I have to say that 2010 sucked. Bigtime. Ive had years where things have been up and down, as does everyone- but never have i had a year where the bad has so dramatically outweighed the good. And im going to blame it on the year itself purely as it seems like its not just affected myself and my family but the vast majority of the people i encounter all have had similar tales of bad luck throughout the year.
Im not going to continue to waffle about all that has happened this year (there has been some good points by the way- its wasnt all bad!), but lets just say i am looking forward to the new year like never before. So in short, goodbye 2010- glad we were just passing through, please dont visit again!
I hope that you have all had a great Christmas holiday and that you have a great time on New Years Eve- whatever youre up to. Heres to a better, brighter 12 months!
Cheers!
Friday, 31 December 2010
Thursday, 23 December 2010
The Long Walk Teaser...
I released a small Instagram pic of part of my piece for the Corey Helford Gallery group show 'In the Nursery' a couple of days ago but wanted to share a slightly bigger version- it doesnt show much more than the other pic but it is a bit bigger and a lot clearer!
My piece is entitled 'The Long Walk' and was painted with a cross of creepy / cute that im getting to feel quite comfortable with now. I also wanted to do something that i would be happy to have up in my own daughters room, fortunately / unfortunately shes a bit young to appreciate the darker side. Its approx 550x550mm (22" sq) digital painting mounted on board and framed. The show starts the 29th Jan 2011 and will be available to purchase from CHG. I think the online preview will be going out a week or so before the show starts.
The list of artists involved so far will make an awesome show and im honoured to be a part of it. Heres a list of some of the artists showing: Aiko, Chris Anthony, Shawn Barber, Scott G. Brooks, Ray Caesar, Sas and Colin Christian, Ben Eine, Korin Faught, Sarah Folkman, Paul Frank, Harma Heikens, Hush, Anita Kunz, Michael Mararian, Elizabeth McGrath, Brandi Milne, Billy Norrby, Brendan Sharkey, Natalie Shau, Mike Stilkey, David Stoupakis, Sage Vaughn, Nick Walker, Martin Wittfooth and Chet Zar.
My piece is entitled 'The Long Walk' and was painted with a cross of creepy / cute that im getting to feel quite comfortable with now. I also wanted to do something that i would be happy to have up in my own daughters room, fortunately / unfortunately shes a bit young to appreciate the darker side. Its approx 550x550mm (22" sq) digital painting mounted on board and framed. The show starts the 29th Jan 2011 and will be available to purchase from CHG. I think the online preview will be going out a week or so before the show starts.
The list of artists involved so far will make an awesome show and im honoured to be a part of it. Heres a list of some of the artists showing: Aiko, Chris Anthony, Shawn Barber, Scott G. Brooks, Ray Caesar, Sas and Colin Christian, Ben Eine, Korin Faught, Sarah Folkman, Paul Frank, Harma Heikens, Hush, Anita Kunz, Michael Mararian, Elizabeth McGrath, Brandi Milne, Billy Norrby, Brendan Sharkey, Natalie Shau, Mike Stilkey, David Stoupakis, Sage Vaughn, Nick Walker, Martin Wittfooth and Chet Zar.
Wednesday, 15 December 2010
Saint Criminal Live...
My piece for the guys at T-post mag (check the previous post here if you missed it) has been released into the wild. Head over to the T-post site and read the article for issue 60 here.
In other news, some of you may have noticed i havent been around much over the last week or so- nothing new there, but its because im trying to wrap up a new piece which is going to the Corey Helford Gallery in LA for their Jan group show 'In the nursery'. For some reason this piece has been giving me a few headaches (an armidillo took a hell of a lot longer than i anticipated!!) but hopefully it will be worthwhile in the end. I will try and post up a teaser at some point.
Today we found out that after 7 years we are having to move (we rent our home btw) and find somewhere else to live. Its a real bummer, as a family we have put down roots here but it doesnt look like we will be able to afford to live elsewhere in Bath (its a stupidly over priced region to live in!). Hopefully we will find somewhere suitable sooner rather than later. Trying not to let it stress us out too much- especially with christmas round the corner. 2010 has utterly sucked and i will be glad to see the back of it! Looking forward to 2011!!
In other news, some of you may have noticed i havent been around much over the last week or so- nothing new there, but its because im trying to wrap up a new piece which is going to the Corey Helford Gallery in LA for their Jan group show 'In the nursery'. For some reason this piece has been giving me a few headaches (an armidillo took a hell of a lot longer than i anticipated!!) but hopefully it will be worthwhile in the end. I will try and post up a teaser at some point.
Today we found out that after 7 years we are having to move (we rent our home btw) and find somewhere else to live. Its a real bummer, as a family we have put down roots here but it doesnt look like we will be able to afford to live elsewhere in Bath (its a stupidly over priced region to live in!). Hopefully we will find somewhere suitable sooner rather than later. Trying not to let it stress us out too much- especially with christmas round the corner. 2010 has utterly sucked and i will be glad to see the back of it! Looking forward to 2011!!
