Thought bubble: Leeds Comic Con

It's been ages since I last posted but I've been very busy sorting out some short stories as well as entering competitions. I recently went to Thought Bubble the comic convention in Leeds. It was a very busy event and got to take a portfolio with me to submit to the 2000ad competition. I got it critiqued by Peter Docherty (who incidentally also looked at my portfolio in 2002 Bristol comic con), Conor Boyle and Tom Foster. It was all very constructive. I also met with a host of small press publisher and hopefully some work will come about through it.

I travelled up with a Charles Cutting , artist /writer of Kadath and artist for Steamhamer who was selling his work at Sloth Comics

Above is my submission for the competition. Although it didn't make the final the main points I need to develop more, as critiqued by Tom Foster, were the way the panels link to each other, specifically in page one 2nd to 3rd panel. The real world elements need to be better drawn and more space was needed for dialogue specifically in page 4.
Pete Docherty commented further on the finish and structure of my line work and where I need to improve. being more purposeful with one brush stroke instead of using many to convey a form and committing to the line work and making things less scribbly.

One of the main positives was that it was kept visually interesting with good varying panels.

Conor looked at different work The Teleguuth story and commented that I need more distance variation especially in the first 2 pages.

Further more I got to watch the artists mentioned and others at work which is always interesting and educational. At one point I watched Kev Walker work and before I knew it an hour and a half had passed.

Also by chance I met Neil R Williams, someone I went to Chesterfield college with, who's created his own comic Carcass and Slime.

Happy Halloween

Jonny Ives and submissions for St Just's Freedom Exhibition

With the summer holidays over it's back to the grind.
 I thought I'd put up this caricature I painted in the summer of Jonathan Ives editor of the Leisure review http://www.theleisurereview.co.uk/

I meet Jonny through our daughter's ballet class where afterwards the children clamber into the.... basket?... of his bike and he cycles up the hill to the café where they all run riot and let off some steam. I thought about a more humorous portrayal at first, thanks to some of the Photos Jonny kindly passed on to me, but decided against it as it wouldn't be very flattering.

 

This took 3 and a half  hours of work in the end.

 

Next is a submission for St Just http://www.st-just-humour.fr/

They're mainly pieces I 'd already put up but there are some new ones I specifically did on the theme they'd set  'Freedom'

 

I took inspiration from Norman Rockwell's illustrations of Franklin D. Roosevelt's 4 freedoms:

Freedom of Speech

Freedom to Worship

Freedom from Want

Freedom from Fear ..

 

and added and over bearing leader watching in the background.

 

 

Paul and Nicola

 

This is a caricature of my friend and his lovely wife who were recently married. Congratulations to them both. I wish them the very best.

Bury Knowle Library

This is an ink drawing I recently finished. I thought with the recent painting of the museum out of the way it'll be nice to draw another building, or at least finish one I started a while ago.

 

This was started a few summers ago when Angela had Ellie for the morning and I had some time to myself, so went and drew the Local library. I spent maybe an hour or so sketching it out in my sketch book purely as a practice piece, but looking at it again last summer I felt I wanted to take it further so traced it onto watercolour paper with the notion of painting it when I had the time. Instead while, inking it, I liked the effect the paper had on the ink lines so decided to leave it uncoloured. I left it unfinished due to other things going on and completely forgot about it until Angela said she'd like to hang it up at her office, so I dug it out and finished it, now it's mounted and framed ready for her to take to work.

 

 

Portrait: Ellie Contemplating

 

 

Although she's often a happy child I see her very often just watching the things happening around her. In nursery, foundation and year one, the teachers have all commented on her tendency to hang back and thoughtfully observe before carrying out her tasks.

 

 

 

This portrait of Ellie is produced in oil paint. It's taken around 32 hours of work and I based it one main reference photo and used two extra photos to help with the face.

Oxford Art comp entry

The painting is finally finished with all the obscure little details added. On screen it probably doesn't look too different from what I last posted but I still think it made a difference. Now I just need to let it dry, then varnish, photograph and frame it and it'll be ready for submission. Working time about 50 hours of drawing and painting time, discounting prep work.

 

 

While I'm immersed in oil paints I thought I'll paint my first portrait in years. This is a work in progress of Ellie in a contemplative mood. This is about 25 hours of painting time so far, I reckon another full day should finish it.

Have to hurry though, school holiday's about to start and I expect my time for working will spiral downwards.