Patience on their part and perseverance on mine eventually enabled me to leave college with a bulging folio of work where the odd piece showed potential. First commissions came from Sue Wilson, an ex graduate of Brighton working as Art Editor at Accounting Technician - thank goodness for the Brighton Mafia! More work followed after portfolio visits in the big smoke (London!) and I settled into a routine of terrifyingly (real world) fast deadlines supported by an addiction to coffee that still lasts to this day.
An extra boost of confidence came when I was lucky enough to win the Best Newcomer Award from The Association of Illustrators. This helped me gain a wider work profile and suddenly clients were ringing a little more frequently.
Not long after leaving college I was invited to join a then fledgling Illustration Agency called the Steven Wells Illustration Agency where my career advanced greatly under the guidance of Fig Taylor and Steven Wells. I was then represented by Rick Goodale and Ann-Kathrin Durge at Artbank for a few years where I started exhibiting work for the first time in their London gallery, culminating in a one man show.
I now work for a broad range of international clients from my small studio based in the North West of the UK. Until recently I also worked as a part time lecturer on the illustration degree courses at UCLAN and Coleg Menai. After a very rewarding few years of teaching I decided to have a break from education to concentrate solely on freelance work.
How: I tend to use a combination of acrylic paint, ink, collage, and the computer to create the finished artwork – with no set approach as to which medium leads the process. Sometimes paint dominates, sometimes it’s the Mac. Generally a sketchbook, a layout pad and a set of drawings guide the way.
Influences: They come and go, although the following artists remain a constant inspiration: Brad Holland, Marshall Arisman, Ronald Searle, Ralph Steadman, Gerald Scarfe, Paul Slater, Sue Coe, Edward Hopper, Peter Howson, Ray Richardson, Steven Cambell, Francis Bacon, Lucian Freud, Peter Blake, Paula Rego, Geroge Grosz, Vincent Van Gogh, to name but a few. I reach and dust off the books or look online to those artists for help when guidance is needed.
From a young age I enjoyed entering into a world of pure celluloid escapism. Movie influences have flowed into my work and their presence still remains. From extravagant 50’s B movie set pieces - to Ray Harryhausen stop motion creatures - to cowboy gunfights - to Clint Eastwood chewing on that cigar - to King Kong on top of the Empire State Building - to movie promotional posters. Much has filtered through.
And that’s not even mentioning influences like Brook Bond PG Tips Tea collector cards, or old Dan Dare Annuals or vintage Volkswagens, or post war tin toys, or my colection of (tatty) cacti, or designer vinyl figures, or 60's & 70's furniture or even our moth eaten bad tempered old tom cat !
Commissions: Please fell free to contact me if you need to view further samples or discuss a specific illustration commission. Artwork can be supplied in either digital or hand crafted formats. Both working methods can easily be accommodated.
Many thanks for taking the time to look through the site – very much appreciated!
3rd Prize: Altpick Annual Awards: 2009
3X3 Illustration Annual Number 5: 2009
Silver Award: Association of Illustrators: Images 29: Editorial Section: 2005
Silver Award: Association of Illustrators: Images 26: Unpublished Section: 2002
Solo Exhibition: Artbank Gallery: 2000
Award of Excellence: Society of Newspaper Design Awards: 1999
Best use of Traditional Materials: Association of Illustrators: Images 22: 1997
Silver Award: BBC Design Awards: Royal Mail Greeting Stamps (set of 10): 1990
Best Newcomer Award: Association of Illustrators 1989
AOI Images: 14. 15. 17. 18. 21. 22. 23. 24. 25. 26. 27. 28. 29. 30. 31. 32. 33. 34.