Monday, 22 November 2010
Pandora
In case you missed it, heres my piece for the London Miles Gallery Nov group show 'The Idol Hours'. Iconic artworks reinterpreted for the modern age by an elite selection of New Contemporary artists. Running from the 12th November to 1st of December at their Westbourne Studios space in London the show has a great line-up of artists paying tribute to some classic works. Some of the artists showing include: Dave MacDowell, Stella Im Hultberg, Matthew Bone, Travis Lampe, Zoe Lacchei, Bob Dob, Carrie Ann Baade, Carles Gomila, Nom Kinnear King, Chris B Murray, Ken Keirns and myself.
I chose to pay homage to Dante Gabriel Rossetti's 'Pandora'. This was the first piece i had done as a one off digital work, it was painted digitally with painter as i usually work- printed on heavy cotton rag stock, hand embellished with acrylic, varnished and mounted on board. The end result was then custom framed and i have to say i was really pleased with how it turned out. Apparently it has got great feedback at the show and sold in a sneak preview a couple of days before the show opened! (as an aside to this- my 'Frankie' piece, which was also produced in the same way- also sold really quickly at the opening for the Eyes wide shut show in Bath the same night!) So going by the good feedback ive been getting i think i will be producing my work in this way from now on, with limited edition prints being reserved for a smaller size and much smaller run than previously published.
Heres my Pandora piece if you cant get to London Miles before the 1st of december and a couple of detail shots. In case youre interested the painting is about 20x28" / about 50x70cm, excluding the frame.
I chose to pay homage to Dante Gabriel Rossetti's 'Pandora'. This was the first piece i had done as a one off digital work, it was painted digitally with painter as i usually work- printed on heavy cotton rag stock, hand embellished with acrylic, varnished and mounted on board. The end result was then custom framed and i have to say i was really pleased with how it turned out. Apparently it has got great feedback at the show and sold in a sneak preview a couple of days before the show opened! (as an aside to this- my 'Frankie' piece, which was also produced in the same way- also sold really quickly at the opening for the Eyes wide shut show in Bath the same night!) So going by the good feedback ive been getting i think i will be producing my work in this way from now on, with limited edition prints being reserved for a smaller size and much smaller run than previously published.
Heres my Pandora piece if you cant get to London Miles before the 1st of december and a couple of detail shots. In case youre interested the painting is about 20x28" / about 50x70cm, excluding the frame.
Saturday, 20 November 2010
Saint Criminal
Here's a recent commission for T-post magazine in Sweden. To quote their About page: 'Offbeat news + graphic t-shirt = T-post, the world’s first wearable magazine. Every five weeks, subscribers receive a new t-shirt in the mail. News story on the inside. Artist interpretation on the front. All-around conversation piece.' Which is a pretty nice idea. They have been quite nicely selective with the artists they have chosen to interpret the main article in each mag so i was happy to be involved.
I was asked to interpret an article based on the subject of unusual sentencing for various crimes with the examples of an Ohio judge ordering a Salvation army worker who stole a collection tin containing about $250 to spend the night homeless (which i have to say was a bit lame- thats almost a drunk night out for most- a week or month may have been a better example!). Or the story of a judge ordering a man who slapped his wife to go to yoga classes and a woman convicted of animal neglect that led to the euthanization of one of her horses, being sentenced to 30 days in jail, the first three with nothing to eat but bread and water.
One of the most interesting was the story of Superior Court Judge Karl Johnstone ordering Capt. Joseph Hazelwood to spend 1,000 hours wiping rocks and cleaning beaches in Prince William Sound as punishment for steering the tanker Exxon Valdez onto Bligh Reef where it spilled 11 million gallons of crude oil.
After some direction from the guys at Tpost this was the basis for my illustration, hopefully it will look cool on the T!
I was asked to interpret an article based on the subject of unusual sentencing for various crimes with the examples of an Ohio judge ordering a Salvation army worker who stole a collection tin containing about $250 to spend the night homeless (which i have to say was a bit lame- thats almost a drunk night out for most- a week or month may have been a better example!). Or the story of a judge ordering a man who slapped his wife to go to yoga classes and a woman convicted of animal neglect that led to the euthanization of one of her horses, being sentenced to 30 days in jail, the first three with nothing to eat but bread and water.
One of the most interesting was the story of Superior Court Judge Karl Johnstone ordering Capt. Joseph Hazelwood to spend 1,000 hours wiping rocks and cleaning beaches in Prince William Sound as punishment for steering the tanker Exxon Valdez onto Bligh Reef where it spilled 11 million gallons of crude oil.
After some direction from the guys at Tpost this was the basis for my illustration, hopefully it will look cool on the T!
Wednesday, 10 November 2010
Friday 12th November...
This friday, the 12th November, i have work in 2 shows. First up is my tribute to Dante Gabriel Rossetti's 'Pandora' for the 'Idol Hours' group show at the London Miles Gallery and can be seen here on a showcard. If youre in London be sure to pop over and check out the show, its an impressive artist list and im really pleased to be involved and have my work hanging in such great company!
Next up is the 'Eyes wide shut' show by Fine Grime at the Walcot Chapel in Bath- my home turf! I have my 'Frankie' portrait and the 'All the Devils' works on show / sale at this exhibition so if youre local to the area, or if you fancy a night in Bath- pop in for a drink and check out the works on show that include pieces from Sylivia Ji, Carles Gomila, Natalie Shau, Fran Williams and Tom Lane (aka Ginger Monkey).
