Rarekind agency London

I'm pleased to announce that alongside my New York agency Art Department, I'm now also represented by Rarekind agency, London!

SEW OVER IT Illustration & Packaging Design

Over the last year or so I have been working on an ongoing project with Lisa Comfort, owner of SEW OVER IT, 'a lovely sewing cafe in Clapham, London'.

Lisa's Story:
"Despite being teased for my “uncool” hobby, I persevered and carried on sewing. After studying at the London College of Fashion I worked for British designer Bruce Oldfield and then bridal couture designer Phillipa Lepley. I set up Sew Over It in a response to the growing feeling that sewing was becoming a lost skill. I hope that I can pass on my passion for sewing through Sew Over It and encourage more people in London to pick up a needle and thread!
Since opening Lisa has published her first book, Sew It, Wear It, Love It – an intro to sewing for beginners. She has also appeared on the Alan Titchmarsh Show and Kirstie’s Vintage Home. And finally, she was shortlisted in Red’s Hot Women Awards in the Woman to Watch category."
"I have created a sewing paradise for all of you to enjoy. Take classes, get advice, get inspiration, make friends, drop into take a look, browse the classes page. Tea and cake have always played an important role in my sewing projects so I have married the two and created a sewing café where you can work on your projects whilst munching on some cake and drinking tea!"

The project is ongoing but I thought it was about time I did a blog post about it to show the work I've done so far.
So far I have created four illustrations for the covers of the dressmaking kits. They are all in a vintage 50s/60s style, inspired by old Vogue sewing kits from that era. I've also designed the packaginf for all the sewing kits, and made illustrations for the boxes of Tie and Knicker making kits. Scroll down to see all the various bits and bobs....

Tea Dress illustration:

Rough sketches for the Tea Dress illustration:

Reference images for this illustration:

Shift Dress illustration:

Rough sketches & reference images for the Shift Dress illustration:

Wrap Dress illustration:

Rough sketches & reference images for the Wrap Dress illustration:

Ultimate Trousers illustration:

Rough sketches for the Ultimate Trousers illustration:

Reference images for this illustration:

All of the illustrations were very much influenced by the style of 1950s and 60s sewing kit illustrations, like these:

Here are some cute pictures of the finished kits taken from the SEW OVER IT instagram feed:

Editorial illustration for the cover of CICERO magazine

An illustration I created recently for German political magazine Cicero.
The brief was to create a portrait of the politician Horst Seehofer as a 'supercilious king of bavaria'. Unfortunately this one won't get printed, due to a last minute decision, but it was fun to make and I'm happy with it anyway!

"Horst Lorenz Seehofer (born 4 July 1949) is a German politician (CSU). He served as the Federal Minister for Health and Social Security from 1992 to 1998 and as the Federal Minister of Food, Agriculture and Consumer Protection in the cabinet of Angela Merkel from 2005 to 2008. In October 2008 he became chairman of the CSU and Minister-President of Bavaria." (from Wikipedia)

Work in progress:

Sketches:

Reference images:

Editorial illustration for Essence magazine

This is an editorial illustration I completed a few weeks ago for Essence magazine in the USA.

"ESSENCE is the premiere lifestyle, fashion and beauty magazine for African-American women. With its motivating message, intimate girlfriend-to-girlfriend tone, compelling and engaging editorial lineup and vibrant and modern design, ESSENCE is the definitive voice of today's dynamic African-American woman. ESSENCE speaks directly to a Black woman's spirit, her heart and her unique concerns. Every month African-American women rely on ESSENCE for editorial content designed to help them move their lives forward personally, professionally, intellectually and spiritually. Sections such as Work & Wealth, Healthy Living, and Looks We Love cover topics that focus on career and finance, health and lifestyle, and fashion and beauty and share an intimate connection with readers. In 2008, ESSENCE won 12 New York Association of Black Journalists awards in the Investigative, General Feature, International, Business/Technology, Science/Health, Arts & Entertainment, Personal Commentary, Public Affairs and Online categories. The publication has a monthly circulation of 1,050,000 and a readership of 8.5 million. The first issue of ESSENCE hit the newsstands in May 1970, with a circulation of 50,000."

