.

Below are some sneaky peeks at the new artwork and info about the night. See you on Friday!

Promo video - a woodland date - for Grotesques

2010-11-30T16:40:00.003Z

DARK promo video from the woodlands filmed for the new GROTESQUES show run by Antlers Gallery, in Bristol.

Preview: Thursday 2nd December, 5pm-8pm.
(Show continues til 19th December.)
Venue: 3 Whiteladies Gate, Bristol, BS8 2PH

Birdboy Sculptures for GROTESQUES show

2010-11-19T15:57:00.005Z

Birdboy is back and this time in 3D. Over the last few months I've been working on a group of Birdboy characters for the GROTESQUES show run by Antlers Gallery, in Bristol. I'll be showing work alongside other Bristol-based artists and illustrators, including Amy Timms, Tom Mead, Tim Lane & Rose Sanderson. Below are some sneaky peeks of the finished sculptures, but to see the whole piece, you'll need to come along to the actual exhibition, which opens on
Thursday 2nd December, 5pm-8pm.
(Show continues til 19th December.)
Venue: 3 Whiteladies Gate, Bristol, BS8 2PH

Painting Murals at The Canteen, Bristol

2010-10-25T15:11:00.005+01:00

I've been painting some murals at The Canteen (Bristol) recently. Here are some images. The final one is by a wonderful artist called Tomasin. Check out more of her work here.

Paint The Bus Murals (Part 3)

2010-10-11T11:01:00.003+01:00

And now we start to paint the outside of Start The Bus...

Bird Drawings to appear on walls...

2010-10-06T09:13:00.003+01:00

Coming very soon to a Bristol venue... some of my bird drawings. More news right round the corner, but for now here's a new sketch of one of the birds in flight.

Paint The Bus Murals (Part 2)

2010-09-28T18:39:00.003+01:00

More murals at Start The Bus (Bristol) from myself. Go down and have a look at the work-in-progress from the likes of Inkygoodness (Lisa Hassell & Michelle Turton), Hot Soup (Russ Henry), Seb Burnett, Cami Dobrin, Hannah Baber, Laurie Stansfield, Ben Goodman, Josh Burgess.

First one is based on optical illusions and the work I did on a recent skate-deck for the 'DECKED' show last month. The second is based on an older drawing of mine, which will soon be a limited edition t-shirt (more news on that soon!).

We'll be painting the outside next...

Inkygoodness 4 - The Videos... and more

2010-09-09T07:50:00.003+01:00

With the opening night of the Inkygoodness Show bringing in over 700 people and with work selling fast, the fourth show from the curators Lisa Hassell and Michelle Turton is, by far, the best one yet. Below are three videos documenting the event.

Also included are some photos of the final piece from myself called "It's All Going To Be OK". Read a review about the show and my artwork on Collective Review.

Inkygoodness - Play - Exhibition... Coming soon!

2010-08-27T08:32:00.004+01:00

Inkygoodness 4 is just round the corner (info after the pictures!). Below are two of the three pieces that will be going into the show from myself. The theme is 'PLAY'. The first piece is called 'Duck Of Death' and is a surreal, risky game where you can imagine pitting your wits against the morbid duck! The second is painted on the back of a used skateboard deck and is entitled 'Play With My Mind'. I've been enjoying drawing optical illusions recently and liked the idea of someone's puzzled brain being represented by these shapes, as if the problems that they are trying to solve are perhaps impossible. (Facebook Event)

Inkygoodness invite you to come and play!

Entertaining new artwork, limited edition prints and lively installations all lovingly created by a specially selected group of international artists and illustrators, inspired by the theme of 'Play'.

Featuring: Dave Bain / Seb Burnett / Colourbox / Docvek / Marcus Butt / Stephen Chan / DBO / Camelia Dobrin / Hannah Baber / Steph Baxter / Sarah Dennis / Christiane Engel / Good Wives & Warriors / Lisa Hassell / Kate Hindley / Carlos Garde-Martin /Mister Millerchip / Simon David Mills / George Mitchell / Moot / Olive47 / Tom J.Newell / Vicky Newman / Steve Rack / Log Roper / Steven Silverwood / Juan Salas / Jason Devine / Matt Saunders / Leila Shetty / Karin Soderquist / Ben Steers / Mc Bess / Michelle Turton / Toy Factory / Simon Wild / Mark Wilkinson & Gizem Vural.

Private View: September Thursday 2nd 2010
Venue: EAST Gallery, 216 Brick Lane, London
Time: 6.30pm - 10pm
RSVP to: inkygoodness@easy.com
The Exhibition will run until September 12th 2010
Open Daily 1pm - 7pm

Exclusive AMMO 'Play' Issue Launch!
To celebrate their debut London show, Inkygoodness have teamed up with AMMO Magazine on a special 'Play' themed issue of the magazine. Featuring many of the 'Play' artists, Inkygoodness are proud to present an exclusive preview of this limited edition issue, available to purchase on the opening night for just £5!