I was intending to get up to the London Miles show but plans have had to change and i will now be at the Fine Grime show in Bath so feel free to say hi!
Next up is the 'Eyes wide shut' show by Fine Grime at the Walcot Chapel in Bath- my home turf! I have my 'Frankie' portrait and the 'All the Devils' works on show / sale at this exhibition so if youre local to the area, or if you fancy a night in Bath- pop in for a drink and check out the works on show that include pieces from Sylivia Ji, Carles Gomila, Natalie Shau, Fran Williams and Tom Lane (aka Ginger Monkey).
I was intending to get up to the London Miles show but plans have had to change and i will now be at the Fine Grime show in Bath so feel free to say hi!
Monday, 25 October 2010
A little Halloween cheer...
Edit: I have released 'Frankie' as a limited run of 10 prints, now available in the Mostlywanted shop. 9x12" plus border for framing, signed, titled and numbered, £50 plus p&p.
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After being off sick for awhile i was finally able to get motivated enough to do something creative on sunday! Heres a little portrait painted for Halloween. 'Frankie' is another Giclee mounted on board and varnished, about 12 x 17" and will be available at Fine Grimes 'Eyes Wide Shut' show on 12th Nov, along with the 'All the Devils' piece. Hope everyone has a good Halloween weekend!
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After being off sick for awhile i was finally able to get motivated enough to do something creative on sunday! Heres a little portrait painted for Halloween. 'Frankie' is another Giclee mounted on board and varnished, about 12 x 17" and will be available at Fine Grimes 'Eyes Wide Shut' show on 12th Nov, along with the 'All the Devils' piece. Hope everyone has a good Halloween weekend!
Tuesday, 12 October 2010
Hosting down..
Edit: Took all day but it looks like theyve sorted things out and everythings running normally again. Phew.
Sunday, 10 October 2010
All the Devils...
New piece, with a working title of 'All the Devils' which is a shortened title from the line 'Hell is empty and all the devils are here' from the first act in The Tempest by William Shakespear. The line is carved into the twisting bramble-like roots at the bottom of the picture. The final print will be approx 20x30 inches, hand embellished, dry mounted on board and varnished. I will drop some news when its available to purchase after its been on show. Heres the final piece and some details at about half size.
Monday, 4 October 2010
Mailout progress..
Well that just sucks, i spent way too long doing these cards, finished them up only to discover that i really didnt like the result! My main problem was that the 'air' card was seriously weak in comparison to the others and was just killing everything else. Ive sat here staring at them for so long that ive grown to loathe them- all because of that weak spot.. what a pain in the ass. Anyway, heres the 'Earth / Water' cards together.. back to the drawing board, hopefully i can pull something a bit stronger out of the bag!
Thursday, 23 September 2010
CA 180, The Sex Issue
Computer Arts magazine Issue 180 is now on the UK stands and as you may gathered from the title here- its the Sex Issue. To quote a little from the release copy:
'Whatever your opinion of it, sexual imagery within design is rife, and will almost certainly always be a part of the industry. So, this month we investigate, through a series of features, what is so alluring about erotically-charged design.'
Ive done a new image and walk-through on its process for the issue so heres a few photos of the spreads. I have to say that im really looking forward to giving this one a read- from the quick look ive given it so far it looks like a great issue with some top notch content from a great array of contributors. Check out the images below and then get out and grab yourself a copy while you can!
'Whatever your opinion of it, sexual imagery within design is rife, and will almost certainly always be a part of the industry. So, this month we investigate, through a series of features, what is so alluring about erotically-charged design.'
Ive done a new image and walk-through on its process for the issue so heres a few photos of the spreads. I have to say that im really looking forward to giving this one a read- from the quick look ive given it so far it looks like a great issue with some top notch content from a great array of contributors. Check out the images below and then get out and grab yourself a copy while you can!
Mailout sketch
Mentioned this awhile back, im doing a mailout relatively soon- i decided to go with a nice postcard accordian fold. Taken me awhile to get around to actually working out what sort of thing i wanted to do. Finally finished a reasonable grayscale sketch, a few things are off a bit and the graphic elements are all missing, (i tend to work those details out as i go along) but its pretty much there i think. Will be cracking on with the high res version asap.
As you can see from the previews, its a large landscape piece that broken down into the panels reflects the 4 elements. When its folded you should also get Earth and Water to make a smaller landscape of their own. Looking forward to working out the details!
As you can see from the previews, its a large landscape piece that broken down into the panels reflects the 4 elements. When its folded you should also get Earth and Water to make a smaller landscape of their own. Looking forward to working out the details!
Thursday, 16 September 2010
Telegraph Fashion Illustrations
Last weekend saw the release of the Daily Telegraphs Fashion supplement for Autumn / Winter and within its pages are my recently commissioned works. Im really pleased with how these came out thanks to some good direction from the AD at the telegraph. Its great to have a brief with a strong starting point but also be able to have a pretty free reign in its interpretation and execution. In case you missed it, heres some shots of the work in-situ.
Digital Arts
The nice guys at Digital Arts magazine asked me to do a little interview and supply a few images for a feature in the Autumn issue. The Brushes with Genius article centers on the art of digital painting and gives interviews, tips etc from some great artists: Sam Gilbey, The Red Dress, Rory Kurtz, Marta Dahlig, and Meisan Mui.
