Environmental Issues

A series of postcard sized images highlighting environmental issues by second year undergrad

Jack Thomas for a recent campaigning brief - can you change the world using only pictures?

Mr Mark Penman has a chance of being published by the mighty DC comics

Comic artist Mark Penman and 2008 UCLAN graduate has been selected to partake in the November competition at Zuda.com.
You can read and vote for Mark’s comic at www.zudacomics.com


Zuda is DC comic's webcomic branch and each month they select 10 comics to go head to head in a vote based competition, the winner earns a place on the site to produce their comic monthly.

The Manchester based freelance illustrator's entry is entitled ‘Peabody and D’Gorath’
Set in the late 1800’s, it follows the adventures of England’s foremost paranormal antiquarians, a reanimated skeleton named Remington Peabody and a demon subservient to the English Monarchy Clancy D’Gorath. Apparently.
Vote for his comic!

Well Done Rob Gill - Images 34

Well done to Year 3 Illustration student Rob Gill for having his work accepted into the New Talent section of the Association of Illustrators Annual - Images 34.

Images is the UK's leading illustration competition, annual, awards show, and touring exhibition organised by the Association of Illustrators it is dedicated to showcasing the very best contemporary illustration published in the UK.

Images is unique in that it is Britain's only jury-selected illustration competition, judged by a highly regarded panel of industry experts, spanning multiple categories.

The annual celebrates illustration excellence and is distributed to a specially targeted list of international commissioners and sold worldwide. 

Naniiebim aka Louise Ho

Former Preston illustration graduate and current masters student Louise will be signing copies of her latest publication in Manchester later this month!

we heart Amelia's Magazine

Amelia's Magazine recently ran an open submission competition to design a two of hearts card for the Shelter Charity exhibition House of cards held at the Haunch of Venison in London

Tania Sneesby 2009 graduate was among those chosen as a part of a patchwork of cards that made up the Amelia's magazine two of hearts.
You can see all the exhibited cards on the shelter site:

http://www.shelterhouseofcards.org.uk/

also look out for the Amelia's Magazine anthology of Illustration issue out now!

Comica 09

Between 5 and 26 November London is bubbling over with international comics during the Comica Festival's annual three-week season of exhibitions, events, talks, performances, workshops, films, a conference and publishers' fair at the Institute of Contemporary Arts in The Mall and other venues.

Drawn From Life

Illustration event in London in November- December

A chance to hear from three Illustrators with diverse portfolios about their work, their technique, and their influences. Each draws from life; either literally – drawing on the spot – or drawing for inspiration on their rich life history.

Lucinda Rogers

Wednesday 11 November
The practice of reportage, or drawing on the spot, still plays a part in graphic design and publishing. Lucinda Rogers discusses drawing from life, from East End garages to Burgundy vineyards and why she is attracted to overlooked or hidden places.

Lucinda Rogers draws for the Independent, Guardian, the Times, the Telegraph and the New Yorker.


Michael Foreman

Wednesday 25 November
From the moment the bomb burst through his bedroom ceiling
in 1941, Michael Foreman believes real life has coloured his work. Years of travel to exotic and remote places have contributed ideas and locations for many of his books.

Michael Foreman illustrates books, over 300 in total, many for children; writing most himself, though collaborating with Ernest Hemingway, Michael Morpurgo and Kiri Te Kanawa among others

David Gentleman

Wednesday 9 December
His wide range of work includes drawing, painting, wood engraving, print-making, illustrating and designing. He will also touch on drawing for benign and malevolent purposes and the inseparability of art and design.

David Gentleman has written and illustrated books on Britain, London, Paris and India and has designed protest posters, postage stamps and a platform-length mural on the underground

Series of 3 - £25, £20 Friends
Single lecture - £10, £8 Friends
Includes coffee afterward

Ali's Pop-up Workshop

Here is a First Year Illustration students pop up rabbit from today's workshop.

Macmillan Prize 09 successes

While I was updating the blog about our students' successes I realised that I should give a mention to Suma Matanhelia, Kayleigh O' Mara and Steph Dominguez who were all highly commended in this years Macmillan Prize for Children's Book Illustration back in May. Their work was exhibited at Foyles Gallery in London and they received their commendations from illustrator Nick Sharratt.

Kayleigh O Mara


















Steph Dominguez

Bolognafiere 09

Back in March when I had very little time for blogging a few important news events slipped through the net.
The first being that recent (Jan 09) MA Children's Book Illustration graduate Esther Hall had been selected for the prestigious
Bologna Children's Book Fair Exhibition held in Italy every year in March.