Shop
The exhibition features over 120 one-off artworks and limited edition prints, many of which are available to purchase in the gallery or on our new online shop after the gallery preview at www.inkygoodness.bigcartel.com, prices start from £50.

The Illustrators online
More info about the participating illustrators can be found via
www.inkygoodness.com

A/V set from Big Chill Festival 2010

2010-08-18T10:56:00.006+01:00

The British Film Institute invited electronic producer LUKAS, VJs LUMEN & OCD and myself to perform on their stage for the Big Chill Festival 2010.

See previous blog post for details on preparation work for this.

Below are pictures from the night including the set-ups and a 5 minute edit of the one hour piece.

Live @ The Big Chill. Lukas, Dave Bain, Lumen & OCD from Lumen.

Decked 2010 Exhibition

2010-08-13T09:06:00.003+01:00

15th - 29th August 2010
Private View: 18th August: 6-9.30pm
Coningsby Gallery, 30 Tottenham Street, London

Original one-off pieces of artwork on the back of skateboard decks! That is what DECKED is all about. It was a lot of fun being involved in the first one last year and have included my piece 'PINBALL HEAD' (see below) this year. VANS are sponsoring the show and I was one of a handful of the exhibitors lucky enough to customise a pair of VANS trainers. If you are in London on the 18th August, come along to the Private View from 6pm...

Featured on INKYGOODNESS
Featured on DESIGN WEEK
Featured on DECKED blog

Artists confirmed include: Aaron Petz / Adam Chandler / Alastair Barnett / Aramas Ridge / Ben Twiston-Davies / BonBon / Camellie / Cristina Guitian / Dan Frye / Dan Kitchener/ Darren John / Dave Bain / DocVek / EJ Miles / Elfin / Ellie Cryer / Emma Day / Finbarr (DAC) / Helena Chessher / JD Simmons / Jenism / Jenny Dubet / Jenny Noscoe / Jim Nolan / Katie Diederich / Kayleigh Wells / Lee Nutland / Leticia Credidio / Lisa Hassell / Lisa Humphreys / Log Roper / Louis Michel / Louise Brangwin / Luke Overin / Mark Frudd / Martin Squires / Michelle Turton / Moose and Yeti / Mr Penfold / Oliver Winconek / Onion / Owen Gildersleeve / Peskimo / Phil Hope / Rose Sanderson / Sam Fella / Sarah King / Sarah Wharton / Seb Burnett / Simon Mills / Skaffa / SNUB / Stef Rigby / The 5683 / Thea Schultheiss / Tom Stanley / Tom Symonds / Vicky Newman / Yee Kuit

Link: Decked website

Paint The Bus (part 1)

2010-08-04T10:40:00.006+01:00

A cracking team of illustrators have been invited to give the inside of Start The Bus (Bristol) a make-over throughout this month. Go down and have a look at the work-in-progress from the likes of Inkygoodness (Lisa Hassell & Michelle Turton), Hot Soup (Russ Henry), Seb Burnett, Cami Dobrin, Hannah Baber, Laurie Stansfield, Ben Goodman, Ben Steers, Peskimo, Josh Burgess & more over the next few weeks. Below are some photos of my contributions, so far... mostly trees, birds, strange woodland creatures and a couple of deer.

Preparation for the Big Chill Festival

2010-08-02T22:37:00.005+01:00

This weekend is the Big Chill Festival and I'm collaborating with electronic producer LUKAS and VJs LUMEN & OCD for a unique performance on the British Film Institute stage, Friday night.

Drawing live onto a semi-translucent table-top of my own creation, the footage is captured from underneath and fed into the VJs laptops, where it will be chopped up and looped back in time with the live production of Lukas, creating a layered mixture of visuals in response to the broad theme of "Sci-Fi", which we've been given to work with. See the official line-up on the Big Chill website (click here). We're on after the movie 'The Terminator'.

Below are some pictures of our preparation work so far. We'll be capturing a video and photos of the stage area, with the drawings projected onto the huge cinema screen, as the backdrop, and will post it up here after the weekend.

Nuala EP artwork (+EP Launch)

2010-07-26T08:18:00.005+01:00

Local Bristol-based musician NUALA has one of those incredible voices that stops you dead in your tracks! Not only does she collaborate vocally with several musical acts, but she also writes a strong song of her own. Tomorrow (Tuesday 27th July) she launches her solo EP at The Golden Lion (Gloucester Rd, Bristol) and I've had the privilege of doing the design and illustrations for the cover and surrounding promotional material. If you can make it to the gig, then please do...(I'll be there! - Facebook Event Page) and if you're further afield, then go check her myspace and watch out for details going up there on how to get yourself a copy of the EP.

