Exploration of emotion

The image above is a quick marker pen drawing exploring emotional violence and the powerfully destructive nature of deliberately hurtful words.  

"Fire birds" I painted this automatically with my fingers instead of a brush, there was no concept I was aiming for, I just felt my way through it instinctively...

A drawing of a girl that is afraid... it's a warm up sketch, but actually I quite like it as it is, even if it isn't very finished or polished.

 This is a collage of a man made with tissue paper. It's about being a patchwork person, made up of so many different elements it can be confusing to the viewer, but still creates a whole.

Above are drawings of some rocks, shells and pebbles from my garden... I am really interested in the journey that rocks take. Every layer, chip and surface, smooth or rough, tells a story of a past life... I think this is something I will explore further.

This pencil drawing is a study of a medieval church pillar in the V&A, I go there regularly for drawing practice, and I highly recommend it for illustrators and artists living in London as a way to keep your skills sharp. At home, I played around with the background in photoshop, I added a photograph of a dusky sky I took ages ago and altered the colour balance to give it a slightly eerie, slightly marblesque feel. 

Wishing you a wonderful 2012 New Year's e-card I

I wish you a wonderful new year 

With days of light and nights of cheer!

Character studies

These 4 drawings are character studies for a story I'd like to develop in the future. I've drawn the girl in a variety of styles and media, and from different angles to cement in my own mind who she is and to see what works best visually... I still haven't decided which I will go with. I think it really will depend on how the story develops and the style will be reflective of the mood of the scene.

Two drawings of my friend's son, which I drew as a present for his 18th birthday. I gave him the first one. I'm not as fond of the second, although I think it has a bit more of my personality in it.

Week two: SKetchbook

 The two images  above are some more character studies of a preteen girl, based on a girl  used to know. The medium is ink and chalk. On the right in the background is the short poem  I wrote inspired by the way disadvantaged young people are simultaneously ignored by society and yet vilified for the attitude that comes from feeling disenfranchised. Pushing these young people to side is not the solution to the problem. It is the society that they are born into that needs to change. It reads:

"I matter.

I am here.

Disregard 

won't make me

disappear."

This pencil and ink drawing is of a scene from a story I'd like to write and draw in the future. It shows my main character going through a hard time at school. He is being bullied by his classmates, but still has a lot of inner strength to get through it. If you notice, one of the bullies is the character I drew above. In my story, I'd quite like to show both sides of the experience. The bullied girl, who in turn becomes a bully because she has no outlet for her own pain. As so often is the case, she chooses to empower herself through taking away someone else's joy. I would like in her story for her to find a better way of dealing with her own issues.    

Messing about with character study of the boy from the story... I was trying to capture his spirit of playfulness. The medium is acrylic ink and biro.

A joyful profile drawing of him, drawn in felt tip.

A sad portrait of him, drawn in ink and chalk.

An angry version of him, in ink.

Day one

Yearning - drawn from my imagination, the medium is watercolour pencil, which I drew over with a wet brush.

Grief - drawn from a photograph, I chose this image to practice evoking strong emotions in facial expressions. The medium is grey ink, pencil and graphite.

Lonely girl - drawn from my imagination, it is a study for a character I am developing for a story. The medium is graphite pencil.