iphone cases - the gift that keeps giving

Before I started slapping my doodles on plates I had already forsaken paper in favour of another surface....iphone cases. I don't actually own an iphone myself but as the majority of my friends do I thought personalised iphone covers might make nice presents. I discovered a website called wrappz.com, gaudy and brash in design (as the use of a 'z' in replacement for a 's' might suggest) but easy enough to use and they provide a good service. It's a simple case of uploading your image and then leaving the rest to them.

I have made three iphone cases and am pretty happy with them all.
Firstly for my medical student friend Flo a personalised Herge style phone case. We are both obsessive fans of the Tintin books (I could corner you and explain why Herge is the greatest artist who ever lived for many hours if you had the misfortune of running into me at a party) and though I've know Flo for about five years it only occurred to me recently to try draw her in Herge's style. I was pretty convinced that any attempt to re-create Herge's style would be shambolic but I was thrilled when it worked out okay. The patients head is a nod to Tintin and the Shooting Star, Flo as Tintin and as I am a nurse I decided to throw myself in as Captain Haddock (considering this has been a nickname for me in the past).

In a previous post I mentioned my film maker friend Leanne Welham, I also mentioned the fact she is working on her first feature Twitcher....so I made her a Twitcher phone case. The iconic symbol of the film is a Wryneck bird....thanks for choosing that Leanne... what a pain in the arse to draw.

I have also mentioned my contour fashion student friend Ruth, who designs wonderful bras and pants. Well if you've glanced the images below you'll realise I not gone down the underwear root for Ruth. Ruth and I bonded over our incredible taste music and in particular Joanna Newsom (the single greatest song writer of my generation).  One Joanna Newsom song in particular is dearest to both our hearts, a song called 'Only Skin' in which every line is spine tingling and soul piercing in its beauty and perfection. I illustrated a line from the song for Ruth with a nod to her own blog Lesson's in Scarlet.

And there they all are on phone cases. I should have got a picture of each one in use by each person. Darn.

Paper No More

I have an idea, it involves my drawings on ceramics. I experimented last night with this concept. It is not an easy process and with the three attempts I made to plaster my drawings onto plates or bowls I learnt something different with each one.

The first thing I learnt with plate one was that if you really need an image with a good clear outline that you can cut right up to because other wise the decal paper is quite obvious once attached to the ceramic.

The second thing I learnt is if you are going to apply a glaze to protect the decal image once it is on the plate...then be careful and exact. Just put it on the image and not a wash covering some of the plate as well. It is quite obvious where your new bit of glaze is and it does not look good.

Finally on a bowl I learnt if the surface is curving, you might have to deal with a wrinkle or two in the image. It is early days but I think it might be possible to do something real nice with this. Wish me luck....

Christmas Card

It's been a while and this is largely due to Christmas preparation. My days have been spend fighting through the busy rainy streets of Brighton and braving establishments filled with consumers shopping seemingly with the notion that the world is ending and only presents will save them. It has not been at all like the Dickensian imagery I always create in my mind before I head out Christmas shopping, the streets are not snow covered, I have not strolled cobble paving my arms steeped with string tied parcels while ever shop keeper calls a cheerful greeting, I have not even tussled the hair of a newspaper boy and given him a shilling to buy his family a fine Christmas goose.

Inside The Captain’s Lodge (…my flat…) things have been more festive and traditional. I have hung clove studded oranges by red ribbon and wrapped gifts with bows while the spicy zest stings my nostrils. I have also sat drawing with yuletide purpose while listening to high quality Christmas music bathed in the light of a hundred fairy lights.

The first of my Christmas creative endevours I will share are this years Christmas cards. Again I had them printed at printed.com, this saves me time and probably money. I’m pretty pleased with the final result even if they printed them slightly too dark and the detail of the hair was lost. Anyway you can see for yourself. I am a man of little money at the moment and was unable to print very many so this year only a very few people got a Christmas card from me. I hope this doesn't make me hated.

Black and White Original

Colour

How it may have looked on your shelf if I had sent you a card

Merry Christmas ya'll