Saturday 27 May 2023

Cosy owls


 

Wildlife illustration of a pair of Ural owls huddling in an old tree hollow on a snowy day.

Thursday 13 April 2023

Shakespeare by candlelight


 

Shakespeare studying by candlelight, an educational illustration done for Hodder and Stoughton publishing. I really enjoyed researching this one to make it as authentic as possible. It helped that we had recently visited Shakespeare's home in Stratford upon Avon.

Wednesday 15 February 2023

Woodland carollers

 


Mrs Rabbit smiled as a troupe of carollers conveniently arrived on her doorstep just as she was taking her latest batch of quite famous mince pies out of the oven.

Saturday 24 December 2022

Wednesday 14 December 2022

The Bronze Serpent book cover illustration



 I recently painted this book cover for the latest book by my friend, the author, Marcus Coles - The Bronze Serpent. A tale of mystery, magic and adventure spanning the globe set in the 1920s.

The wider illustration is the full wrap book jacket illustration.



Monday 28 November 2022

Santa's Delivery Service


 Racing full speed towards Christmas! Santa's delivery service will not let you down! Recent painting




Friday 25 November 2022

Thanksgiving e card part 3



 Final scene of the Thanksgiving ecard I illustrated with lights on and lights off. The swing in the foreground gently sways in the breeze as well as the lights turning on as the scene progresses.

Saturday 12 November 2022

Thanksgiving ecard scene 2 part 2


 The previous scene zooms out to reveal that the nest is lodged in the roof of a red covered bridge. The leaves in the card animate.


The ecard can be viewed here:


Each November, We Remember Thanksgiving | American Greetings

Thursday 10 November 2022

Chickadee nest



 

Second scene of thanksgiving ecard. Illustration of chickadee feed babies.

Sunday 6 November 2022

Thanksgiving Scene 1



 

1st scene of Thanksgiving ecard I illustrated. The setting is Vermont, USA. Second image is the different flight positions of the bird I had to paint for animation purposes so it could fly off screen.

Tuesday 1 November 2022

Highland cattle


 

fRInGE!! Painting of Scottish Highland cattle. These guys have some great hair!

Monday 10 October 2022

Magi arrive to worship the King


 Fresh off the easel some Magi action as Christmas is just around the corner. Its always fun going to town on their costumes.

Tuesday 27 September 2022

Coffin of Khnumnakht


 

Illustration of the ancient Egyptian artefact the coffin of Khnumnakht.

The brilliantly painted exterior of the coffin of Khnumnakht, an individual unknown except for his name, displays the multiplicity of texts and decorative panels characteristic of coffin decoration in the late Middle Kingdom. It has at least one feature—the figure of the goddess on the head end—that is rare before the late Middle Kingdom. The figures and hieroglyphs have been drawn by the confident hand of a skilled artist and each hieroglyph has been carefully painted in the prescribed manner of the time and place in which the coffin was made.

On the left side of the coffin box there is an architectural facade with a small doorway in the center at the bottom. This is the equivalent of the Old Kingdom false door, which allowed the spirit of the deceased to move between the land of the dead and the land of the living. In this case, it is painted to resemble two wooden door leaves secured with two door bolts. Above the door are two eyes that look forth into the land of the living. The face of the mummy would have been directly behind this panel. The rest of the exterior is inscribed with invocations to, and recitations by, various primeval deities, particularly those associated with death and rebirth, such as Osiris, foremost god of the dead, and Anubis, god of embalming.

Monday 19 September 2022

Queen Elizabeth II



 Some drawings of Queen Elizabeth II, perhaps the most iconic profile there has ever been.

Sunday 18 September 2022

Akhenaten, Amonhotep IV Egyptian Pharaoh

 



Illustration of a bust of Akhenaten, Amonhotep IV in the Egyptian Museum in Cairo. He ruled Egypt for 17 years and is famous for trying to move Egypt from polytheism and introducing worship centred on Aten. This didnt go down well with the Egyptian people who promptly destroyed all statues of him after his death. He was also the husband of Nefertiti.

Monday 12 September 2022

Christmas market


 

Christmas card illustration set in a traditional English winter Christmas market where its both frosty and warm at the same time.

Santa feeding a baby deer


  Christmas card illustration

Saturday 10 September 2022

Sheep in the snowy highlands


 Sheep in the snowy highlands illustration

A snowy drive in a classic MG on Christmas Eve


 A snowy drive in a classic MG on Christmas Eve

The Queens Royal Carriage Platinum Jubilee Parade


 The Queen in her carriage at the Platinum Jubilee parade outside Buckingham palace

We 3 kings


 

3 kings Christmas card illustration

Santa tobogganing


 Illustration for a Christmas card

Cutting the cake on their special day


 

Weedding card illustration

Botanical Children's Garden jigsaw illustration







This is a jigsaw illustration I did for Jumbo puzzles. I based a lot of the aspects of the design on a trip I made to Cambridge Botanical Gardens.
 

Friday 1 July 2022

Platinum Jubilee Jigsaw illustrations







 


Just received this in the post from Gibsons. I illustrated this 4 pack of jigsaw designs for the Queen's Platinum Jubilee. Proving quite a challenge to put together despite the fact I painted it!




Royal Celebrations Platinum Jubilee 4 x 500 Piece Jigsaw Puzzle | Queen's Jubilee Jigsaw Puzzle | Sustainable Puzzle for Adults | Premium 100% Recycled Board | Gibsons Games : Amazon.co.uk: Toys & Games

Wednesday 29 June 2022

Jigsaw illustrations









A variety of recent jigsaw illustrations
 

Sunday 22 May 2022

Vintage Trams Jigsaw Puzzle

 Just received this complementary jigsaw from Jumbo Puzzles for the tram illustration that I did for them. I took the approach of showing each tram in a different weather or lighting situation to add to the interest. I put in a Sunderland tram as well as a little homage to my hometown. I'm happy with the result - the image has come out nicely and the quality of the pieces themselves feels really good.