The issue is on the stands now, pick up a copy if you can and heres some of my shots from the mag:
The issue is on the stands now, pick up a copy if you can and heres some of my shots from the mag:
Wednesday, 8 September 2010
Print giveaway winners!
Its the 8th of Sept so the giveaway prize draw is done! Thanks for the great response and for those you you that helped spread the word a special thank you! In order to be as fair as possible each name on the list has their own number, im using the random.org true number generator to pick out the three winners in reverse order... and the winners are:
No.42 / Mike Ramirez / Wins 'Preen'
No.100 / Kirsty Mordaunt / Wins 'Fledgling'
No.55 / Erin Tapken / Wins 'O-dokuro'
Congratulations to the winners, i will be sending you a confirmation email shortly and to request your delivery details. To everyone else- thanks again for entering, im sure i will end up doing something similar again so check back soon!
No.42 / Mike Ramirez / Wins 'Preen'
No.100 / Kirsty Mordaunt / Wins 'Fledgling'
No.55 / Erin Tapken / Wins 'O-dokuro'
Congratulations to the winners, i will be sending you a confirmation email shortly and to request your delivery details. To everyone else- thanks again for entering, im sure i will end up doing something similar again so check back soon!
Tuesday, 7 September 2010
Prize draw closing
The print giveaway prize draw will be closing on the 8th Sepetember so this is the last chance to get your name in the hat if you havent already! See the Print Giveaway post for all the details and see what you could win or click through here to go straight to the signup page.
Wednesday, 1 September 2010
The Mostlywanted Shop lives!!
Finally, after quite awhile of waiting, i can now say that the shop is back up and running including the work from Yokai Dreams (both the smaller sizes and the large special limited editions for the exhibition) together with a selection of illustration work as open editions!
If youre interested, please visit mostlywanted.com/shop and if youre swayed, purchase something to brighten your walls!
If youre interested, please visit mostlywanted.com/shop and if youre swayed, purchase something to brighten your walls!
Wednesday, 25 August 2010
Social networking
As well as being able to catch me on Facebook, you can now find me on Twitter! Bearing in mind that im pretty useless at keeping things like this updated and use these social networks more for seeing what everyone else is up to.. so dont expect constant tweets. But if you feel the need to follow along, by all means do. @tombagshaw
Wednesday, 18 August 2010
Interview
The nice chaps Richard and Chippy of the Coats and Scarry art blog recently asked me to do an interview with them. Have a look at the article here: Tom Bagshaw on Yokai Dreams at Coates and Scarry
Tuesday, 17 August 2010
Print giveaway
In between everything else ive been trying to work in getting the mostlywanted shop redone, its taken a little while but i have finally finished it. (i have to say i reeaallly hate hand coding, the constant expletives centered around 'wtf is it doing that for?!!' tend to be a little wearing.)
I will be letting the site go live on the 1st September and to celebrate im going to be giving away 3 prints! Im giving away one limited edition O-dokuro, edition of 25, 16x16", 310gsm cotton rag. One of Fledgling and Preen, both open editions on 260gsm cotton rag, 13x18".
If you would like to be in with a chance to win: sign up here!
One week after the shop has opened (thats weds 8th btw) 3 names will be chosen at random and announced here later in the day. Sound good? Help spread the word by linking this post up via twitter, facebook, blogger or any other social network you frequent!
I will be letting the site go live on the 1st September and to celebrate im going to be giving away 3 prints! Im giving away one limited edition O-dokuro, edition of 25, 16x16", 310gsm cotton rag. One of Fledgling and Preen, both open editions on 260gsm cotton rag, 13x18".
If you would like to be in with a chance to win: sign up here!
One week after the shop has opened (thats weds 8th btw) 3 names will be chosen at random and announced here later in the day. Sound good? Help spread the word by linking this post up via twitter, facebook, blogger or any other social network you frequent!
Computer Arts tutorial
Ive just finished an illustration and tutorial walk-though for the nice chaps at Computer Arts magazine. Issue 180 has a sexy theme and i was asked to produce something as a full page illustration together with a step by step breakdown of the process. Im pretty happy with the end result but as the issue isnt out yet i will just give you a little preview and give you a better view of the article when it hits the shelves.
Saturday, 31 July 2010
Telegraph Fashion II
The very nice chaps at the Daily Telegraph kindly asked me to do some more work for the fashion supplement, which- after the success of the first one- i was more than happy to do! Each piece relates to a letter and its article in the magazine. 'A' was for Amelia (pertaining to Amelia Earhart) and focused on a Burberry flight jacket. The others were Knit, Red and Wild. Again, im not sure on the release date for the magazine so hopefully im not jumping the gun too much in sharing the work! Heres some detail shots from the four pieces, the full images can be found on mostlywanted or my Behance folio.
Also, a quick mention that ive given mostlywanted a little update by re-introducing some of my older works, this is primarily for commissioning purposes and will allow me to add and remove works as i go on.
Also, a quick mention that ive given mostlywanted a little update by re-introducing some of my older works, this is primarily for commissioning purposes and will allow me to add and remove works as i go on.
Thursday, 29 July 2010
Gathering cover illustration
This is a wrap around cover recently completed commission for Little Brown Books, the book is the UK version of Kelley Armstrongs 'The Gathering'. Not quite sure when its going to be launched so hopefully its ok to post this preview!
