Elegant kitsch

My long summer of thesis writing is finally over, (I done a Masters).  I'm back in the saddle as it were with a typically long list of things to see and do, but some of the pressure off.

When you're, you know, artzy, creative typy, a person that is driven to make things, there are definitely more people like this than just me, when you're that - it can make you a bit sad and crazy when you don't have time to make the things you want to. 

Last weekend I took all the postits around my desk that had things on them like 'remember to connect cultural capital back to Bourdieu', and 'check reference to Ullman - Polyvalancy! - happenstance!', 'pop art is outdated nostalgia not contemporary critique in the classroom' and 'remember to eat' (at least one of these is genuine), and put up in their place all the postits from the side of my desk of ideas for drawing and artworks that i'd scribbled down during the last few months when I haven't had time to draw them. 

And tonight, I sat down and made one of them a reality. 

And it felt really good.

It isn't for anything really, and I'm not even sure if it's about anything. It was just a picture in my head I wanted to get on paper. 

Soon I will do more proper blogging and tell you about other things I got up to over the summer with wedding portraits, live burlesque drawing, flyer designs and other stuff. Probably.

And exciting things coming up in the soontimes too, like a Big Draw event I'll be running with Storyhands in October, and the hopefully not too distant relaunch of my website. And some comics stuff. Probably.

If you are curious about the postit, this is it:

A few hours after I drew it I went back and feverishly scribble the phrase 'elegant kitsch' (misspelled) along the bottom, but on reflection I don't actually know what I meant by this. Deadline delirium. It's possible it was meant to go on one of the thesis postits.

And don't worry mum, I did remember to eat. A lot.

Nice weather we've been having recently

And handle in handle away the lovers go, through the hearts and flowers, into the depths of space.

I managed to remember to take down most of my valentines stuff from the shop today, although I have left up a few cards and re-branded them as 'greetings', 

because you know, 

IT'S OK TO EXPRESS YOUR LOVE ANY DAY OF THE YEAR.

That's probably enough sticking silly love words together for another year. Time to get back to drawing and  illustration. Speaking of strating the illu (that's not a thing), I went to a talk by Quentin Blake hosted by the AOI last week and wrote about it for Amelia's Magazine. Which you can see here. 

 He was quite inspiring. He didn't actually give 5 tips for creating great illustrations tho. That was me extrapolating from his postulating. 

Here is my drawing of him (Quentin) 

In the big news this week as well (as well as well as the weather and the tube strike and the usual), is that I have got a new telephone. Although Alex is referring to it as a television. Because of it's prestigious size. It has a big screen. For the showing you my artworks. And a good camera. For the showing you my artworks again and again on many social platforms. 

Which is to say. I have got Instagram!!!

Look i already did lots of instagram!

If you are an instagrammer please come befriend me. i am obsessed. For the now. I even baked some dodgy looking valentines biscuits and posted them. (tragic).

I was a loyal Blackberry user for a long time but I've come to realise it has been holding me back. From posting so many pictures of random stuff.

Horay. 

If you are wondering about the title it is a quote from the clangers. 

This episode. 

 

Which is a very lovely love story you should watch for Valentines Day with your cat. Actually it is quite problematic. But still. 

SUPER EXCITING VALENTINES VOTE COMPETITION

HELLO

So I've been making alternative collage valentines on and off since moving to London 5 years ago (wow, really? 5 years?)

After a few years of this I compiled my favourites into a mini-zine which I have been selling online and at various real life venues ever since. I also did a limited edition entirely pink version of this to use up the excess ink in my broken printer, as something special for you guys. 

I've made 7 new designs this week, but I want to step up this little corner of my 'practice' you know. As well as offering the originals for sale and making a second issue of the Love mini-zine, I want to print 100 Valentines cards to sell using some of the best designs from all 5 years, and sell them at a much cheaper price point (£1.70). I want to send these to print this Sunday in order to have a few weeks of optimal Valentines selling time, 

but this is where I NEED YOUR HELP.

I'm not sure which designs are the best to print. 

So I thought I'd ask for some help, and throw in a cheeky little competition to make it worth your while. I'll run this here and facebook too, to make it super easy. 

WHAT YOU COULD WIN:

one randomly selected entrant will win: a copy of both old and new Love zines, and a printed Valentines card of their choice. And a two finger KitKat. 

Two additional entrants will win their chosen printed Valentine card. 

WHAT YOU HAVE TO DO:

In order to be in with a chance of winning, please tell me which designs (up to 6) you think I should print, 

be sure to say which design you would want to be sent to you if you win. 

you can do this in a comment on this blog post, or on the corresponding facebook photo album. 

Deadline is Saturday 18th January

HERE ARE THE CARDS

I've narrowed it down to the 23 designs below - go click through them and see what you think

I advise you to make sure you read all of the words on the card before deciding you like it, because some of them have a bit of a kick in the tail. If that's the expression that makes sense.