As a result of which she has been signed up by illustrators agent Plum Pudding Illustration you can have a look at her portfolio, and their full roster here: http://www.plumpuddingillustration.com/plumPudding.swf

Also Esther was selected as highly commended in the Macmillan Prize for Children's Book Illustration last year, since when Esther has been working on a book for Macmillan. We hear that she will be published, and we look forward to posting some images of that book as soon as it becomes available!

Dave Poland is a Top Man! Ha Ha!

The biggest Topshop / Topman outside London has opened in Church Street, Liverpool. It links the old city centre with Liverpool ONE. It’s massive and includes a hair salon, beauty spa and style advisors.

There was a call for artists to create art for the central walls of the store and former UCLAN illustration student, Dave Poland, was selected to carry out the work. You can see his works running along the walls from the basement up to the top floor.
He only had about a week to complete the project but with the help of family and friends he managed it.

Well done Dave.

The Fourth Manchester Artists' Book Fair

Saturday 7th November 2009

10.30am Guest Speaker David Faithfull

12 noon - 6pm Fair open to the public

11am - 4pm MMU Artists' Books special collection open

Sir Kenneth Green Library and Holden Gallery
Manchester School of Art
Manchester Metropolitan University
All Saints Campus
Oxford Road
Manchester

Guest Speaker David Faithfull 'Inkubator Project' at 10.30am in the Sir Kenneth Green Library, Lecture Theatre. See www.davidfaithfull.co.uk

Lucy May Schofield will host her very successful Bibliotherapy sessions throughout the day. See www.lucymayschofield.co.uk and www.lucymayschofield.blogspot.com

Fair opens 12 noon in the Holden Gallery, Grosvenor Building, Manchester School of Art

40 stands and the MMU special collection of artists' books

FREE ADMISSION

Enquiries: n.grant@mmu.ac.uk

Images 33 Best of British Illustration 2009

Its that time of year September is here and I find a brand new copy of Images in my pigeonhole. Who has entered and made it into the annual...

Images for the uninitiated (is there really such an illustration student?)is the only jury selected annual of illustration in the UK. Images can therefore rightly lay claim to be the nearest thing to a Best of British Illustration selection.

This year there are three former UCLAN students selected for the book:

Jay Taylor, Danny Allison and Debbie Greenaway who has been selected for the New Talent section.
Well done to all three!

In addition the following friends of the course; former part time Illustration lecturer at UCLAN Kevin Hauff has been selected for the annual. As have these recent visiting lecturers: Jill Calder, and Dettmer Otto, also selected were Toby Morison, Chris Vine and David Humphries who all gave great visiting lecturer talks to the students only last academic year.

One and Other

Recent MA Children's Book Illustration graduate Maria Stuart was selected for Anthony Gormley's fourth plinth project One And Other in Trafalgar Square on Sunday 16th August.
You can see more details of the plinth project as well as live coverage of the plinth via the title link which shows Maria's time on the plinth. As she says in her profile:

I'm not a performance artist so I haven't been able to meet the demands for my hour to be interesting to watch or 'entertaining' (quite a lot of pressure around that one). But I knew from the start that I would be drawing while I was up there just wasn't sure why or what to do. As a children's book illustrator it finally dawned on me that obviously I should create an illustrated book of the journey to the plinth culiminating with images that I have made during the hour I'm there.

Thomas Bewick (1753-1828)

A bit of light Summer reading, have just finished reading the history of Thomas Bewick wood engraver and artist by Jenny Uglow, Not too much insight into his process but an interesting read nevertheless. He is definitely a forerunner of the illustration discipline we see today- and strangely enough many of the business issues sound uncomfortably familiar!
I was interested in the lengths he went to to get the correct reference (walking for three days to draw a bull!?) he could draw very well indeed.
I enjoyed the book, I found it interesting that he did any old job from designing flyers for events to illustrating the first popular natural history books. He sounded like a nice down to earth chap as well.

Stephen Fowler

First in an occasional series of things I like that are in my attic/studio, this screen-printed poster by illustrator Stephen Fowler (sometimes "Nervous" Stephen Fowler) for a club night at The Horse Hospital in London. I met him briefly and bought this at Leeds Artist's Book fair about a year ago and I really like his work. I have some of his badges that depict seafood too!
Catch his work if you can! When I find a link to his work I will post it.

Liam Derbyshire

UCLAN Summer 2009 graduate Liam Derbyshire has landed his first editorial commission for Times Higher Education supplement for an article about the General Teaching Council spying on Teachers. The Illustration also wound up on the cover much to everyone's surprise!
Click on the title link to have a look at his website.