Wednesday, 28 July 2010
CIA site relaunch
The Central Illustration Agency have just relaunched their site to coincide with the release of the 'License to Inspire' book. Both have been designed by Staziker Jones who are also responsible for more of CIA's marketing materials. The new site brings together the CIA blog and shop with the primary site purpose of letting commissioning agents see examples of the artists work. There is now the added bonus of being able to create a moodboard for output to pdf which is pretty handy.
Tuesday, 27 July 2010
Yokai competition closed
Thanks for the overwhelming response everyone, its really cool that so many would like one of these little flyers! I am going to be picking out the 20 winners (thats all the flyers i have left out of 250 for the show!) via the extremely useful random.org which is probably the fairest way to 'randomly' select the winning names.
Unfortunatley i wont be able to let you know whether youve won or not, so to all who have entered i will say a big 'thank you', even more so to those who not only entered, but also wrote little notes- its very much appreciated!
The winners will have their flyer posted out to them tomorrow (weds 28th July), hopefully the post services around the world will be good and get them to you quickly. (not holding out too much hope on that one) There have been a lot, probably about 2/3 of entries from the USA with the rest scattered around the UK, France, Spain, Portugal, Russia and a couple from the far east. Quite interesting to see where some of you guys are!
Anyway, thanks again, i think with the success of this i may end up doing another little contest soon!
Unfortunatley i wont be able to let you know whether youve won or not, so to all who have entered i will say a big 'thank you', even more so to those who not only entered, but also wrote little notes- its very much appreciated!
The winners will have their flyer posted out to them tomorrow (weds 28th July), hopefully the post services around the world will be good and get them to you quickly. (not holding out too much hope on that one) There have been a lot, probably about 2/3 of entries from the USA with the rest scattered around the UK, France, Spain, Portugal, Russia and a couple from the far east. Quite interesting to see where some of you guys are!
Anyway, thanks again, i think with the success of this i may end up doing another little contest soon!
Tuesday, 13 July 2010
CIA Book press release
The Central Illustration Agency have passed on the press release for their debut book 'License to Inspire'. Its currently available on pre-order from amazon but will soon be gracing book stores worldwide. Heres the press release...
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License To Inspire
The Central Illustration Agency's book debut.
A collection of work from some of the world's most inspiring illustrators and the story of the agency that represents them.
License To Inspire is an eclectic mix of stunning artwork and fascinating interviews from the world's most talented illustrators and industry innovators. An invaluable resource for art buyers and other professionals within the creative industries, this will soon become a recommended text for art students and particularly those who wish to work in the industry. With inclusions from a diverse range of artists from Jonas Bergstrand to Sir Peter Blake, the book is packed with beautiful images and thought-provoking words. Created by the acclaimed Central Illustration Agency, who have been associated with the brightest talent in illustrative art since 1983, this book will be an essential addition to any coffee table or agency library.
"Illustration has been arguably the liveliest art form of this decade, and CIA have been right in the centre of it. This Book paints a brilliant and lively portrait of the world, the art and the business of contemporary illustration."
-Marc Valli, Elephant magazine & Magma.
Contents:
License to inspire. Now. And how now happened.
-A commentary charting the origins of the Central Illustration Agency from its inception in the 1980s to present day – a journey taking in some of the most memorable advertising campaigns and evocative book covers of the last few decades.
The mechanics of a job: a relatively simple case study.
-A case study tracking the progress of a job from commission to completion.
The artists.
Showcasing work from some of the worlds most talented illustrators, including:
12 foot 6, Ahoy There, Nik Ainley, Tatiana Arocha, Tom Bagshaw, Andrew Bannecker, Jonas Bergstrand, Ian Bilbey, Sir Peter Blake, Bernard Blatch, Greg Bridges, Christopher Brown, Mick Brownfield, Lesley Buckingham, Susan Burghart, Stanley Chow, Nishant Choksi, Sarah J Coleman, Haydn Cornner, Jimi Crayon, Dust, Tristan Eaton, Max Ellis, Fine & Dandy, Jeff Fisher, Jessie Ford, Andrew Foster, Nathan Fox, Jonathan Gibbs, Chris Gilvan Cartwright, Good Wives and Warriors, Brian Grimwood, Martin Haake, Pete Harrison, Lee Hasler, Sara Hayward, David Holmes, Darren Hopes, Peter Horridge, David Hughes, M. H. Jeeves, Kai & Sunny, Chris Kasch, Carol Lawson, Tina Mansuwan, Tim Marrs, Mick Marston, Chris McEwan, Clare Melinsky, Kate Miller, Dave Needham, Gary Neill, Jeff Nishinaka, Paul Oakley, Nigel Owen, Jackie Parsons, Jitesh Patel, Pirates, Wendy Plovmand, Ulla Puggaard, Maria Raymondsdotter, John Royle, Harriet Russell, Jeremy Sancha, Yuko Shimizu, Paul Slater, Ray Smith, John Spencer, Simon Spilsbury, Spiral Studio, Louisa St. Pierre, The 3D Agency, Alex Turvey, Mark Thomas, Benjamin Wachenje, Paul Wearing, Richard Wilkinson, Mike Wilks.
