Botanical sketching

Sketchy characters

Here's a few from the sketchbook. I used to be part of a drawing group but we haven't met up in ages so I've taken to sketching from fashion blogs when I get the hankering to draw figures.

These ones are from a little closer to home, my cat Shorty.

This is her classic 'I'm shy / no photos please' pose

The ever transforming White Lady

I've been reading about 'White Ladies' which are a sort of ghost archetype. They normally appear in rural areas and are associated with a local tragedy, but there are local varieties all around the world. This drawing is of a Norwegian White Lady (Den Hvite Dame), she threw herself off the Fredriksten Fortress after her lover got hit by a cannonball. She is said to appear at midnight and sometimes sort of waves to people.

This was my initial sketch which I teased out into a print design (below)

But my blue layer got held up in the screenprinting process so she's just one colour at the moment. I love screenprinting but aren't particularly good at it yet. 

 Then I decided she wasn't quite ghostly enough so lobbed off her feet, changed her dress and went back to trusty pencil. 

More on Gef here

Totes

I recently got some tote bags printed with some vouchers I had for a print place, I was in a bit of a hurry to use them before they expired so I just put some old designs on. I'm currently studying a postgraduate diploma in illustration and have access to screenprinting facilities so maybe I'll do some of these suckers to sell.

Through an unfortunate accident with an irate wizard a small man became fused to his large cat, thus the Kathmandu Catman was born. They are prone to argue amongst themselves, mostly about directions and what's for tea, yet they make a stylish addition to this heavy duty canvas tote.

Greybeard Verse 3

gooseberry lantern

Here's a couple of sketches I did the other day, I've got some cape gooseberries growing in the garden, their fruits look so muck like little lanterns.

combined interests

Side by side

Well go and have a look in the latest edition of Volume, the NZ Herald's new weekly music magazine, page 18. It's my poster for Thee Oh Sees next to my friend Emily's poster for the Broken Heartbreakers & Bond Street Bridge tour. Her boyfriend Sam is Bond Street Bridge and she makes the art for his stuff as well as doing great prints and paintings and such, have a gander at her prolific blog here. Sam has a very funny blog too where you can read all about his many tours and listen to his lovely music, here. And the Broken Heartbreakers also have a blog worth reading, basically everyone has a blog which requires your attention.

It's exciting to see my poster actually printed out, on newsprint too, so tactile.

Greybeard verse 6

This is an illustration for verse 6 of The Adventures of Captain Greybeard, an epic poem I wrote years ago and am slooowly illustrating. It's pretty challenging maintaining consistency in the character's looks and I'm quite a perfectionist about it, which doesn't make things go any faster. In this scene the flea, fly and moth have escaped from the Regal, Greybeard's ship. I wanted to do a quiet, hopeful scene to break up the monotony of terror and despondency. 

Cats in hats

 Some xmas presents

My sister's cat Ninja in a deerstalker. 

She likes crime novels.

My friend's cat Loulou, they've been having a bit of a battle with her at the moment because she keeps pissing in the corner of their room so I put her in Soviet style garb with the corner battlefield in the background. This cat has the best withering look ever.

Just felt like drawing a pineapple

Evidence painting

Well this is the only image of it which I have at the moment which makes it look kinda crappy but this is my painting which is for sale in the Audio Foundation's christmas show. I'll put up a better one as soon as I get one. The AF exhibition, Aura Emporium opens today at 5pm and there will be FREE organic sausages and feijoa wine so you should all come down even thought it's raining a bit, so what! Also there will be DJs and Karaoke Dick from 8pm.

Also for sale is all the copies I've made so far of my 'Evidence' zine, which is a companion piece to this painting. They're a steal at $5 a pop.

More Greybeard!

These are my two latest illustrations for The Epic Adventures of Captain Greybeard, a 14 verse illustrated poem which I wrote some years ago and an sloooowly illustrating, got 9 verses to go. At the moment I'm really enjoying working on it, I just want to draw and draw and draw all day!!

Here's this one's verse, extra points for spotting the flea in the drawing!

"Well I've lived a good life", the moth reflected,

Said he to the flea "I'll keep you protected,

From that vile bully, the Captain Greybeard".

Just then on the horizon the Regal appeared.

"You're tiny" said the moth, "In the figurehead's eyes

There's a wee cranny, you'd just fit inside".

I'll tell him you went the same way as the fly,

And keep him distracted as you slip on by.

But if you survive promise me you'll transpose

A veracious account of this voyages woes".

Now before Greybeard sees you get under this cloth".

The flea whispered thanks to the big hearted moth.

Near to the ship Greybeard called "Ahoy there!

Ye thought ye all could just disappear?

"Heavens no!" cried the moth, "we just went on a trip,

We had every intention to come back to the ship".

"Get aboard" snarled Greybeard, "or I’ll give you the whip!"

Evidence zine

These are some images from a wee zine I'm making as a companion piece to a painting which is in the Audio Foundation's christmas show. The exhibition opens on Saturday the 3rd of December from 5-8pm and there will be a B.B.Q (!!) too. I forgot to take a pic of the painting before I sent it off but will put one up soon.

Thee Oh Sees poster

The High Seas is still in operation but now as a sort of promotions company/occasional record label, our latest venture is bringing over San Franciscan pop/folk/psychedelic outfit Thee Oh Sees. Oh boy!

I'm really big on alligators at the moment, they've totally superseded octopuses as my favourite aquatic animal to draw. I wanted the poster to look super summery so gave my gator a pool to lounge in. This one was done in my customary manner of scanning in pencil layers,  I love the textures it gives but it means it takes 20 or so scans and tons of layers.

Some recent new (old) books

This one has some great cartoons by French modernist, it's pretty hard to find any info on a lot of these guys other than what is in the brief index. These are elegant little cartoons, no superfluous lines or words.

Bil

Jacques Dropy

This one is just signed 'Nicolas' and there doesn't seem to be any info about  them in the book, mysterious!

Pouzet

Rene Chag

Siné is one of my favourite cartoonists in the book AND you can even find info about him, in English even, on Wikipedia even!

Another scene by Siné

William Steig is now best known for creating the character Shrek (which the films were later based on) but he was a cartoonist and illustrator his entire life. The Lonely Ones is one of his earlier books of cartoons for adults (published 1942), each page has a singular figure, generally in some form of torment although not exclusively and a small caption. The style is pretty different to his later stuff, I prefer it but then again I'm on a modernist kick at the moment, such good brushy lines!

I can't express it.

Who are all the others?

Revenge is sweet

Recent sketchbook gators

Sketching on the plane