Time Lapse Video from UPFEST ILLUSTRATION DRAW 2010

2010-07-17T10:22:00.003+01:00

The tip top lads from DRAWN RECORDINGS have released the time lapse video from UPFEST LIVE ILLUSTRATION DRAW 2010 of Ben Steers, Simon Mills and myself. Music by PUPFISH.

Typography Signage for HARBOURSIDE BAR (part 2)

2010-07-14T16:32:00.002+01:00

The brand new HARBOURSIDE BAR in Bristol have invited me to do all their signage that will be hung around the place. All lettering based on old signs from the shops that used to be in that area 100 years ago. Here's the final batch...

Holistic Therapy Mini-Advert Design & Drawing

2010-07-08T11:32:00.003+01:00

Clare Bourke is a qualified massage therapist and I've put together this advert for local press to hopefully boost her business.

Birdboy makes an appearance in KOLK Magazine

2010-07-07T14:09:00.004+01:00

A new magazine has been born and it is called KOLK. Produced in Germany and featuring lots of wonderful illustrations, artwork, photography and writing, it's a fabulous example of do-it-yourself publishing. Restricted to a limited run of 100 a5 sized copies, this is going to fly off the shelves. They've included four of my line-drawings and birdboy is in the form of a bookmark. Also included is fellow Inkygoodness exhibitor KATE HINDLEY. Fab!

(Kate Hindley)

Typography Signage for HARBOURSIDE BAR (part 1)

2010-07-07T14:02:00.003+01:00

Imagine drawing that...

2010-06-26T14:37:00.003+01:00

New image for the portfolio combining felt-tip doodles and one of my more traditionally painted chaps...

LIVE ILLUSTRATION DRAW at UPFEST 2010

2010-06-17T10:19:00.012+01:00

Wow! UPFEST 2010 was an amazing event and the Illustration Draw area was a bit of a hit with the public. Thanks to everyone who came along and got involved. Collectives drawing all afternoon were: Boys Who Draw, Girls Who Draw, Inkygoodness, Decked, Urban Illustrators, Hot Soup and Drawn Recordings. Rumpus Films were there doing Live animation and Bristol Drawing Club hosted a huge public drawing floor. Markmaker and Lumen played the tunes.

Thanks to everyone who came along and took the photos below... (click on them to go large!)

Live Drawing with Loch Ness for DJ Vadim / Drawn Recordings

2010-06-07T10:10:00.003+01:00

Drawing Recordings were invited down to the excellent Wabisabi night at Timbuk2 on Friday, this time with DJ Vadim spinning the tunes. Loch Ness and I represented on the drawing wall. Robots was our theme of choice and here are the results... A good warm up for the UPFEST Live Illustration Draw the following day (big post coming soon on that one - including a rather good time-lapse video!)

Two Lovers (a Birdboy gift for two friends)

2010-06-01T09:23:00.005+01:00

I finally managed to deliver this into the hands of two recently married friends. Their gift from the paintbrush of Birdboy...

Birdboy Mural Painting

2010-05-28T10:27:00.002+01:00

Photographer, PETE CRANSTON, recently did a photoshoot of my record-playing alter-ego: WAXMOUSE. In exchange I did this mural for his photography studio.

Live Drawing with Simon Mills for Stokes Croft Street Festival

2010-05-24T17:52:00.003+01:00

The first Stokes Croft Street Festival happened this weekend and Drawn Recordings was there representing with Simon Mills and myself taking on the drawing wall in the blazing sunshine. Lots of suncream and plenty of good live music later, here are the results... (First image taken by Chris Hudson)

Live Drawing with Amy Timms at Mr Wolfs

2010-05-21T10:06:00.004+01:00

The good people of DRAWN RECORDINGS invited Amy Timms and myself down to do a live collaborative piece at their regular night at Mr Wolfs in Bristol. Amy picked an Indian theme and here are the results:

New Birdboy drawings

2010-05-17T22:23:00.002+01:00

Here are a couple of new Birdboy images that were on display on the recent South Bristol Art Trail. They are called The Meeting Of Two Hearts and Catch Me.