Back-word. What inspires Brian Grimwood.
A few words from the agency’s founder, whom Print Magazine described as “having changed the look of British illustration”.
In Conversation with:
Sheri Glee, Art Director at the Folio Society, Sir John Hegarty, BBH, Paul Slater and Tom Conran at the Cow, Sir Peter Blake at his studio and Katie Grogan, art buyer.
Edited by Benjamin Cox.
Designed by Staziker Jones - http://www.stazikerjones.co.uk/
Published by Pirum Press - http://www.pirumpress.co.uk/
Printed in Italy by Printer Trento Slr. Content, end-papers and cover wrap printed on Munken Print Cream, cover in Cialux cloth.
ISBN—13: 978-0-9565729-0-5
Publication date: 14 July 2010
Launch date: Early Autumn 2010 (tbc)
Price: RRP £25.00
Format: 246 x 189mm, case-bound
Hardcover: 256 pages
Will also be stocked in various hand selected, worldwide book, gift & interior stores, including Magma. More images & spreads available upon immediate request.
To receive a copy for review (or for your coffee table), please get in touch with CIA.
For more information or interviews, contact Alicja McCarthy on:
+44 (0) 207 73 7187
e: alicja@centralillustration.com
www.centralillustration.com
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License To Inspire
The Central Illustration Agency's book debut.
A collection of work from some of the world's most inspiring illustrators and the story of the agency that represents them.
License To Inspire is an eclectic mix of stunning artwork and fascinating interviews from the world's most talented illustrators and industry innovators. An invaluable resource for art buyers and other professionals within the creative industries, this will soon become a recommended text for art students and particularly those who wish to work in the industry. With inclusions from a diverse range of artists from Jonas Bergstrand to Sir Peter Blake, the book is packed with beautiful images and thought-provoking words. Created by the acclaimed Central Illustration Agency, who have been associated with the brightest talent in illustrative art since 1983, this book will be an essential addition to any coffee table or agency library.
"Illustration has been arguably the liveliest art form of this decade, and CIA have been right in the centre of it. This Book paints a brilliant and lively portrait of the world, the art and the business of contemporary illustration."
-Marc Valli, Elephant magazine & Magma.
Contents:
License to inspire. Now. And how now happened.
-A commentary charting the origins of the Central Illustration Agency from its inception in the 1980s to present day – a journey taking in some of the most memorable advertising campaigns and evocative book covers of the last few decades.
The mechanics of a job: a relatively simple case study.
-A case study tracking the progress of a job from commission to completion.
The artists.
Showcasing work from some of the worlds most talented illustrators, including:
12 foot 6, Ahoy There, Nik Ainley, Tatiana Arocha, Tom Bagshaw, Andrew Bannecker, Jonas Bergstrand, Ian Bilbey, Sir Peter Blake, Bernard Blatch, Greg Bridges, Christopher Brown, Mick Brownfield, Lesley Buckingham, Susan Burghart, Stanley Chow, Nishant Choksi, Sarah J Coleman, Haydn Cornner, Jimi Crayon, Dust, Tristan Eaton, Max Ellis, Fine & Dandy, Jeff Fisher, Jessie Ford, Andrew Foster, Nathan Fox, Jonathan Gibbs, Chris Gilvan Cartwright, Good Wives and Warriors, Brian Grimwood, Martin Haake, Pete Harrison, Lee Hasler, Sara Hayward, David Holmes, Darren Hopes, Peter Horridge, David Hughes, M. H. Jeeves, Kai & Sunny, Chris Kasch, Carol Lawson, Tina Mansuwan, Tim Marrs, Mick Marston, Chris McEwan, Clare Melinsky, Kate Miller, Dave Needham, Gary Neill, Jeff Nishinaka, Paul Oakley, Nigel Owen, Jackie Parsons, Jitesh Patel, Pirates, Wendy Plovmand, Ulla Puggaard, Maria Raymondsdotter, John Royle, Harriet Russell, Jeremy Sancha, Yuko Shimizu, Paul Slater, Ray Smith, John Spencer, Simon Spilsbury, Spiral Studio, Louisa St. Pierre, The 3D Agency, Alex Turvey, Mark Thomas, Benjamin Wachenje, Paul Wearing, Richard Wilkinson, Mike Wilks.
Back-word. What inspires Brian Grimwood.
A few words from the agency’s founder, whom Print Magazine described as “having changed the look of British illustration”.
In Conversation with:
Sheri Glee, Art Director at the Folio Society, Sir John Hegarty, BBH, Paul Slater and Tom Conran at the Cow, Sir Peter Blake at his studio and Katie Grogan, art buyer.
Edited by Benjamin Cox.
Designed by Staziker Jones - http://www.stazikerjones.co.uk/
Published by Pirum Press - http://www.pirumpress.co.uk/
Printed in Italy by Printer Trento Slr. Content, end-papers and cover wrap printed on Munken Print Cream, cover in Cialux cloth.
ISBN—13: 978-0-9565729-0-5
Publication date: 14 July 2010
Launch date: Early Autumn 2010 (tbc)
Price: RRP £25.00
Format: 246 x 189mm, case-bound
Hardcover: 256 pages
Will also be stocked in various hand selected, worldwide book, gift & interior stores, including Magma. More images & spreads available upon immediate request.