D&AD New Blood

Well done to UCLAN Summer 2009 graduate Jen Mc Evoy who was commended for her animation for the Science Museum brief at D&AD Student Design Awards in July. See below.

What is a Black Hole? from Jenny McEvoy on Vimeo.

Here is a picture of the joint UCLAN Graphics and Illustration stand at Olympia.

Jim Flora (1914-1998)

Another book I bought a year or two ago that has been jumping off the shelves recently is

" The Mischievous Art of Jim Flora" - Flora (1914-1998) was an American illustrator and artist responsible for dozens of jazz sleeves in the 40's and 50's. Such as "Mambo for Cats":

And this "Collaboration" piece that uses conjoined twins - there are just not enough conjoined twin illustrations out there? His work was clearly a big influence on U.S. illustrators Gary Baseman and Tim Biskup, I don't know if Benoit Jacques knew of him but this cutaway ship one of Flora's later works from the 80's really reminds me of Benoit Jacques', whose work I love - I do like cutaway images for some reason? I have added a link to the Jim Flora website through the title. Have a look?

IMAGES: The Best of British Contemporary Illustration

Click the title link to find out how to enter your work for this prestigious Annual and Exhibition!

Salt's Mill

On the subject of Salt's Mill if you would like a cultural day out you could do a lot worse than visit Salt's - click the title link for all the info you need.

Tales From Outer Suburbia by Shaun Tan

I have not bought many books recently but this one caught my eye on a recent trip to Salt's Mill in Saltaire Bradford. It's a series of illustrated short stories by Australian author / illustrator Shaun Tan. If you don't know his work (and you really should) then look at the Red Tree, or The Lost Thing?
It's quite an unusual book neither a children's or adult's book, and was supported by Australia's Arts Council. If only our council was so enlightened?
Have a look at his website he has a very interesting view on the role of illustration.

Sketchbooks: The Hidden Art of designers Illustrators & Creatives

I recommend this book as an interesting introduction to the variety of sketchbook practice out there. I got a review copy from the publishers and have found myself dipping into it from time to time? I had read an illustrated article in Graphic 08 by Richard Brereton recently on which this book was based. As the blurb says;" a revealing glimpse into the inner workings and private inspiration from the world of advertising, design, graphic-design, fashion design, art, street art, and illustrations."

Tom Eckersley Archive (1914 - 1996)

I cannot recommend highly enough that you go and have a look at the poster work of Tom Eckersley(from Bolton) in the Eckersley Archive. I had heard of Eckersley's poster work as a foundation student and I looked up the design work he did with Eric Lombers as Eckersley-Lombers when I was a student.
I think I probably dismissed it at the time as a bit old fashioned and simplistic - now however...




























So many beautifully designed images, often advertising pretty mundane subjects with absolute clarity - its a joy! And I do even remember seeing some of those Post Office posters as a kid.
Click on the title link and have a look!

Jon Klassen

I recently discovered the work of this Canadian illustrator / animator through some of his concept work on the film of Coraline.
This image is called Next Door...






I really love his RBC Advert. Here is a still but you can watch it on his site - really restrained palette and design.
http://burstofbeaden.com/

Something Wild at the Walker

Former UCLAN graduate of BA(Hons) Illustration and MA Childrens Book Illustration course at Preston, not to mention erstwhile part time lecturer on the course, Kate Pankhurst was recently commissioned to produce an illustrated guide for primary children and families to the Walker Art Gallery in Liverpool.

Jenny Dunn

Recent UCLAN graduates spotted - Jenny Dunn who graduated with a first in 2008 recently published this piece in the Sunday Times Travel Magazine.
She is now represented by Inkshed (click title link)
See her website link on the right.

Magma Boards

In a nice piece of self promotion 2008 UCLAN graduates Mark Penman and Dave Parkinson recently painted the boards outside Magma Book store in Manchester.
You can find links to their blogs on the right.

Grafik 175

This month's Grafik magazine has a special report on illustration, and includes an interesting article about" High Street" by artist and illustrator Eric Ravilious. High Street was first published in 1938 by the influential Ravilious whose life was tragically cut short in 1942 whilst working as a war artist.
The article commemorates publication of a special edition of " High Street" by Mainstone Press, at £160 a copy for the limited edition you might not be buying one but Grafik coming in at £9 is a little more in your price range?

The book is available through Mainstone Press and St Judes where you can find lots of Ravilious' work and other beautiful prints and reprints by UK based artists.

http://www.stjudesgallery.co.uk/artists/e_ravilious/index.htm