Curating LIVE ILLUSTRATION DRAW at UPFEST 2010

2010-05-17T13:39:00.006+01:00

I'm very excited as UPFEST have opened their urban doors to the world of illustration this year and have asked me to curate a large space specifically for a live drawing event. All the information is below:
Facebook event page

✭ What? ✭ UPFEST 2010
Several incredible illustrators drawing live for 7 hours
Artwork for sale too
✭ Where? ✭ Tobacco Factory Theatre, Bristol, BS3 1TF

✭ When? ✭ JUNE 5TH: 11am - 6pm

✭ Who? ✭

♥ BOYS WHO DRAW ♥
A collective of varied illustrators who maintain a strong body of work, as well as a solid, recognizable point of view. Individually, they are making waves in the world of contemporary design. Separately, clients have included Converse, The New York Times, Adidas, Creamfields, The Guardian, Fever Zine, The Big Issue, Anorak Magazine, Computer Arts, Nokia, NSPCC, Color Ink Book, Sunday Express and many more. They have exhibited from London and Bristol to France and the USA.
Four of the nine are flying the flag at UPFEST 2010.
→ Featuring:
MISTER MILLERCHIP http://www.mistermillerchip.com
NEIL KEATING http://www.neilkeating.com
STEVE RACK http://www.steverack.com
SIMON WILD http://www.simonwild.com

♥ GIRLS WHO DRAW ♥
Girls Who Draw is an ongoing collaboration initiated by a small group of female illustrators in order to showcase their artwork. Each contributer has their own unique visual language, consequently the work is very diverse ranging from slick digital graphics to quirky hand drawn characters and humorous sequential imagery. Members include Yee Ting Kuit, Sarah Ray, Jane Anderson, Gemma Correll and Karoline Rerrie. The group has enlisted other illustrators and produced two postcard books, the first being 'Misfits' which was accompanied by an exhibition at Exposure Gallery in London. Anke Weckmann designed the cover for second book entitled 'Menagerie' which also featured postcards by Mary Kilvert and Kate Hindley. The next exhibition will be at Here and Now Gallery in Falmouth this july.
→ Featuring:
KAROLINE RERRIE http://www.lonelypanda.com
YEE TING http://www.yeellustration.co.uk
SARAH RAY http://www.sarahray.co.uk

♥ INKYGOODNESS ♥
Inkygoodness curate exhibitions showcasing a diverse range of artists working across illustration, digital design and mixed media. We aim to provide a platform for emerging talent to showcase their work alongside more established artists, offering a unique opportunity to develop their professional careers through self-promotion and networking.
→ Featuring:
LISA HASSELL http://www.drawingmakesmehappy.com
MICHELLE TURTON http://www.michelleturton.com
CHRIS DORNING aka MOOT http://www.mootart.com

♥ DECKED ♥
Decked is a fine and dandy collection of artists / illustrators / designers / tattoo artists and generally ink-stained fellows, each using a skate deck to showcase one original piece of artwork, staying away from the digital and embracing the hand created. It was founded through the ideals of giving the viewer something different, something that isn't mass produced and isn't for everybody else, while allowing very different styles to come together. The first exhibition was held at Stolenspace gallery in London in 2009 and will be back by popular demand in August 2010 at The Coningsby Gallery, London.
→ Featuring:
VICKY NEWMAN http://www.vickynewman.com
EJ MILES http://ejmilesillustration.blogspot.com
LOUISE BRANGWIN http://www.louisebrangwin.co.uk

♥ DRAWN RECORDINGS ♥
A passionate arts and music collective who got together to promote their ideas and creativity under one umbrella. Whilst also actively searching for new talent in the city to distribute alongside their own. Since the end of 2008, Drawn have put on live nights at Mr Wolfs. Each incorporating live bands, live electronic producers, DJs, projected visuals and a huge drawing wall for both resident artists and the public. At the nights you can pick up a free sample CD and online you can download the FREE 12 track compilation. Every three months, Drawn release a hand-made, limited edition Zine, which contains pictures, poems, writing and collages submitted by anyone who feels they have something to contribute. This is free and available from several outlets, as well as online.
→ Featuring:
SIMON MILLS http://simonmills.blogspot.com
DAVE BAIN http://www.davebain.com
BEN STEERS http://www.bensteers.com

♥ URBAN ILLUSTRATORS ♥
Urban Illustrators are a small group of artists from the West who collaborate on commercial and live art projects, inspired by everything art and urban, striving to produce new and imaginative illustrations every time.
→ Featuring:
GEMMA RANDALL http://www.gemmarandall.com
WAYNE DOWDEN http://www.debutgallery.org
+ a third illustrator TBC

♥ THE SECRET GROUP ♥
A collective of a guarded nature who will be revealing their unique and exciting style of illustration. Don't miss this unveiling!

→ PLUS:

♥ RUMPUS FILMS ♥ http://vimeo.com/9441985
Seb and Joe from Rumpus Films will be drawing and animating LIVE onto their computer-box and projecting the resulting nonsense onto a big screen. Expect colourful characters, shoddy walk cycles and big noses.

♥ BRISTOL DRAWING CLUB ♥
Plenty of materials, paper, pencils and all sorts for everyone to get involved in and create a whole heap of drawings. Bring your own reference images, drawing books and materials, if you so desire. It's time to draw!