To receive a copy for review (or for your coffee table), please get in touch with CIA.
For more information or interviews, contact Alicja McCarthy on:
+44 (0) 207 73 7187
e: alicja@centralillustration.com
www.centralillustration.com
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Monday, 12 July 2010
Yokai give away...
Ive got a limited amount of the booklets i was giving away at my show, if you would like one drop me a mail to 'info at mostlywanted dot com' with 'Yokai Giveaway' as the subject line and include your postal address in the body of the message. I will leave it a couple of weeks and then randomly pick the recipients and get them in the post asap.
Edit: Competition closes Monday 26th July.
I designed these booklets to give visitors a brief insight into the stories that inspired each piece, 250 were produced and most went on opening night.
I wont be able to let you know if youve won or not, but i will post a message here to say when theyre in the mail.
Edit: Competition closes Monday 26th July.
I designed these booklets to give visitors a brief insight into the stories that inspired each piece, 250 were produced and most went on opening night.
I wont be able to let you know if youve won or not, but i will post a message here to say when theyre in the mail.
Yokai prints at Fine Grime
Fine Grime have released 2 of my works from my Yokai Dreams solo show as limited edition prints. 'Hito-dama' and 'Kuchisake Onna' are on sale in editions of 50 on Woodstock Felt cotton rag, 410 x 560mm including a border for framing.
If you would like to buy one (or two..) contact Joel at Fine Grime or buy online through my page on the Fine Grime shop. Some of the original editions of 5, done for the actual exhibition are also available via Fine Grime.
If you would like to buy one (or two..) contact Joel at Fine Grime or buy online through my page on the Fine Grime shop. Some of the original editions of 5, done for the actual exhibition are also available via Fine Grime.
Hullo all...
weeks pass and i have started getting a nagging feeling that i should be posting something here. At the moment im trying to get some new work done, working on a piece for the November group show at London Miles Gallery where im happy to say my work will be rubbing shoulders with some awesome artists!
Im also happy to be doing more work for the Telegraph magazine, doing illustrations for the fashion supplement. Ive also just finished a book cover for Little Brown Books, the UK edition of Kelly Armstrong's 'Gathering'. Hopefully i will be able to post them up soon.
For the July issue of Computer Arts magazine, they ran a series of articles for the 101 ways to make better images feature. I was kindly asked to provide 10 tips for the 'Brushes' section. If you havent seen the magazine heres the cover and my tips (theyre worded a lot better in the actual article!)
Get a Tablet!
To fully make use of the brushes in the major applications you really need a tablet. Once one is hooked up all the various brush options like pressure sensitivity, opacity, color dynamics, shape and scattering all become accessible and it also allows you to create work in a more intuitive way.
Rotate brushes
Its often an overlooked ability in the brush presets, but simply changing the rotation of a brush can produce some dramatic effects and is a feature worth playing around with if youre looking for something new. Obviously far more effective with brushes other than a basic circle tip!
Make custom brushes
It’s a lot easier than people expect. Most applications like Photoshop, Painter and Illustrator give you the ability to quickly make a new brush preset, fine tune the opacity, stroke, pressure and then save it for further use. Textures, marks from other brushes, photographs- all can be made into a new brush to breathe life into your work.
Download custom brushes
If you feel unsure about the process of creating your own or are pushed for time, there is a bunch of sites dedicated to sharing brushes that others have created. Most are free for personal or commercial use but some do require a credit so check what you download. Most brush repositories enable you to search for what youre after using basic filtering so it can be a quick way of finding a new effect.
Blending
For more realistic painting your digital paint can be blended together to produce soft transitions of colour. Corel Painter has the largest selection of brushes that replicate traditional media, blending paint in possibly the most realistic fashion. Photoshop 5 has introduced some new bristle brushes that accomplish a similar effect, in older versions using the smudge tool with a low opacity can also be used.
Brush Cursor
Most of the time the brush cursor is set by default to the standard outline of the brush tip which changes size as you increase or decrease the brush size. For the most part this is a fine way to paint but occasionally for detailed work or when youre zoomed in this display of the brush can get in the way. Temporarily switch over to the cross-hairs of the precise cursor by hitting the Caps lock on.
Add a layer style
When painting on layers your brush strokes can be given an extra dimension by adding a layer style. Simple brush marks can be given a variety of effects that can remain editable throughout your work-flow.
Default brushes
Its easy to forget that applications like Photoshop, Painter and Illustrator all come with brush libraries that have been created as a default toolset. Basic round head, soft, calligraphic, natural, wet and dry brushes are all useful and in many cases all you really need for many jobs.
Ditch the dodge and burn tools
Many creatives use the dodge and burn tools, most with subtlety, a few like a sledgehammer. Instead of jumping straight to those tools try the brush but change its mode to color dodge or color burn. It works best on a very low opacity and flow and instead of using a color to paint which can have some undesirable effects try using a mid range- dark gray.
Manage your brushes
Many people are so busy downloading or creating custom brushes they don’t realize that their brush library has become a ram sucking nightmare. Try to keep a default brush library that has a few of your most used brush types and either delete or create new brush libraries for the others. Name the library files in a way that will enable you to swap libraries in and out with ease for the job you are working on. Eg. Fabric textures.abr, foliage.abr, sketching brushes.abr.
