illustration of Vessels, for Amelia's - don't think it's posted yet, it has shiny collage and ink. yum.

I want to talk a bit about some cool stuff.

one of the good things about the PGCE (the bad things include it being super exhausting and confusing - but there's more good than bad) is that it's making me expose myself to a load more art than usual. This should continue when I'm teaching which is super cool.

Most of the big galleries have special private views for teachers where you can see paying exhibitions for free, yes please.

Also, I'm like, burrowing into the internets looking for hot examples of tonal graduation or reductive lino or aztec patterns or whatever that I can show to the kids and be like, check out this awesome use of tonal graduation. do that. I am happy that I know about awesome art blogs like brown paper bag, Ballad Of featured, Illustration Rally, to name but a few.

I've seen awesome new inspirationstuff like Liesl Pfeffer's awesome photo collages
Lulu Allison's slightly creepy but beautiful papercuts
Anna See's lovely bird lino prints (i loves the birds you know)

I also went to the National Gallery yesterday on an inset thing, and fell in love with Van Gogh's Two Crabs. Little bit more famous. Check out those colours and tonal definitions tho. hot.


While I was there I saw the temporary free instalation of Clive Head's London paintings - if you like London I thoroughly recomend it. super awesome. Makes the point properly that painting wins over photography really, and that London is awesome also.

the lovely and talented Stacie Swift tagged me in this "meme" a while ago.

so now i have time to procrastinate a little. i will do it. They are mostly un-answerable questions for me, so i have given several answers.

Sorry is long. I have put in some videos to keep you engaged. but not over-stimulated. (that's a teaching joke)

1. What is your earliest memory?

I don't know obviously. I remember having a huge fire guard like a child cage and playing in that in the house i lived in till i was about 6. I remember going to a nursery with a giant teddy bear and a cool climbing frame and crying and crying because i wasn't the centre of attention. I remember singing I should be so lucky, without knowing what it was, at Jill's house the night my sister was born. probably.



2. What is your favourite meal to eat and also to cook?

I love eating out, but I am a disaster at ordering food in restaurants, it stresses me out and i get food envy. So my favourite meal to eat is one where i am amazed that i have actually managed to order something I really like. Certain tuna steaks spring to mind. And malasian food. And almost anything with chocolate. Or something cooked for me by someone I love.

My favourite food to cook is food for friends and family and sharing new things i have discovered with them. Or experimenting with mushrooms when Alex is out.

Sometimes when i am cooking I like to pretend I am Matt Prston off of Masterchef Australia.



3. Where is your favourite place in the world?

In bed, when i know i don't have to get up yet.
Brighton's North Laines on Christmas Eve.
Luang Probang walking in the market in the evening, enjoying a Watermellon Shake.
London, generally.
In a cinema, watching a film.

4. Who do you admire and why?

People who go through shit, and come out the other side smiling, not because they are strong, but because they are positive. And kind people. And people who are able to see the big picture and the small picture at the same time. People who make Art that is wise, and true, and pretty.

Dave McKean, Stephin Merritt, Josie Long, Los Bros Hernandez




5. What inspires you?

Walking around London, nice boots and nice bicycles, birds - allways.

6. Where would you take a visitor to your home town? Any hidden gems?

In Henfield, my actual home town, I would take them on a nice country walk, to a jumble sale, to a pub, or 10. That would be all of them.
In London, where I live, right now I would take them to the Wildlife Photographer of the Year Show, probably take them for some Ping Pong, go to St James' Park to see the birds, walk around a bit, see some cool buildings. I would show them Exchange Square on the way to Shoreditch.

7. What do you want to be when you grow up?


Liz Lemon.

Or a bintarung.

And so to carry on the meme here are my questions:

1.Who was your favourite toy when you were little, and are you still in touch?
2.Who is your favourite celebrity chef? and why?
3.How old do you really feel, on the inside?
4.What celebrity do you find really unnatractive, other than Sarah Jessica Parker?
5.What magazines and newspapers do you habitually read?
6.If you could have any animal in the world as a pet, what would you have?
7.What is your favourite song to secretly dance round the room to on your own?

they are different. you have to make up your own.

My questions are directed at:

JuneSees, Paul Shinn, Alice, Ellie Cryer

I done a recipe illustration for They Draw and Cook it prob won't be up there for a while as I assume they will have been inundated with the old submissions since they announced a little bit of a book deadline, but i am going to share it with you here anywho

it's a bit mini, so obviously in the actual full size piece you can read the words.

mwah

Claire.

project update alert

ok I have been a bit slow with the facebook project recently, due to being massively busy in the manner of a bee. I am getting back on track tho having now completed my first 50 drawings!

miniature celebration: woo!

Claire (above) is the first of my friends to participate in the project actively as invited by requesting both which photo and what style she wanted to be drawn in. I hope more people do as it adds an extra dimension to the work, being a little bit more about what we give to each other as friends in the world and how we interact on the internet, plus i have to think less, obviously.

lalala tralala trooloo lala

I forgot to post this image when i did it for the Biba preview before Fashion Week Amelia's Magazine


I like it a lot actually, sometimes you know you're not going to be able to do something justice if you try and be too accurate, so creating an impression is the way to go, which is this case paid off.

I wrote an essay at the weekend. go me. And i ate an enormous almond croissant. In the Rain.

It was all about my art education to date, formal and informal, so here are a few blasts from my past to remind you i was allways awesome, not just now.

Heylow.

I want to talk a bit about some awesome stuff that i have seen and done recently.

I went to the Cicus Bookazine blog slam with Amelia ('s magazine) which was a somewhat unique experience. Can something be somewhat unique? yes. I wrote all about it and posted my sketchings here.

this is Bangs and a Bun - one of the contributing readers.

Then on the PeeGeeCeeEee I've been doing some arty project work with kids like this awesome London cityscape they made.
I am not very good at being a teacher yet, but it's early days.

Then on Thursday I attended the Make Space Studios open studios to help launch a design company I'm, i think the best word is affiliated, with Splash Graphic Design.

I love open studio events, (tho I have no desire to go to all of them - you can have too much of a good thing) you get all the different types of creatives hanging out together and you get exposed to things you wouldn't have seen otherwise. They're better than degree shows I think, although the standard of work is just as variable, because everyone that's there is really determined, or at least successful.

Some fun illustrators like Katie Leamon who does, you know, like birds and swirls and pretty stuff. I don't know whether Tom Leamon is her lover or her brother, I could find out but I prefer not to, but I super love his big eye prints check this out


hot eh?

I also got talking to some nice film makers at Unthank who are super aces. here is one of their videos.

Toy Cars & Grave Yards - an unthank ident from unthank on Vimeo.

I get a bit confused when i start putting other people's who are not me work up here, so here is something wot i made to finish off.

it is of celebrities.

alright Chickens?
feeling friendly? feeling comfy? feeling flat?

this is still my all time favourite song to stop what your doing for a few minutes and recharge your batteries by jumping manicly around the bedsit



can't wait to see what he does for this year.

Here are 2 pictures I did when I was feeling naughty enough to enter a competition, it's to coincide with the comics of my favourite ever book (and film ) the Last Unicorn and the winners will be in the actual comic so I could be reaching many whimsical geeks like me worldwide. so fingers crossed for that.

I am thinking about a realatively major website overhaul. In my copius free time of course, but watch the space that is here.