Logo / Myspace / Imagery for LACE ON LIPSTICK

2010-04-23T11:53:00.004+01:00

Bristol-based acapella trio LACE ON LIPSTICK are launching out into the musical world, hopefully aided by some images from my illustration desk. Part of the job also involved designing the myspace for the group. Click here to view the page (myspace.com/laceonlipstick)

Marvelous Mud images for Cbeebies 'Story Train'

2010-04-21T12:20:00.005+01:00

Cbeebies have been broadcasting the episode featuring my illustrations for the 'Marvelous Mud' story. The next broadcast is on April 26th at 6pm. Below are some screen shots, some originals and a video clip from the episode. All images are (c) Story Train Ltd.

Image for URBAN ILLUSTRATORS

2010-04-14T12:35:00.004+01:00

Logo image created for the collective URBAN ILLUSTRATORS headed up by Gemma Randall.

Birdboy - Private commission

2010-04-12T19:28:00.001+01:00

A new Birdboy piece privately commissioned

A DAY TO DRAW - 17th APRIL

2010-04-08T08:00:00.004+01:00

I'm very excited about this day of drawing happening on the 17th April, at Central-Reservation (Stokes Croft). I've helped out a little with the planning, will be there on the day doing some drawing and have designed the poster/flyer for the event too. If you are around in Bristol, then come along.

Facebook event page: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=103561903015745

A DAY TO DRAW
Hosted by Bristol Drawing Club
(in collaboration with Kino Drawing Club)

FREE ACTIVITIES AND INTERACTIVE DRAWING EVENTS
(11am - 9.30pm)
including:
Window Drawing // Continuous Drawing Circle Portraits // The Drawing Archive Experience // Local Artist Drawing Demonstration Piece // Animation Screenings // VJ showcase of YOUR drawings

SIGN-UP WORKSHOPS
(11am - 8pm)
including:
‘Anatomy, an Exploration’ 11am-12.30pm / £5
‘Creative Bookbinding’ 11am-12.30pm / £3
‘Drawing the Line’ 12.30-2.30pm / £3
‘Caricature Workshop’ 12.30-2pm / £3
‘Cardboard Drawings’ 2-4pm / £3
‘Creative Journaling’ 2.30-4pm / £4
‘Binding Sketchbooks’ 4-6pm / £4
‘Drop-in Life Drawing’ 4.30-6.30pm / £4
‘Drawing with Light’ 7-8pm / £4

Click the following link to download the detailed version of the program:
http://www.mediafire.com/?uyndznyrmon

or to sign up in advance please email:
anoukmercier1@googlemail.com

-------------------------------------------------------

Concluded by DRAWN RECORDINGS presenting live visuals by LUMEN: projecting and mashing up drawings made by the public during the day, accompanied by tunes from MARKMAKER.

Editorial piece - Fat Friends

2010-04-07T11:34:00.003+01:00

An editorial piece that I did a few months back for Sunday Express Magazine article on the white lies that friends of overweight people might say.

Wild Animals

2010-04-06T14:44:00.003+01:00

Two For Joy - Folk Tour - Poster & Flyers

2010-04-02T14:33:00.004+01:00

Joe from 'The Magpie's Nest' & 'Two For Joy' requested artwork for the UK tour, with elements open to be used in ongoing promotion for 'Two For Joy'. Below are the initial roughs, the tour poster and individual flyer for the London and for the Bristol gig (which I most certainly will be attending). Click here for more info.

Bristol Drawing Club

2010-04-01T09:25:00.004+01:00

I popped along to Bristol Drawing Club the other day and was pleasantly surprised by the welcoming and studious manner of the collection of people attending. Meeting every so often (at least once month) this open group gather at various venues around Bristol. Bringing along all kinds of materials, reference books, postcards, photos and other misc. items the atmosphere is a sharing one. Having not had time to gather such items myself (it had been a busy day) I only had my trusty Edding pen to hand, but was soon supplied with a bird (of course!) ref book and a good slab of thin card. Some photos (from Ben Harding) are below and keep an eye on their blog for information about the next one.

Eat Shit & Die

2010-03-31T11:36:00.002+01:00

New painting for the 'Fifty-two' Exhibition, which opens tonight.

Exhibition News

2010-03-23T11:08:00.013Z

I'm in three exhibitions this year and also the South Bristol Arts Trail (May 8th-9th).