-
Obviously theres a lot of other creatives talking about a variety of other subjects, certainly worth a look if youre at the news stand!
Im also in the process of sorting out the mostlywanted shop. Im going to be able to direct buyers to places where my work is currently for sale and also be putting out limited editions myself. If you would like to know when the shop goes live (and it may be a little while yet!) please pop over to the mostlywanted.com/shop page and register your email address where you will be added to a simple mailing list. You wont get anything else from me other than a single mail to let you know the shop is running- i wont be bombarding you with junk!
Im also happy to be doing more work for the Telegraph magazine, doing illustrations for the fashion supplement. Ive also just finished a book cover for Little Brown Books, the UK edition of Kelly Armstrong's 'Gathering'. Hopefully i will be able to post them up soon.
For the July issue of Computer Arts magazine, they ran a series of articles for the 101 ways to make better images feature. I was kindly asked to provide 10 tips for the 'Brushes' section. If you havent seen the magazine heres the cover and my tips (theyre worded a lot better in the actual article!)
Get a Tablet!
To fully make use of the brushes in the major applications you really need a tablet. Once one is hooked up all the various brush options like pressure sensitivity, opacity, color dynamics, shape and scattering all become accessible and it also allows you to create work in a more intuitive way.
Rotate brushes
Its often an overlooked ability in the brush presets, but simply changing the rotation of a brush can produce some dramatic effects and is a feature worth playing around with if youre looking for something new. Obviously far more effective with brushes other than a basic circle tip!
Make custom brushes
It’s a lot easier than people expect. Most applications like Photoshop, Painter and Illustrator give you the ability to quickly make a new brush preset, fine tune the opacity, stroke, pressure and then save it for further use. Textures, marks from other brushes, photographs- all can be made into a new brush to breathe life into your work.
Download custom brushes
If you feel unsure about the process of creating your own or are pushed for time, there is a bunch of sites dedicated to sharing brushes that others have created. Most are free for personal or commercial use but some do require a credit so check what you download. Most brush repositories enable you to search for what youre after using basic filtering so it can be a quick way of finding a new effect.
Blending
For more realistic painting your digital paint can be blended together to produce soft transitions of colour. Corel Painter has the largest selection of brushes that replicate traditional media, blending paint in possibly the most realistic fashion. Photoshop 5 has introduced some new bristle brushes that accomplish a similar effect, in older versions using the smudge tool with a low opacity can also be used.
Brush Cursor
Most of the time the brush cursor is set by default to the standard outline of the brush tip which changes size as you increase or decrease the brush size. For the most part this is a fine way to paint but occasionally for detailed work or when youre zoomed in this display of the brush can get in the way. Temporarily switch over to the cross-hairs of the precise cursor by hitting the Caps lock on.
Add a layer style
When painting on layers your brush strokes can be given an extra dimension by adding a layer style. Simple brush marks can be given a variety of effects that can remain editable throughout your work-flow.
Default brushes
Its easy to forget that applications like Photoshop, Painter and Illustrator all come with brush libraries that have been created as a default toolset. Basic round head, soft, calligraphic, natural, wet and dry brushes are all useful and in many cases all you really need for many jobs.
Ditch the dodge and burn tools
Many creatives use the dodge and burn tools, most with subtlety, a few like a sledgehammer. Instead of jumping straight to those tools try the brush but change its mode to color dodge or color burn. It works best on a very low opacity and flow and instead of using a color to paint which can have some undesirable effects try using a mid range- dark gray.
Manage your brushes
Many people are so busy downloading or creating custom brushes they don’t realize that their brush library has become a ram sucking nightmare. Try to keep a default brush library that has a few of your most used brush types and either delete or create new brush libraries for the others. Name the library files in a way that will enable you to swap libraries in and out with ease for the job you are working on. Eg. Fabric textures.abr, foliage.abr, sketching brushes.abr.
-
Obviously theres a lot of other creatives talking about a variety of other subjects, certainly worth a look if youre at the news stand!
Im also in the process of sorting out the mostlywanted shop. Im going to be able to direct buyers to places where my work is currently for sale and also be putting out limited editions myself. If you would like to know when the shop goes live (and it may be a little while yet!) please pop over to the mostlywanted.com/shop page and register your email address where you will be added to a simple mailing list. You wont get anything else from me other than a single mail to let you know the shop is running- i wont be bombarding you with junk!
Friday, 11 June 2010
Queen Adelaide Wine
Heres a recent illustration commissioned for a pitch to rebrand the Queen Adelaide wine in Australia. Its really a contemporary portrait to reinvigorate the publics perception of the brand. Obviously this was just the portrait, im guessing that the label design would incorporate the image within a frame of some sort, ive no idea how it eventually got presented to the client.
Wednesday, 2 June 2010
Beautiful Grim Auction
The second wave of auctions for the Beautiful Grim project is now live on Ebay. Check the listings for Beautiful Grim and see what wonderful works have been donated. The first edition of my 'Hito Dama / Beautiful Grim' piece for my Yokai Dreams show is available for bidding along with work by Lisa Evans, Joy Ang, Jeff Miracola, Victoria Ying and Andrew Jones to name just a few.
So if you can, place some bids and help out with a good cause.
So if you can, place some bids and help out with a good cause.
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