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This is an album review illustration for Prog magazine. A new record by Public Service Broadcasting, Every Valley is a thematic piece about the collapse of the mining industry.

Prog affords the illustrator a lot of freedom but their one requirement is that the band being reviewed are featured in some way within the image. It's not always immediately obvious how best to do that but here was one of those lucky incidences where an idea just flashed into mind without having to think or sit to work out ideas. I also knew straightaway that it required a gritty, monochromatic treatment in order to have the most impact.

From then on it was really just a case of working on the image until it felt 'right'.

Hidden Figures: 004 Location: 51.430499, -0.138362 Size: 76mm x 152mm

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Ben from Vegas Seven got in touch and asked if I would be interested in doing a cover for them on the subject of plastics and electives ((plastic surgery and aesthetics to you and me). They were not looking for a typical plastic surgery cover but were thinking more along the lines of a vintage Sci-Fi like take.

From the off the description and subject matter gave this the feel of a dream job. Having said that it is a sensitive subject and so I wanted to avoid anything too repellent but at the same time was looking for something thought-provoking. I came up with this image which felt about right. The sketch was well-received and after a tonal version was worked out it was then a case of choosing a nice colour palette and producing the final (click sketches below to view).

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My agent Rapp|Art produce and mail out a rather beautiful annual catalogue. This is my spread for 2017.

This image was commissioned for ASIS International and their magazine Securities Management. A feature article about mentoring and the duality of the learning experience for both apprentice and expert.

I started with the idea of a couple somehow exchanging information, as in the sketch above, but then realised it would be more interesting to integrate them further and to illustrate them both within a single figure shape. The background and other elements were then added to reflect the securities business in which they work.

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Hidden Figures: 001 Location: 51.422006, -0.150214 Size: 85mm x 112mm

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This is a reboot of an illustration recently done for D magazine about the effects of back pain. Occasionally I feel the need to rework images, usually for no other reason than to explore other approaches. In this case the original is not too different but I was drawn to realise it in monochrome rather than the full colour treatment the client requested.



From my earliest days as an illustrator and working with Rotring pens I was always attracted to tone being rendered through points. I like the inherent contradiction of softness being created through something so hard. This enlargement (click image above to view) is a good representation of an area I would like to explore further.

Experience Life called me recently and asked if I could illustrate a feature on blood flow and exercise, a full page image and some spots. Something descriptive was asked for rather than anything too conceptual.

Above are the initial pencil sketches and the finished artwork - essentially an exercising figure with swirls of movement around them suggesting the flow of blood emanating from the core. Although the pencil sketch was approved I only had the vaguest idea in mind about how the tones and colours would would work.



With some illustrations you know instinctively, or can see in your mind, how the finished artwork should look, so the job is essentially one of replicating that image on the page. In other instances though it becomes a question of 'finding' the image, trying different approaches, colours and tones, until the image starts to gel. That was the case here, the only thing I knew for sure was that the colours would be green/blue as the figure was running outside. Also I needed a look that would work across the spot images too so that they would all read as a set.

It was 20 years ago today...In 1997 I was storing physical artwork in boxes, drawers and cupboards. Twenty years later the whole lot (and more) fits on a tiny memory stick. Although we have been able to do this for years now so not exactly news it still feels like sci-fi. Nevertheless something gained and something lost I feel.

I was recently asked by Nick at D magazine to produce some illustrations for their annual Medical Directory. The main story centred around women's heart health and the importance of getting checked for any possible anomalies.

The brief seemed to call for more of a representational image rather than a conceptual one, so as stress tests and monitoring usually involve being connected up to cables that felt like the right way to go. The pencil sketch, above, was approved and from there is was really just a question of deciding on colours and level of detail.

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