DECKED

15th - 29th August 2010
Private View: 18th August from 8pm
Coningsby Gallery, 30 Tottenham Street, London

Artists confirmed include:
Aaron Petz / Adam Chandler / Alastair Barnett / Amy Timms / Aramas Ridge / Ben Twiston-Davies / BonBon / Camellie / Cristina Guitian / Dan Frye / Dan Kitchener/ Darren John / Dave Bain / DocVek / EJ Miles / Elfin / Ellie Cryer / Emma Day / Finbarr (DAC) / Helena Chessher / JD Simmons / Jenism / Jenny Dubet / Jenny Noscoe / Jim Nolan / Katie Diederich / Kayleigh Wells / Lee Nutland / Leticia Credidio / Lisa Hassell / Lisa Humphreys / Log Roper / Louis Michel / Louise Brangwin / Luke Overin / Mark Frudd / Martin Squires / Michelle Turton / Moose and Yeti / Mr Penfold / Oliver Winconek / Onion / Owen Gildersleeve / Peskimo / Phil Hope / Rose Sanderson / Sam Fella / Sarah King / Sarah Wharton / Seb Burnett / Simon Mills / Skaffa / SNUB / Stef Rigby / The 5683 / Thea Schultheiss / Tom Stanley / Tom Symonds / Vicky Newman / Yee Kuit

Link: Decked website

INKYGOODNESS 4 "Play"

2nd - 12th September 2010
EAST Gallery, Brick Lane, London

Artists confirmed include:
Hannah Baber / Steph Baxter / Dave Bain / Docvek / Marcus Butt / Stephen Chan / DBO / Christiane Engel / Toy Factory / Kate Hindley / Mister Millerchip / Simon David Mills / George Mitchell / Moot / Olive47 / Vicky Newman / Steve Rack / Steven Silverwood / Log Roper / Matt Saunders / Marcroy Smith / Ben Steers / Simon Wild / Gizem Vural

Link: Inkygoodness website

Calm Air All Ice Presents:
FIFTY TWO

March 31st - April 3rd 2010
room 212, Gloucester Road, Bristol
Opening times: Wed-Fri 12-4pm // Sat 12-5.30pm
Opening Night: Wed 31st March // 6-8pm

Artists confirmed include:
Aaron Sewards / Alika Cooper / Alys Paterson / Amanda Kindregan / Amy Greenan / Ben O'Leary / Bess Harding / Bjorn Lie / Camilla Stacey / Cathy Cullis / Claire Platt / Courtney Chelo / Dave Bain / Debbie Hill / Deth P Sun / Edith Abeyta / Ekta Kaul / Elin Thomas / Fiona Cassidy / Gail Mason / Genevieve Dionne / Gunilla Jähnichen / Helen Entwisle / Jill Bliss / Kate Parsons / Kirsty Hall / Laura Donald / Leah Duncan / Lisa Aaron / Lisa Solomon / Lizzie Stewart / Lucie Sheridan / Marci Washington / Michal C William / Mithila Shafiq / Nicole Licht / Nura Porat / Patrick Gildersleeves / Peskimo / Roz Inett / Shannon Rankin / Simon Daly / Susan Schwake / Tinee Häcker / Yumi Okuda

Link: Calm Air website

Poster for FEEL THE FOLK!

2010-03-04T09:29:00.004Z

For the past few years I've been promoting/booking several musical nights around Bristol, but this year have cut down on such delights to work full-time on the illustrations. I couldn't quite let go though, and have kept one night in hand, that being the charming FEEL THE FOLK! event. Happening occasionally (roughly every three months) the night is my opportunity to program 3 acts who are all equally brilliant and wrap it all up in the nice little bubble-of-a-venue, which is the 'Hold Bar' at Grain Barge on the water ways of Bristol. The next event is on March 26th and has a stunning line-up: ADELAIDE'S CAPE, PEPINO & PETE ROE. (Facebook Link). Of course, I get my illustrator fingers all over the promotional artwork too...

March Flyer for 'The Canteen'

2010-03-03T09:45:00.006Z

The lovely place that is 'The Canteen' do an illustrated flyer for their Live Music every month. My turn for March.

Brochure for 'The Lamentable Tragedy'

2010-02-11T08:03:00.011Z

Opening tonight, 'The Lamentable Tragedy' is one of the most anticipated interactive theatre events the city of Bristol has ever had. Here's a little sneaky peek at the brochure for the show, designed and illustrated by myself and Cooper (He drew the 2nd image). The good ol' BBC has even given the show and myself a mention on their site: Click here to view.

Exclusive image for AMMO Magazine - Issue 2

2010-01-29T11:40:00.007Z

The splendid AMMO team today launched Issue 2 of hot-of-the-press illustration goodness. Featured is an exclusive image from myself on the dangers of snow-based activities. Also in this issue is an image from fellow BOYS WHO DRAW member, Steve Rack, and a smashing interview with the INKYGOODNESS pair. Buy it now!

Installation Piece for 'The Lamentable Tragedy' at 'The Wonder Club'

2010-01-27T14:43:00.006Z

"The Wonder Club make exciting interactive promenade theatre, bringing to life installation art from some of Bristols leading artists we merge theatre, music and performance art tied together by a narrative that you, the audience, find, play with and gossip about.... The Wonder Club invite you to an extraordinary site specific performance." Facebook Event link.