The illustration I made was for an article written about 'family secrets'. The article explored the story and experience of a woman who grew up without her real father, a man who denied her existence.

Sketches:

Reference:

ACE hotel work in progress

Work in progress shots for my ACE hotel London murals! How exciting - the illustrations have been printed out and wheat pasted to the walls of rooms 103 & 104. Now all that remains is for me to come to the hotel in person (this weekend), and add the finishing touches by hand.
Can't WAIT to come and stay at the gorgeous ACE, and lucky for me, it coincides with Frieze weekend! One of my favourite art events of the year...

Details...

Mural designs for ACE London

>> DESIGN 1 <<

>> DESIGN 2 <<

These are two illustrations I have created which will become murals for the ACE Hotel chain, who have just opened a new branch in Shoreditch, London.
I'll do another blog post in a few weeks once I've installed the murals! Very excited to see them up on the walls...

"Ace Hotel is a collection of individuals — multiple and inclusive, held together by an affinity for the soulful. We are not here to reinvent the hotel, but to readdress its conventions to keep them fresh, energized, human.
We accept the hotel as a potential for real, fluid community. We believe that hospitality is compassion, that it is not servility but genuine concern for others' well-being and the ability to live with empathy.
We believe that Mr. Strummer was right when he sang, "If you're after getting the honey, hey — then you don't go killing all the bees," because there is no honey without bees.
And Mr. Blake was right when he said that "Life delights in life," meaning that cultivating joy attracts more joy.
We like the stories that come with things and think that wherever you are, you should feel like you're there.
Always go with the best idea, regardless of where it comes from and be willing to learn from anybody.
Do what's got to be done everyday.
The basic things matter.
Try not to be a jerk.
The truth doesn't always make sense, but it usually feels right.
Try to make something everyday.
The only free will you have is how well you respond to fate, so steel yourself and smile.
Work can be a beautiful thing when done beautifully, and it's a lot more fun done together than apart.

This, more than anything else, is why people want to sleep with us."

ACE Hotel, Shoreditch

Work in progress:

References:

INSPIRATION:

Sketches...

CHRONOS Femme in print

Received my copy of CHRONOS Femme from Japan today!
Click here to read more about this project.

Flyer for SUNDOWN ART / Not Very Ladylike

Knocked up this flyer this week for the fine folks at SUNDOWN arts - in their own words "a diverse arts event playing host to live music, spoken word, comedy, short films, DJ’s and any other performance art. It is based in Southend-on-sea but now curates events in London and throughout the UK, including many festivals."

From the organiser, about this particular event: "Not Very Ladylike features emerging theatre company Old Trunk, with one of their witty, unique plays/sketches. There is also the comedy poet Liz Bentley whose material is pretty edgy. Then the performance artist Caroline Smith, who also does some unique, raw material.
So the concept is an all-female cast with edgy, unique material that pushes the envelope a little.
I like the look of fifties style women from those forties and fifties style adverts, where women were supposed to be prim and like a lady but maybe give the flyer a punk rock feel to it. Or a pop art feel."

Inspiration:

SHOP Italy / cover illustration

This is the 2nd image of three that I have created for the international SHOP series, published by Global Blue. This one was for their Italy issue. The concept was old school glamour - I researched images of Veronica Lake and Grace Kelly, and 1940s fashion imagery. Finally I found a striking image of a 1940s model wearing a dress that really accentuated her small frame. I sketched it out, and then redrew the image several times, adjusting the hair and dress to exaggerate the proportions.

Scroll down to see the process, sketches, and reference imagery...

Click here to read an interview I did with Global Blue, about making the image.

DEVELOPMENT OF FINAL IMAGE...

INITIAL SKETCHES...

INSPIRATION & REFERENCES