This morning I popped down to get involved in the very exciting transformation of an old warehouse on Stoke's Croft, in Bristol. Taken over by The Wonder Club, the two huge floors of this incredible space are having make-shift theatre stages constructed, surrounded by art pieces. Invited in to do a piece on the stairs connecting the two floors, I took several of my recent drawings (and some older ones) and drew them out using a mixture of spray, pen and paint. Final touch was to glue some leaves on the branches and job done.

Performance starts in February and the tickets are going quickly. Check the links above if you want to see and take part in this very unique event.

Birdboy Sketchbook - Some Recent Drawings

2010-01-21T00:01:00.004Z

Live Drawing with Simon Mills & Ben Steers at Start The Bus

2010-01-20T23:39:00.005Z

Ben Steers organised a live drawing session at Start The Bus earlier this week and invited Simon Mills and myself to join him in putting marker pen to paper for a very good chunk of an evening. We each worked on a section each and then invaded each other's space, in my case adding twisted birds, swoops, dotes and messy marks, while the boys added tight, inventive characters poking fun at each other. It was another attempt for me to have a go at placing a figure in my work alongside and mixed up with my bird imagery. I definitely feel more confident with drawing in front of others after this session and can't wait for the next blast. Rumour has it that Start The Bus will be holding many more of these type of events, and you're all invited... Must get more pens!

Scream louder

2010-01-06T22:14:00.002Z

Open your mouth and let out some sound.

Image for 'Collarbone' Zine

2010-01-06T21:51:00.004Z

The lovely Helga has extended a request to myself to do a little drawing for her exciting new zine 'Collarbone'. I've wanted to do a combination of my bird drawings with human elements for a while, so saw this as a great opportunity to let loose and experiment with that idea.

Featured in CRACK magazine issue 3

2009-12-04T12:28:00.005Z

Sat down with Tom Frost the other day so he could ask me a bunch of questions, which then got written up into a nice little article for the superb new(ish) magazine CRACK. You can pick up a free copy of issue 3 from a number of bars, shops and clubs around Bristol. For those who can't I've included the images and text below.

If you happen to be in Bristol on the evening of Saturday 5th December, then nip along to the 'Square Club' in Clifton for the launch party of issue 3. I'll be there obviously.

Live Drawing with Simon Mills & Ben Steers

2009-12-01T10:34:00.000Z

DRAWN RECORDINGS held another tip-top evening of live music and live drawing. Simon Mills and I took to the paper with pens and had along the very amiable and talented Ben Steers. Working on all parts of the paper together we created a mountain of doodles and characters topped off by a conquering flag adorned with the DRAWN logo. Fun!

Alphabits: The Letter 'L'

2009-11-17T00:25:00.004Z

Julian James of BOYS WHO DRAW is putting together a very jolly project featuring 26 illustrators. It's called 'Alphabits' and it's going to be the best collaborative, alphabet poster you ever clapped your eyes on! Raising money for the 'Children In Need' charity, all our efforts can be seen on a website (coming soon!) and available to purchase, in the form of the poster.

I was given the letter 'L' and loony kids laughing in long johns emerged sometime later.
tee hee

Ellie Cryer is Oh Gosh Sorry!

2009-11-09T12:05:00.005Z

Bristol-based illustrator Ellie Cryer has started a blog with lots of things that make her go "Oh Gosh Sorry"!!

There is plenty to inspire and get all excited about. I recommend having a look and definitely clicking the "Follow" button to keep up to speed with her quick thinking wit and charm. She's also stonkin' good at drawing too...

Queensbury Hotel & Olive Tree Restaurant Images

2009-11-05T23:09:00.003Z

The Queensbury Hotel & Olive Tree Restaurant have just had a brand new design face-lift and I was given the intricate job of carefully rendering and adapting two archive illustrations. The first is two women having a bit of a fight. And the second is a cheerful Victorian gent with a boxing glove to hand!

Have a nosey on their website to view the drawings in context. See if you can spot the cheeky animation of the boxing gent.

It's The Christmas Production Line!

2009-11-04T09:32:00.002Z

I was set a mini-challange to create an illustration for a possible Christmas market and was given little themes to include in the artwork. It's a bit of an experiment and slightly different from my other drawings, but I had fun doing it and I think I may do some more images like this perhaps.

CAKE in the next Doodlezine

2009-11-03T09:27:00.002Z

Doodlezine issue 3 is out soon and the theme is going to be doodled text. I did a piece about on of my favourite things...

Jigsaw Battle

2009-10-26T08:19:00.004Z

Many years ago I was clearly killing time and plonked together a 1500 jigsaw pieces to make up a classic puzzle of the battle ship 'The Royale'. It's been gathering a fine layer of dust, tucked away behind my drawing board, held together with sticky-back plastic. But now, I hope, it's been given a little bit of a new lease of life with some added characters invading the turmoil of the battle. Perhaps more will be added or perhaps this is an experiment gone wrong. I'm not sure yet, but here it is for your amusement...

Indian Mask

2009-10-21T20:29:00.005+01:00

A drawing for an Indian-themed masked party. I've attempted to combine some different elements of that culture, by working Indian patterns as henna with the decorated elephant. The eye hole forms part of the rug design on the back of the elephant. I've then mirrored the one drawing to create the mask.

Live drawing with Simon Mills

2009-10-19T14:59:00.004+01:00

DRAWN RECORDINGS is an exciting night that happens in Bristol and Simon Mills and I did some live drawing at the last one. There is a time lapse video here (or click onto my Facebook page), which is quite fun to watch.

Collaborating with Paul Roberts & Seb Burnett

2009-10-18T17:33:00.008+01:00

Paul Roberts has some of his work in the Tobacco Factory, as part of the THEMLOT collective exhibition. He happened to be down in Bristol this afternoon and we thought we'd sit down and crack out a bit of a collaborative drawing. We got the right honorable Seb Burnett to get involved too and these are the results, spread across two bits of A2 paper.

Feel The Folk! Poster

2009-10-14T10:32:00.006+01:00

I've just completed a little poster for a 'Feel The Folk!' night.
Click here for the Facebook Event

Wonderland - Work is hung!

2009-09-10T23:37:00.003+01:00

Some snaps of my work in the 'WONDERLAND' show.

Stretch

2009-09-08T09:27:00.003+01:00

A small image, also for the 'WONDERLAND' show. This piece called "Stretch".

Journey To Wonderland

2009-09-06T20:35:00.003+01:00

Another piece for the 'WONDERLAND - INKYGOODNESS 3' show, titled: "Journey To Wonderland".

Wonderland - Exhibition - Preparation

2009-09-03T11:53:00.004+01:00

The excitement about the third 'INKYGOODNESS' show is building. Called 'WONDERLAND' the exhibition is going to be at 'The Custard Factory' in Birmingham. Featuring a rather impressive amount of illustrators and image makers, I think it's going to be a bit special! I'm putting the finishing touches to a few pieces for the occasion and have uploaded a little sneaky peek of some of the work in progress. What could it be....?

Decked Project - Photos

2009-09-02T12:19:00.000+01:00

The 'DECKED' exhibition at Stolenspace Gallery in London went rather well and below are a few pictures. (Two decks from myself: 2nd from left in middle image and 1st on left in bottom image.) I think there should be another one...

1984 // Sci-Fi Mix

2009-08-26T08:33:00.005+01:00

Above, a self-initiated piece on George Orwell's 1984, digitally tweeked for 2009. (Featured in my exhibition 'Cover it UP!' from earlier this year)

Also the boys of 'SPECIAL WEDNESDAY' have knocked together a Sci-Fi mix that is well worth the download...

And if you need some more blogging news from me then check out
BOYS WHO DRAW.

Pete Cranston Photoshoot

2009-08-21T08:58:00.004+01:00

The very professional photographer, Pete Cranston, requested a photoshoot of yours truly with some of my birds dotted about. Here are the results (click on a photo to view larger). BOYS WHO DRAW

Birdboy skateboard

2009-08-17T15:39:00.002+01:00

Birdboy got out his paint brush and did the back of a skateboard for the 'DECKED' exhibition happening very soon on Brick Lane in London. (this deck is still available to buy: dave@davebain.com)

Drawing for Folkwood Website

2009-08-13T12:32:00.004+01:00

Folkwood, a new independent music label for up-and-coming folk musicians, asked me to do a drawing for their new website, which is still in development. They've kindly allowed me to upload my image on here in advance of their launch. Keep an eye on their site to see it in place: www.folkwood.co.uk

BOYS WHO DRAW

Decked - Birdboy deck

2009-08-09T10:28:00.005+01:00

My deck for 'Decked' - check out their blog for all the info...
(this deck has sold)

UK/London Story - more images

2009-08-08T08:33:00.004+01:00

UK/London Story - more images

2009-08-07T08:28:00.002+01:00

UK/London Story

2009-08-06T07:22:00.006+01:00

A major Korean publisher commissioned me to do the UK based story for their new "Round The World" Geography Box Set.

Here are the first 5 images for that book, starting with the cover. In brief, the story is about a boy who decides to take his sister's artwork, that she forgot, to her at school. On his travels he picks up various objects, some of which he uses, and passes various London landmarks.

See more images here(1) & here(2)

(Click on each image to view at a larger size)

BOYS WHO DRAW

Memory (for Entrails Zine)

2009-08-05T09:52:00.004+01:00

Entrails Zine

BOYS WHO DRAW